16% of Senior Citizens Have Sex with Prostitutes

As much as those of us under 30 hate to admit it, old people like to get busy too. According to one recent study in Korea, Korean senior citizens are increasingly relying on prostitution to take care of their mature sexual urges. Almost 2 out of every 10 older Korean citizens has paid for sex. And of those, 56% have bought sex up to five times in the past couple years. What does this increased demand for commercial sex by Korea's older population mean for younger Korean women and girls? And what does it mean for the seniors themselves?

For one, rampant demand for prostitution in Korea, like rampant demand for prostitution anywhere else, causes an influx of women and girls in prostitution. When the number of lonely old-timers with a pocket full of Viagra outstrips the number of young women who are willing to have sex with old men for money, traffickers make up the difference by forcing, tricking, and coercing young women into the commercial sex trade. And as the population in Korea ages, this dynamic is only getting worse.

This increased taste for prostitution among senior citizens also poses a significant public health risk. Only three percent of those surveyed said they use some form of protection when having commercial sex, a minuscule number. Because of the lack of safer sex practices, diseases like syphilis are on the rise in both the senior citizen population and among the women and girls who serve them. Another danger is the side-industry of fake sexual drugs that has popped up in areas seniors frequent while looking for sex. Some of the drugs have been found to be dangerous and even lethal when taken by people with certain health problems.

As far as I know, Korea is the first country to do a study specifically on the relationship between seniors and prostitution. In many Western nations, the stereotype of a "dirty old man" who predatorily seeks out young girls comes up whenever this subject is raised. But in the U.S., for example, we have very little concrete information on the relationship between human trafficking, prostitution, and the demand for commercial sex by older Americans. Why is this a subject so poorly studied?

Perhaps its something as simple as a discomfort with the sexuality of senior citizens. Perhaps it's a lack of acknowledgement that they might be a significant part of the population demanding sex with younger and younger women. It's difficult enough to think of an adult man seeking to buy sex from a child, but a man old enough to be her grandfather? Ewww. However, in order to address the serious social and public health issues that the widespread use of prostitution by seniors cause, we must address the issue of sexuality in this population. We need to understand why seniors are increasingly drawn to prostitution as a sexual outlet.

In Korea, older men's use of rampant prostitution is causing problems for both the women involved and the men themselves. Only once we acknowledge that we need to understand this can we begin to address it. So, someone, please get over your icky feelings and start researching.

Photo credit: moyerphotos