Introduction: Special section ‘female clients of commercial sex’

Abstract

In this introduction to the special section ‘female clients of commercial sex’, we start by an overview of the early interest in research on male clients of commercial sex and the tendency to criminalize and pathologize them. Then, we will question and discuss the lack of interest and the difficulties of researching women clients. Subsequently, we will look at the literature investigating women paying for sex to better understand and situate the research included in this section. After that, we will examine the contributions of the articles included in this special section and finish by reflecting on the meaning of this issue for future research on sex work.