The two female doctors are hoping that this will impact the laws on prostitution when a full study is released from their further findings. They see a problem in the crime of prostitution being inherently gendered, with males being seen as criminals but females going overlooked.
From their site:
Prostitution is often seen as “violence against women” and recent policy debates make these links, but can this/does this apply to women who buy sex, and what do women who buy sex think about these suggestions?
Dr Kingston said: “We have made some fascinating early findings, but we still have much work to do. We are seeking to explore motivations and experiences of women who book escorts; who and where they buy sex from and to explore how physical and sexual safety is negotiated.”
This study is an excellent example of the type of research that should be done to advance the libertarian principle of legalizing prostitution. In some countries, it is a crime to buy sex, but not to sell it, inherently criminalizing only one gender for what is a consensual act. Prostitution is only a crime if it is forced, and then it is rape, not a voluntary exchange between two consenting parties. Now that women are finally starting to get into the game, buying sex from men, we may actually see some reform to our criminal justice systems in a positive, meaning more libertarian, way.