Sex workers, their clients and experts-about why men continue to buy sex According to statistics collected by the French SCELLES Foundation, the vast majority of people in the world selling sex services are women. Buyers are usually men. At the same time, the chances of encountering violence by customers for sex workers are from 45 to 75%. In developing countries, more than 40% of sex workers experience symptoms of depression, and more than 19% suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.