Study shows 'guy next door' using prostitutes

VANCOUVER — A UBC study of men arrested for soliciting prostitutes shows they come from every neighbourhood and every walk of life. The report was released on Thursday by Vancouver Police.

Alexis Kennedy is with the Department of Psychology at UBC. "The offenders being arrested are the guy next door," she says. The report shows:

• Their average age was 38.
• More than half were married or in a common law relationship.
• They spent an average $900 on prostitutes before being arrested.
• 84% had full time jobs.
• Four of the 112 were earning more than a quarter of a million dollars a year.

The data was collected from 112 men who recently attended "John school" in Vancouver. Kennedy says the men's attitude towards prostitution changed after they attended the education program.

"Participants appear to be realizing the harmful effects of prostitution to the people working in the sex trade and the communities where it's taking place," she says.

Kennedy says so far none of the men who participated in the program have been re-arrested.