Issue No. 16 (January 2006)

Table of Content

WTO and Zi Teng
WTO and Sex Work
Migrant Sex Workers
Public education to eliminate discrimination against sex workers
Networking with local, regional and international partners
Services and supports for sex workers
Special News

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Message from the Editor :

After 1 year’s ‘rest’, the new Zi Teng newsletter is published again. We have to apologize for the undesirable ‘rest’. Since we did not have time and the manpower to work on the newsletter, we had to let the newsletter ‘rest’ for 1 year. Please accept our apology.

Zi Teng has entered into her 10^th year. Usually, people or organizations will try to list out what they have achieved or contributed to the society/target groups at their 10^th anniversary. We did have similar idea, especially when we see how Zi Teng gradually expands the size of its network and sex worker programs. Nonetheless, when we realized that the decriminalization of sex work, which is one of Zi Teng’s main goals, is still far to be achieved, we hesitated. If sex workers are not yet decriminalized, how dare we say we have ‘achieved something’?

It is undoubtedly not an easy job for an organization in Zi Teng’s small scale to survive for 10 years. We still believe that it is a right timing for us to share with you Zi Teng’s work. We dare not say that they are very magnificent achievements, which vastly change the livelihood or public image of sex workers, but both the society and sex workers did positively change their attitudes towards sex industry upon Zi Teng’s 10 years’ work.

In this issue, we will briefly share with you the works of Zi Teng in different areas, and in different regions, and what are resulted from Zi Teng’s works. The 6^th World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference was just held in Hong Kong, so let us start from the activities which Zi Teng organized and participated during the WTO Conference, to review what Zi Teng did in the past ten years!

WTO and Zi Teng

The 6^th WTO Ministerial Conference just came to an end on December 18 2005. Together with other local and overseas organizations, Zi Teng joined and organized different anti-WTO activities, to urge the WTO members and the governments thereof to pay more attention to the poor population. During December 13 to 18, we joined the public rally, demonstration, and organized some cultural activities, reminding the society how sex workers are seriously and adversely affected by the globalization trend. At the same time, it is also the International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers on December 17. Zi Teng staff, volunteers, and friends, marched to the police headquarters with sex worker concern organizations from Cambodia, Thailand, Taiwan, Japan, Mainland China, Australia and New York. We declared our statement and condemned the police for abusing their power. We urged them to revise their operation guidelines to better monitor police operation. During the demonstration, all of us marched with red scarf, in which the red color symbolizes the solidarity and power among sex workers in the world.

What is sad about the 6^th WTO Ministerial Conference is that, the police abused their power and turned to use their truncheon, tear-gas, water cannon, pepper spray and bean-bag bullet to deal with the protestors. Our Cambodian friends were injured by the tear-gas. Our Taiwanese friends, one of our staff and other protestors were even beaten and detained. The overuse of violence of the Hong Kong police no doubt defames all Hong Kong people.

Most of all, the Hong Kong police arrested and charged 14 protestors from Korea, Japan, Taiwan and China with ‘unlawful assembly’. 11 protesters were released on 11 Jan 2006, while 3 Koreans were still charged.

The abuse of police power such as physical abuses, strip search, which sex workers experience, is indeed as intolerable as the one anti-WTO protestors experience. We will continue to urge the police to stop violence against sex workers, also we will continue to support the detainees. We will join hand in hand with other organizations and friends to force the Hong Kong government to release the detainees immediately.

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WTO and Sex Work by LIO

During the WTO Conference, Zi Teng organized some cultural exchanges, including visits, exhibitions and public rallies, with other overseas sex workers and sex worker concern organizations. We were often asked while the liberalization of trade, globalization and protectionism may create obstacles particularly for farmers, common labors and migrant workers, what is the correlation between WTO and sex workers?

People who raise such questions are indeed, to some extent, questioning the work nature and value of sex workers/sex work. Sex workers appear to them as illegitimate workers, or even “non-human”, who do not need human rights and due respect. Sex workers are valueless to them. Hence, while WTO and globalization is believed to affect everyone and every occupation in the world, sex workers are not expected to be involved.

In fact, sex workers are closely related to issues like WTO, globalization and protectionism. Not only they are human beings who have dignity and human respect, also they are legitimate labors, which means that they are directly exploited by the globalization trend.

