While large amounts of research and governmental policy worldwide have focused on prostitution, little of this attention has been focused on the men who buy women for prostitution. Indeed, the male purchase of the services of prostitutes is largely invisible and only off-handedly legislated against. This article examines the meaning of the demand for prostitution and reviews two qualitative studies of buyers conducted by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women (CATW). Myths about why men buy women in prostitution are described as strategies for men to escape responsibility for their sexual abuse of women in prostitution. The many deleterious consequences for women of legalized prostitution are enumerated, including the generational transmission of patriarchal attitudes that teach men and boys to treat women as subordinates. While some proponents of legalized prostitution make distinctions between voluntary and forced prostitution, the author argues that male customers most often do not make these distinctions themselves and thus enable the entire system of sexual exploitation. The backgrounds, education, and occupations of buyers are described, as well as their demands, condom use, and use of violence. It is crucial that governments respond to the male violence and sexual exploitation of women in prostitution by legislating against its demand, as did the Swedish law that prohibits the purchase of sexual services and penalizes the buyer. Indeed, research, policy, and programs that combat the demand for prostitution are a progressive step toward combating the sexual exploitation of women and girls. References