The problems with this report are so many that it would not be possible to catalogue them all, rather it is important to look at the bigger picture of how these responses were obtained from men and how they were interpreted and reported, to demonstrate that one can deduce no new knowledge from it.

One objective appears to have been to provide a vehicle into which they could inject their largely erroneous interpretation of research in sex work. This demonstrates their remarkably facile understanding of sex work. For instance they attempt to compare men's assesments with that of the women, which led to headlines about 'deluded punters'. They never actually asked the women, but relied on an ideological position that women in sex work hate their job and derive no satisfaction from it. There are two major problems with this. The first is the fundamental misunderstanding of the nature of sex work, which Elizabeth alludes to, and has described in her research on strip clubs . This is work and the successful sex worker strives to satisfy her client, even if it is providing the illusion of a consensually satisfying relationship. Both partners indulge in a certain degree of fantasy. The other problem is that there is research on sexual satisfaction in sex work, for instance Anna Kontula' s paper "Sex workers view to sexual pleasure¹ ".

Finally this research is seriously compromised ethically, without any oversight or consent, or intent to benefit the population of men studied, in fact the opposite. There is no attempt at confidentiality, researchers were traumatised and most likely the subjects too, on learning of the deception. Unethical research should not be published, and indeed could not have been published, had they not resorted to publishing it themselves.

Updates

A consortium of researchers and other experts in sex work have submitted a critique of the report to the Scottish Parliament, and investigations are under way as to how public authorities funded unethical research.

Margo MacDonald MSP (Member of Scottish Parliament), has also written a critique in Scottish newspapers. Another article was published on May 5th in the The Scotsman.

^1. Seksuaalisuus seksityössä (In Finnish with English summary, as pdf . English translation in press, as 'The sex worker and her pleasure' Current Sociology ✦ July 2008 ✦ Vol. 56(4): 605–620)

Michael Goodyear