WTO causes rural economic bankruptcy
Peasants become sex workers

Globalization is often associated with the advancement of technology, the rapid development of trade and the liberalization of trade. Different governments and the international corporations often claim that WTO helps to remove the restrictions on trade. They believe that WTO helps to foster trade, which further leads to an increase in people’s living standard, as well as bringing many positive outcomes to human mankind. However, what we see is that, the livelihoods of millions of peasants in both developing and developed countries are ruined by the large influx of imported agricultural products. They cannot earn their living after the market is opened. They lost their farmlands, everything and even their lives (There were at least 4 anti-WTO Korean peasants killing themselves or being killed by Korean police in November in 2005). When the price of agricultural products decreases, the income of peasants decreases. Their incomes are so insufficient that most of them were indebted. They then had to sell their farmlands and work in the factories in urban areas, facing the exploitation of factory owners. The female population is particularly vulnerable to the economic breakdown. Women are usually the first to be fired, to have wage-cut in economy depression. Under this situation, they have no choice but turn to the sex industry to earn their living. In other words, globalization accelerates the feminization of poverty. In general, WTO causes the breakdown and bankruptcy of rural economy, that numerous peasants thus turn to the sex industry to earn a living.

WTO removes trade restrictions Restrictions on sex trade persist

The main goal of the WTO is to promote free trade, to lift all restrictions on the buying and selling of services or commodities. However, what we see is how liberalization of trade helps the international corporations to increase their gross profits, and liberalization of trade is never applicable to the buying and selling of sex services. The promotion of free sex trade is never on the agenda of WTO or other trade unions. The buying and selling of sex services are seldom respected and accepted as a kind of trade or service. Sex trade is more often devalued. Not only are the restrictions on sex trade not removed, also there are different kinds of restrictions set upon it. Sex trade between sex workers and their customers are often penalized. For instance, sex workers working in China and Thailand will be fined. In China, sex workers will be fined of RMB 5,000 for breaching the public order ordinance. On the other hand, even though the buying and selling of sex is not penalized, there are still many restrictions discouraging the sex industry. For instance, it is not illegal to be a sex worker or to buy sex services in Hong Kong, however, it is against the law if sex workers advertise for their business (soliciting for immoral purposes). How unreasonable this logic is! A sex worker will be arrested if he or she actively earns his/her living! Sex trade has long been penalized and devalued. It has also long been restricted by numerous unreasonable laws and regulations. Whether sex trade is directly penalized or restricted, such restrictions certainly infringe the principle of WTO.

WTO widens income gap Worsens working environment of migrant sex workers

The advancement of technology shortens the geographical distance between nations, which further facilitates the migration of human activities. However, agreement such as the “Agreement on Government Procurement”, which is an agreement brought by WTO, further increases the unemployment in occupations like the building sector, widens the income gap between the rich and the poor. A sector of the local citizens may put the blame of poverty, unemployment, or underemployment on the migrants. Neither the local government is willing to stop the local citizens from blaming so, as the blame on migrants helps distracting the local population’ discontent away from the government. Migrant workers become scapegoat, who are discriminated by the local population, expelled or even physically abused. For instance, since they lack public support, the police can freely arrest and beat them. Migrant sex workers, with double identity of migrant and sex workers are expected to receive double discrimination. Besides, the local government may set different working barriers on migrants, say, complicated and long time visa application, the frequent raid of police or immigration department. The government policy encourages the local population’s discriminative attitudes towards migrants. Migrants have thus to deal with an unfair, unfriendly living and working environment. As a consequence, sex workers who are interested to work in another county will also be affected, migrant workers who used to work in non-sex industry may turn to work in the sex industry so as to get rid of the discriminative and tough working environment.

WTO leads to an increase in HIV/AIDS medicine costs Increase risks for sex workers

The most direct impact of globalization and WTO on sex workers is the cost of HIV/AIDS treatment/medicine. In order to facilitate the trade of medical equipment, and to protect the huge gross profits of pharmaceutical manufacturers, effective medicine is often sold at high price and in fixed quota. Thus most of the expensive but effective medicine is sold to the rich or developed countries. On the other hand, poorer or developing countries can hardly import the effective HIV/AIDS medicine because of the lack of economic resources. As a consequence, sex workers, who are vulnerable to HIV/AIDS and STD (sexually transmitted diseases), are exposed to greater risk of getting infected or death.

Sex work has long existed in the world., but sex workers are often excluded from the mainstream discourses and the mainstream society, as if they do not belong to the existing world, or they never exist. They are not expected to take part in any kind of social activities, political discussions including the WTO-related activities. Even standing on the same principle, some anti-WTO organizations indeed do not really want to include sex workers in their actions, as if sex workers are not ‘qualified’ to be their peers. Some human rights groups even ignore sex workers’ voices and plights, as if sex workers should not have any human rights.

An individual may simultaneously have a number of identities. Sex worker is a member of the community. He/she is also a father/mother, a son/daughter, a man/woman/transgender/disabled. Even he/she comes from another country, he/she still contributes to the community. It is definitely groundless and ridiculous to exclude sex workers from the mainstream discourses and daily events. It is also ridiculous and stupid to ask question like: what is the correlation between sex workers and WTO/any kind of socio-political issues.

