Sachiko NOSAKA
National Mental Support Center for School Crisis,
Osaka Kyoiku University
http://www.sexba.jp
【The article below is the same as the article that appears in the thirteenth issue of the CGS Newsletter. 】
"Online dating sites are dangerous!"
"Getting paid for sex is just asking for trouble."
"Nothing beats romantic sex!"
Are all of these ideas surrounding sex really correct?With the increasing use of the Internet and cell phones in recent years, more and more individuals are finding clients for sex through dating sites and other matchmaking services online without working for a sex club. Consequently, we are now seeing a phenomenon which can be called the borderless age of professional and amateur sex workers.
To understand the current situation of sex, weconducted an online survey of 18 to 29 year-old women as part of the AIDS Relief Projects by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (Research representative, Yuko Higashi, Osaka Prefectural University). 2,264 respondents participated in the 2007 survey.
Based on the data collected, 14.2% of the respondentshad previously been paid for providing some kind of sexual service,and 11.8% had been paid for sex. That amounts to one out of every eight or nine respondents. The primary means used to make the money and sex connections were online dating sites. Also, we asked about any sex-related problems or concerns in cases of both paid and unpaid sex. It turned out that 68.8% had worried that they might have gotten pregnant, 30.4% had experienced genital itching or some kind of vaginal discharge, and 30.3% had not used a condom even though they had wanted to do. These were all in cases of sex that didn't involve money, which is presumably sex with a romantic partner or a sex friend. Thus, the biggest concern that women have about sex appears to be unplanned pregnancy or STD infection in cases of sex with a regular partner.
On the other hand, the most common problems that occurred in cases of paid sex were emotional or psychological; 35.5% found the appearance or personality of their client hard to accept, and 33.6% confessed that they suffered emotional distress afterward. About half of the women who had paid sex had only done so on the condition that their client use a condom, which is possibly one major reason why there were few concerns regarding pregnancy or STDS. There were cases in which clients did not abide by the rules, but it seems that negotiating beforehand in most cases helped to avert problems later.
In the past, people have tended to regard "sex with a regular partner" as "safe sex." From the perspective of sexual health, however, it seems to be a greater risk for women's health. This does not mean that online dating sites are safe. For example, in cases of paid sex, 7.5% responded that they had been stalked and 6.5% were photographed or filmed without their consent. But these problems are also occurring at almost the same rate to women with a regular partner.
Dispelling the myth that sex with a regular partner is always safe and promoting the use of condoms will help to improve the sexual health of women.
We have a website called "sexba" (http://www.sexba.jp/) for the discussion of safer sex issues. It's based on the idea that "You feel better if you feel safe." Please visit our website for more information on the survey results and upcoming events!