According to Aftenposten today, 17.5% of all men between the ages of 18 and 49 in the greater Oslo area admit to having had "bought" sex; the number for all Norwegian men in the same age group is 13.2%.
Doesn't that seem like a high ratio? It means that 1 in 6 men in the Oslo area has willfully committed a crime that also (and perhaps more importantly) subjected his ego to the fact that he couldn't get "it" in any other way.
Such prevalence also strengthens the point that prostitution is a public health problem for the buying population as well as the sellers. Sex with prostitutes is, after all, not just a matter of sexual release; it's also about realizing a fantasy about human relationships - the willingness to suspend disbelief long enough to believe that the prostitute is granting you intimacy.
I'm not trying to equate the victimhood of the john with that of the hookers', but I am suggesting that prostitution can't be reduced to a matter of sexual oppression of women; it's also a matter of emotional desperation among men.
The figures do seem high to me, too.
"willfully committed a crime"
It is not a crime in Norway.
Posted by: Jan Haugland | February 03, 2005 at 05:32 PM
I may be misinformed, but I thought buying sex and pimping were illegal in Norway. Maybe it's just pimping.
Posted by: Leif Knutsen, New York | February 04, 2005 at 06:40 AM
Nice to see the heresy spreading. Now get back to work/
Posted by: The Heretik | February 06, 2005 at 10:54 PM
Prostitution per se is not illegal in Norway. What is illegal is: Benefiting from another persons prostitution, soliciting sex for pay or benefit from a person under the age of 18(Though legal consent age is 16), and having sex in public(Whether with a prostitute or girl/boyfriend).
Posted by: kjell | February 10, 2005 at 06:49 AM