"Only 11 per cent of respondents said they may still use prostitutes in the future," says criminologist Scot Wortley. "This does not mean, however, that all will be true to their word."
Wortley and Benedikt Fischer, a public health sciences professor, studied the effectiveness of the city of Toronto's 'John School', a program for first-time male offenders caught trying to hire female prostitutes. They interviewed 366 men over a three-year period and conducted 100 follow-up interviews six months after program completion.
The researchers found that 42 per cent of the men who had taken the course were more likely to admit they had a sex problem and 73 per cent said they were guilty of their offence. However, the 'john' program offenders may not be representative of those who use prostitutes in Toronto, they note. Half of the program's participants reported a first language other than English, a high school education and annual earnings less than $40,000. "This leaves the prostitution activities of Toronto's professional citizens largely ignored by police," Wortley says.
The study, published by the U of T Centre of Criminology in January, was funded by the National Crime Prevention Centre and the Department of Justice. CONTACT: Professor Scot Wortley, Centre of Criminology, 416-978-6438 x 228, wortley@chass.utoronto.ca or Sue Toye, U of T public affairs, 416-978-4289, sue.toye@utoronto.ca