21 Questions about Sex Work

Basics

In Chinese, why are female prostitutes called “chicken”? Why is “using prostitute’s services” called “calling chicken”?

Allegedly, one of the reasons is that in Mandarin, the pronunciation for “calling chicken” and “using prostitutes’ services” is similar. However, the terms “calling chicken” and “chicken” are very vulgar and discourteous, derogatory remarks. More neutral forms of address would be sex workers and to provide sexual services or sex trades, etc.

What is “calling duck”?

Perhaps this is in the same poultry category, so hence male prostitutes are degraded to the name “duck” in Chinese.

What are the different types of “prostitutes”?

“Prostitutes” usually refer to female who provides sexual services. “Sex workers” is a more respectful form of address. Within the sex industry, the work sites for sex trades can vary. “Enjo-kosai” came from the Japanese phrase which means “compensated dating”. This usually refers to girls involved in sexual services. There are “escort girls” who do not have fixed work sites. Some of them do not work with middle person that collects commission. And there also can be under-aged sex workers. There are also Hong Kong local sex workers, and sex workers from the mainland relocated to Hong Kong for the sex trades; these mainland prostitutes are usually degraded.

Why would people seek services from a ladyboy?

“Gender-benders”, or “ladyboys”, refers to transgendered persons. Just as any commercial trades exist in accordance to supply and demand, transgendered persons’ services are also similar. Clients have special sentiments towards transgender persons which should be respected as personal preference. Unfortunately, because of societal misconstrued and prejudiced views of gender-benders, this group often faces serious discriminations.

How many sex workers are in Hong Kong? How many “Johns”?

The turnover rate of sex workers is high and the government’s demographic statistics do not account for this trade. So how will we know? No matter how many sex workers or their clients there are, because of serious societal discriminations, you might not notice their existence. But in reality, they are among us, and possibly within our family, group of friends, neighbours, etc.

Does Hong Kong still have incidents of girls being forced into prostitution?

Cannot say no, but these incidents’ numbers are unknown. However, from field work and studies, those who enter the trade willingly are not small in number. And like most other occupations, everyday there are those who leave, enter, and changed from other jobs into this industry.

What should “Johns” be aware of?

There is an unfavourable/degradable sense to the term “John”; they can also be referred to as clients or sex customers. To resort to sexual services, one must be aware of safe sex, and remember to wear condoms; however, more than one condom should not be used at the same time because of friction between two condoms, the chances of breakage are high. Please remember to pay for the service and treat sex workers with respect.

Within a sex trade, are all clients’ requests welcomed?

Sex workers are service providers, not commodities; within each sex trade, they are providing sexual services, and not selling their bodies. Each trade is an agreement between the sex worker and the client, and the client should not arbitrarily alter the agreement. If the sex worker is unwillingly being forced to commit sexual conducts, it is considered as indecent assault/rape and should be reported to the police immediately.

Misunderstandings

If providing sexual services is not illegal, why is there a need for anti-vice raids?

The reasons for anti-vice raids are usually used to attack organised sex rings or target against street-level disruptions, and possibly politically motivated. It is the police’s responsibility to maintain order; unfortunately, one-woman apartments which are in fact not illegal are also shaken up, causing serious consequences to the workers’ livelihoods. In fact, top-level police revealed during the Panel on Security of the Legislative Council in July 2008 that police estimates only 20% of one-woman apartments are involved with organised crimes; the other 80% are legal, individual operations. As can be seen, it is not inevitable to link sex workers with crimes.

Also, police’s abuse of power is a serious issue; for instance, when they carry out undercover operations, they solicit street sex workers, but at the end will charge sex workers with “Soliciting for an immoral purpose”. When their undercover operation focuses on one-woman apartments, some of them request for masturbation or intercourse, and often their use of forceful threats disturbs sex workers and their clients. When sex workers are in police custody, they are often requested to be strip searched several times a night.

Are families destroyed by sex workers?

There are many reasons for a person to seek out sexual services. If married couples or partners do not have good communications and trust, many problems may arise within families, and can be the key to ruining a family. Seeking sexual services and family harmony are actually not directly related. Even though there may be influences, sex workers are not the only ones responsible.

Are “visits to prostitutes” a societal problem?

Sex work and sex trades are adults’ voluntary sex options. And as the adult citizen’s rights to choose services, it is fundamentally not a societal problem. Sex works’ societal problem stems from the discrimination and prejudices towards sex workers. Current legislative policies not only do not assist in reflecting hardships and problems sex workers faces, instead they make the issue of sex work more problematic and marginalized, for instance, even though one-woman apartments are not illegal, under the current laws normal advertisement or marketing strategies cannot be carried out; one-woman apartments sex workers cannot hire workers, such as cashiers, security guards, cleaners, etc., hence cannot safeguard their working environments. Current laws force certain types of sex workers to go underground, causing security problems.

