Skip to main content

Story: Sex work

Why do clients buy sex?

Video file

Clients may choose to purchase sex for many different reasons. The loss of a partner may prompt the purchase of casual sex. Some clients seek sexual services that are not offered by long-term partners. Others want to avoid the emotional, and sometimes ongoing financial, obligations associated with intimate relationships. In this extract from the 1994 documentary A double standard, a man talks about his interest in sex 'without strings attached' and how he was able to purchase this from sex workers.

Using this item

Top Shelf Productions

Reference: A Double Standard. Producer, Vincent Burke; director Clare O'Leary. Auckland: Top Shelf Productions, 1994.

This item has been provided for private study purposes (such as school projects, family and local history research) and any published reproduction (print or electronic) may infringe copyright law. It is the responsibility of the user of any material to obtain clearance from the copyright holder.

All images & media in this story

How to cite this page

Jan Jordan, Sex work – Sex workers and clients, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/en/video/29388/why-do-clients-buy-sex (accessed 4 June 2026).

Story by Jan Jordan, published 30 May 2011.