A latest study in the US aimed at testing the attitudes of men who pay for sex, has revealed that they are more likely to commit crimes against women when compared to those who do buy sex. The study was conducted in Boston area.

The study revealed that men who pay for sex have certain attitudes and behavioral tendencies which differ from the non-buyers.

The study, conducted by non-profit group Prostitution Research and Education, interviewed 202 men and was led by Melissa Farley, a clinical psychologist and anti-prostitution activist.

For the study, buyers and non-buyers of commercial sex from the Boston area were paired by age, education and ethnicity. A comparison of their perceptions of women was made after they voluntarily joined the study. The proportion of the buyers and non-buyers of commercial sex was 50:50.

Sex buyers were far more likely than non-sex buyers to commit felonies, misdemeanors, crimes related to violence against women, substance abuse-related crimes, assaults, crimes with weapons, and crimes against authority. All of the crimes known to be associated with violence against women were reported by sex buyers; none were reported by non-sex buyers said the study.

Almost three-fourth of the sex buyers reportedly learned about sex from pornography, whereas just 54 percent of the non-buyers did so.

Also, men who paid for sex were found to be less empathetic towards women working as prostitutes, than the non-buyers.

Two out of three men believed that most women prostitutes had been lured, tricked or trafficked into the practice.

Sex buyers hold extensive information about pimps, coercion, trafficking, and the harms of prostitution to the women in it. This information is not yet fully used by law enforcement and could be useful, said the authors of the study.