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^{Migrant Sex Workers}

Since the establishment of Zi Teng in 1996, we aim to provide a platform for sex workers to exchange experiences and information with other sex workers. We have increased the scope of services and supports provided to sex workers. We not only provide hotline, legal aids and occupational health information for sex workers, we also pay much attention to gaining public acceptance for sex workers. At present, we not only focus on local sex workers in Hong Kong, also we pay attention to migrant sex workers (mainly from China, also some are from Cambodia, Thailand, Vietnam and so on) in the global migration trend.

High unemployment rate in China
0.2 billions of excessive rural manpower

In the past 20 years, the GNP of China has been increased by 9% every year. The economic growth also brings serious occupational accident and acute unemployment rate. Although the official unemployment rate among cities and towns remains stable at a rate of 4.5% in the past few years, it is commonly believed that the unemployment rate reaches 15%. There are over 0.2 billons of excessive rural manpower. The lay-off workers, rural dwellers are the sector to bear the negative economic consequences. Based on social and economic structural factors, unemployment is more prevalent among women. With heavy economic burden and limited choices of well-paid jobs, a large proportion of the rural population has to work outside their hometown in the factories, or work in the sex industry. Also, there are many come to work in Hong Kong.

Migrant sex workers shoulder family burden

The working environment of mainland migrant sex workers was abominable with long working hours and low income. It no doubt is not a satisfactory work. Yet, as they received very low income in mainland, they decide to solve their families’ economic difficulties by taking risk to work in Hong Kong. The fact that migrant sex workers work for the sake of families may shock the public. The public often perceives mainland migrant sex workers in a negative way, as if all migrant sex workers are money-oriented and come to Hong Kong out of cupidity. However, the truth is that, they have to make such a choice because they are shouldering the family burden and there is not any other alternative to earn a living. Thus, stigmatization of them not only cannot improve their abominable working environment, neither can it help them to cope with their family burden. It only further marginalizes them, making them more helpless.

Hong Kong law further marginalizes migrant sex workers

Being the economic and financial center in Asia, Hong Kong has become one of the most popular destinations among international tourists and businessmen. The lift on restrictions of getting a visa further attracts more mainland citizens to come to Hong Kong. However, not everybody can benefit from the simplified visa application and immigration procedures. Some jobs are not eligible for applying Hong Kong working visas, and sex work is one example. The fact that sex workers are denied of worker status further marginalizes them. They cannot work in Hong Kong legally. They lack support from the society that villains, and even police, are able to brazenly suppress them and exploit their basic working and legal rights. As a sex worker concern organization, we believe that every woman/man has the right to choose her/his job. The denial of sex work as a kind of ‘work’ will only encourage sex workers coming to Hong Kong illegally, which will further push them into the ‘black market’ and deteriorating their working environment. As sex workers are not legitimate worker, they are not protected by law, which further makes them vulnerable to villains. On the other hand, police and the Immigration Department can also brazenly abuse their power and suppress sex workers in different ways, such as beating, unreasonable arrest, framing, threatening them to admit guilty, and so on. Eventually the working environment of sex workers deteriorates. Since sex workers do not have any channel to learn about the Hong Kong judiciary system, most migrant sex workers are not aware of their legal rights and human rights. In general, they believe that it is unfair in the legal system in Hong Kong.

Since Zi Teng started in 2002 the service for mainland migrant sex workers in Hong Kong, we often receive requests for help. So far 204 women were benefited by our free gynecological checkups whereas we received about 170 enquiries every month on health and legal issues. Besides, we have to handle cases of arrested women who seek help almost every month. Among these cases, many cover the issue of abuse of power by the police, such as the use of violence or verbal attacks.

Migrant research by Zi Teng

In 2004, Zi Teng conducted a research on Chinese migrant sex workers’ situation. We aimed to understand the situation of mainland migrant sex workers in Hong Kong and their difficulties, so as to tailor them the most suitable services. We would also like to increase the public understanding about migrant sex workers in Hong Kong, as well as to investigate into the issue of power abuse on migrant sex workers by police and the Immigration Department. This research is put in two overseas publications: the Research for Sex Work No. 9 and the bibliography of the Encyclopedia of Prostitution.