Do sex workers use drugs and gamble?

People from any occupations may use “soft drugs/medicines”, drugs and gamble. These are not habits of only sex workers.

Are sex workers the source of sexually transmitted diseases?

From epidemic and infectious diseases points of views, both clients and sex workers can be the source. Since anyone has the chance of getting or transmitting sexually transmitted diseases, everyone has the responsibility to carry out regular STI and HIV examinations, safe sex practices, etc.

Are sex workers controlled by the triads?

There are opportunities that triads can control or permeate into any occupation. If more discrimination and prejudices arise from the society, forcing sex workers to go underground, sex workers will not dare to report to the police if problems arises; hence, societal order will be more difficult to maintain.

Legal Issues

Is escort service/sex work illegal? Is “using prostitutes’ services” illegal?

This is not illegal if a sex worker hold a valid Hong Kong residential ID card (not limited to other conditions of stay), and is performing the trade in a private environment. Participants of heterosexual and female homosexual sex trades must be at least 16 of age, and male homosexual sex trades must be at least 21 years of age.

Are one-woman apartments illegal?

No. According to Hong Kong law, it is not a criminal offence to provide or receive sexual services. Under current legal interpretation, a “vice establishment” is defined as (a) the premises, vessel or place are or is used wholly or mainly by 2 or more persons for the purposes of prostitution; or (b) the premises, vessel or place are or is used wholly or mainly for or in connection with the organising or arranging of prostitution.

According to law, it is not an offence to engage in sex work individually. Current legislation compels sex workers to work alone in a private space, hence, sex workers have to face risks alone (i.e., robbery, murder, violence, rape, etc.)

Additionally, even though one-woman apartments’ sex workers manage their workplace individually, they are still surrounded by many legal legislations, such as “Tenant etc. permitting premises or vessel to be kept as a vice establishment’, risking evacuation by landlords, also ‘Living on earnings of prostitution of others” and cannot hire third parties to work for them (i.e., security guards, cleaners, etc.); hence cannot work under safe and low risks environments. For these reasons, there is a need to propose for decriminalisation of sex work.

Is “street-prostitution” illegal?

If a sex worker solicits clients in public spaces, she will violate “Soliciting for an immoral purpose”: Crimes Ordinance Section 147(1), “A person who in a public place or in view of the public- (a) solicits for any immoral purpose; or (b) loiters for the purpose of soliciting for any immoral purpose, shall be guilty of an offence and shall be liable on conviction to a fine of $10000 and to imprisonment for 6 months. (Amended 69 of 1990 s. 5)”

Key points from this section focus on “immoral” and “soliciting”. Hence, placing sexual services as immoral acts, and is continuously used in the courts. We believe the courts have no reason to be involved in voluntary sexual behaviors of adults, make moral judgments and apply criminal standards. Sex trade is one’s sexual desire and behavior; no one should determine another’s guilt based on an individual’s sexual desires and participants agreed upon behaviors. The interpretation of sexual services as immoral must be stopped immediately.

In terms of “soliciting others”, the law only targets the “solicitors” that can be the ones providing sexual services or their clients. Whether the sex trade agreement (immoral purpose) is successful or not, the solicitor may be charged. Unfortunately, police tends to enforce this more on the sexual service providers (sex workers). Rarely is the law enforced on the clients, hence the law enforcement process is filled with unnecessary and unfair moral judgments.

“Living on earnings of prostitution of others” is illegal, so did sex workers’ families and the newspapers that printed these sex workers’ ads commit criminal offences?

According to Hong Kong law, a person violates section 137 “Living on earnings of prostitution of others”, if he or she knowingly lives wholly or in part on the earnings of prostitution of another person. A person shall be presumed to be knowingly living on the earnings of prostitution, if he or she lives with a prostitute, or is habitually in the company of a prostitute, or if it is shown that he or she accepts money from the sex trades, or provides assistance to, or exercises control, direction or influence over another person into prostitution. The key point is whether the suppliers of these services are collecting payments from sex workers for the purposes of assisting them to carry out the sex trades, and whether those supplies and services will not be provided if that person is not a sex worker. Accepted payments must be closely related to the sex trade in order for the receiver to be criminally liable.

Job Search and Job Change

How do sex workers enter the profession?

Just like any other job entrants, a sex worker might be referred by a friend, go straight to work sites for interviews, or respond to recruitment advertisements, etc.

Why do sex workers choose this occupation?