Latest News

Is Paying for Sex a Disease?
Monday, March 30, 2020 IST
Is Paying for Sex a Disease?

Many U.S, jurisdictions send men to “John Schools” for treatment.

 
 

Like many folks, I will admit that I have been to traffic school. That’s where you get a speeding or traffic ticket, and are offered an option to attend a course of driving safety, as a means to get the ticket dismissed.
 
This makes sense, right? It gives more information and safety awareness to people on the street, including people like me, who sometimes have a lead foot.
 
When I attend driving school for speeding, coursework never suggests that my tendency to drive too fast is a disease–but in “john schools” around the country, men are being taught exactly that, that their desire to purchase sex is evidence of a sex addiction and a disease needing treatment.
 
In recent years, there has been a shift from prosecuting the (mostly female) people charged with prostitution, solicitation, and selling sexual encounters, to charging the (mostly men) people who attempt to purchase sex.
 
In 2010, data from the U.S. DOJ shows that 43,000 women were arrested for prostitution-related charges, compared to only 19,000 men, leading to legitimate criticisms that this reflects sexist and misogynistic social and legal attitudes towards females. 
 
In New York, “Operation Flush the Johns” in 2013 led to the publication of 104 men’s pictures after they were arrested for “patronizing a prostitute.” The arrests included two physicians, as well as numerous lawyers, including one 79-year-old attorney. Their names and pictures were then published in a local newspaper, sending shockwaves through families, businesses and clinics. This effort was part of an attempt to publicly shame these men (not all public interventions use shame, though this is an often criticized element), a strategy used across the country in an effort to suppress the demand for sex for sale. 
 
John school curricula typically includes information about the laws against sex work, as well as information about the exploitation experienced by many involved in sex work. "It is about changing attitudes," Jacquie Aitken, a director of a John school in Canada said. "We have to look at the attitudes of the people who are purchasing and their understanding of what purchasing sex means." 
 

 
 

Most John schools are based on a model developed in 2008, called the “First Offender Prostitution Program” or FOPP, implemented in 2008 in San Francisco, and included these elements: 
 
Prostitution Law and Street Facts, focusing on the legal consequences of subsequent offenses and addressing johns’ vulnerability to being robbed or assaulted while involved in prostitution.
 
Health Education, describing the elevated risk of HIV and STD infection associated with prostitution, and stressing that many STDs are asymptomatic and/or difficult to detect and have long term negative impacts on health.
 
Effect of Prostitution on Prostitutes, focusing on numerous negative consequences for women serving as prostitutes, such as vulnerability to rape and assault, health problems, drug addiction, and various forms of exploitation.
 
Dynamics of Pimping, Recruiting, and Trafficking, featuring discussions of how pimps and traffickers recruit, control, and exploit women and girls for profit, and the links between local street prostitution and larger systems of human trafficking.
 
Effect of Prostitution on the Community, describing the drug use, violence, health hazards, and other adverse consequences that co-occur with street prostitution.
 
Sexual Addiction, focusing on how involvement in commercial sex may be driven by sexual addiction, and where help for this condition can be sought.
 

 
 
 
 
 

Related Topics

 
 
 

Trending News & Articles

 Article
'Worse than prison': A rare look inside China's detention camps to 'brainwash' Muslims

ALMATY: Hour upon hour, day upon day, Omir Bekali and other detainees in far western China's new indoctrination camps had to disavow the...

Recently posted . 199K views . 1 min read
 

 Article
What The Shape Of Your Belly Button Says About Your Health

If you have payed attention to the belly buttons of people on the beach or the members of your family, you have probably noticed that they have different shapes and...

Recently posted . 8K views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Horrifying Acts of Chemical Warfare and Gas Attacks

In this age of terror, there might be nothing more terrifying than the thought of an attack carried out with chemical weapons. We’ve all heard the horrific ...

Recently posted . 3K views . 4 min read
 

 Article
Top 10 Best Gym Equipment Brands in India 2018

Body fitness is one thing that everyone wants to maintain irrespective of age. Going to the gym and doing some great exercise always helps to maintain your body fit...

Recently posted . 3K views . 2 min read
 

 
 

More in Global

 Article
"His Methods Are Trade Secret": Travel Agent Gamed Delta Of $1.75 Million

Delta's SkyBonus program allows businesses to collect points when their employees travel with the airline that can be spent on flights and other airline perks.<...

Recently posted. 654 views . 1 min read
 

 Article
Do Men Really Prefer Bad Girls?

Do men like bad girls? Surprise. Surprise. A new study shows that nice women finish first   Sometimes even science can't co...

Recently posted. 929 views . 5 min read
 

 Article
After Photo Of Her Drowned Nephew Went Viral, Syrian Woman Tells Story

Tima Kurdi, Alan Kurdi's aunt and her new memoir, "The Boy on the Beach," is a plea for the rights of refugees through the heartbreaking account of on...

Recently posted. 1K views . 1 min read
 

 Video
Everyone Must Watch This!



Recently posted . 662 views
 

 Reviews
The Best 5 Camping Tents in India 2018 – Reviews & Buying Guide



Recently posted . 1K views . 99 min read
 

 Reviews
Leaseweb hosting review



Recently posted . 1K views . 67 min read
 

 Article
Things to keep in mind when participating in subvention schemes

Patna-based doctor Pramod Kumar has been trying to buy an apartment in the National Capital Region for some time now. Recently, while scanning ads placed by devel...

Recently posted. 648 views . 2 min read
 

 Article
Meet the 70-year-old Taiwan grandpa who catches Pokemon with 15 phones and a bike

Age no bar, indeed.   HIGHLIGHTS   Chen says grandson introduced him to Pok...

Recently posted. 840 views . 3 min read
 

 
 
 

   Prashnavali

  Thought of the Day

“A smile is the best makeup any girl can wear.”
Marilyn Monroe

Be the first one to comment on this story

Close
Post Comment
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST
Shibu Chandran
2 hours ago

Serving political interests in another person's illness is the lowest form of human value. A 70+ y old lady has cancer.

November 28, 2016 05:00 IST


ads
Back To Top