Social Control, Law, Crime, and Deviance Commons^™

The Influence Of Legal Brothels On Illegal Sexual Service Purchasing Habits: The U.S. Context, Chris Wakefield, Barbara G. Brents

Sociology Faculty Research

In this study, we use a survey of sex workers’ clients to examine the relationship between having paid for services in legal brothels in Nevada and paying for criminalized sexual services among male clients. Using ordinary least squares (OLS) and generalized ordered logistic regression models, the use of legal brothels is found to be negatively related to reported purchasing of criminalized sexual services, regardless of criminal history, income, and most other demographic factors. When tested by criminalized purchase context, purchases made using the Internet, from public, outdoor contacts (such as the street) and indoor, public contacts (like bars), were less …