Working with men means working with men who are prostitute-users (‘clients’) and men who are not.
The abolitionist movement has been key in highlighting prostitution as a system, that is showing that several actors play a role and should therefore be addressed. Besides prostituted persons, prostitute-users have been ignored for centuries, and thanks to the abolitionist advocacy, they are now considered for their real part in the system of prostitution: by demanding prostituted persons, they foster and support the system of prostitution and the oppression of women.
A first action of NGOs and activists has been to increase knowledge on prostitute-users in order to better understand the functioning of the system of prostitution. Many research and studies give us now more information about who the prostitute-users are: far from the myth of the lonely and desperate guy, they mainly are ‘the guys next door’, in a relationship.
Many campaign have been focusing on prostitute-users in the last years; they helped to raise awareness of the general audience on the role of prostitute-users in the system of prostitution.
Some men also [stand up->] against the system of prostitution.
in some countries, NGOs and governmental agencies have developed programs for men who have been prostitute-users in order to educate them to gender equality principles, inform them on the reality of prostitution and raise their awareness on the impact of prostitution for women and the society in general.
Finally, some more recent actions of the abolitionist movement aim at encouraging men to stand against the system of prostitution. Many men and boys, even the majority of them, are not prostitute-users and would not want to be. Such actions aim at giving them a voice and supporting them in their public stance against the system of prostitution. Through campaigns, video clips, petitions and pledges, men and boys are called upon to join the abolitionist movement and build a world free from prostitution.