Unsafe sex requested by customers increase risk of getting infected

Generally, mainland migrant sex workers come to Hong Kong because of the economic difficulties, but they have to deal with the poor working environment, in which customers request unsafe sex. Most of the mainland migrant sex workers show much concern on health. They often ask customers to use condoms. Unfortunately, they sometimes are forced by customers, who do not care about safe sex, to perform unsafe sex. They have to do so to safeguard their business. In 2000, there were research findings showing how customers in Shanghai and Wuhan will not wear condoms for both sex workers’ and their own sake. They would even suggest paying more in return for sex without condom. According to the male customer-oriented research done in 2004 by the Center of Epidemiology and Biostatistics of the School of Public Health of the Chinese University of Hong Kong, respondents were not well aware of HIV/AIDS knowledge. Neither did they have enough consciousness to prevent HIV/AIDS. They believed they would not easily be infected. Also they believed that HIV/AIDS was not really a big deal that they did not care about safe sex. Almost half of the respondents (49.2%) had sex with female sex workers in Hong Kong and China. Among those who had sex with sex workers in Hong Kong in the past six months (415 respondents), 35.5% admitted that they did not always wear condom in each transaction. Among those who had sex with sex workers in China in the past six months, 56% admitted that they did not always wear condom in each transaction. These findings completely dissolve the fallacy in which sex workers are the source of infection. In our research, we see the passivity in sex trade of sex workers. If the customers are unwilling to have safe sex, their risk of being infected increases. Rather than describing sex workers as the source of infection, it is better to describe them as victims who lose their bargaining power for livelihood.

Police arrest migrant sex workers with condoms as evidence

Indirectly encourage unsafe sex

Even though sex workers are not working, the police still arrest them if sex workers are found out possessing condoms. The condoms searched in the hotel room are often used as evidence by police to charge sex workers. This discourages sex workers to carry condoms, which ends up increasing their risk of getting infected at work. The unreasonable action by the police attaches a negative label to condoms. On one hand, the government spends enormous resources to promote safe sex every year, on the other hand, condoms are used as an evidence to arrest sex workers. With such paradoxical attitude, the government not only wastes the public resources, also indirectly encourages unsafe sex. Such a meaningless, ridiculous policy completely contradicts what the government promotes about safe sex. It further speeds up the spread of infection and endangering the public health.

Migrant sex workers lacking public medical supports

When suspecting of STD infection, most sex workers will not leave the matter unsettled but are quick to cope with it. Yet, neither can they afford the expensive medical fee, nor they know where they can obtain medical checkups. While local sex residents receive free medical services, non-residents have to pay HKD 700 for medical services. It even costs them more to visit private doctors. As migrant sex workers cannot obtain medical treatment, they can only buy medicines themselves or deal with the problem after they go back to their hometown. When customers refuse safe sex, they will easily be infected, plus the fact that the society does not provide them medical support, it is more probable for STD being spread in the community, endangering the public health.

Change attitudes towards migrant sex workers Better their working environment

In fact, many sex workers had been robbed, harassed by the triad society, physically abused, denied of sex service payment, or even raped by the customers. However, as they are not legal labor, they dare not call the police for fear that they cannot continue to work. Seeing the disadvantaged position of migrant sex workers, the villains thus target on them, turning sex industry into a hotbed of crimes.

A complete different picture of Mainland migrant sex worker is indeed presented from the above research findings, is this not the right timing for most of us to change our negative, unfriendly attitudes towards mainland migrant sex workers? Only when we change our attitudes towards migrant sex workers, they can then improve their working environment.

Networking with overseas sex worker concern organizations and academics Joint support for sex workers

In order to improve the services and supports, which mainly cater to sex workers from Mainland China, on one hand, we cooperate with Mainland organizations to organize sex worker programs, say providing sex workers legal and working information of destinations, occupational health information and so on. On the other hand, we network with overseas sex worker organizations to provide migrant sex workers information in different regions, working and legal information, so as to reduce their risk of being trafficked. To date we have established stable network with different organizations such as overseas sex worker organizations, service providers, professionals, academics, and AIDS concern organizations.

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Hong Kong

Clinic operated by voluntary doctors for migrant sex workers

Medical services, including referral and medical checkups were first introduced in 2002. Volunteer doctors were in charge of these services. The setup of medical services enables sex workers, especially migrant sex workers, to obtain adequate aids. Migrant sex workers cannot obtain free medical checkup from local government, the provision of free clinic and medical services thus enable migrant sex workers to get adequate service and supports. In coming months, we are going to further establish our medical services and clinic in Macau. We will also extend our clinic service to Zhuhai. In addition, we have set up Chinese clinic, where sex workers in Hong Kong are able to obtain medical advices and nutrition/health care-related information from our voluntary Chinese medicine doctors.

Organizing workshops to build up sex workers’ capacities

Zi Teng always believes that sex work is a kind of work. We not only fight for the basic human and labor rights with sex workers, we also organize different workshops, trainings to increase their working skills and confidence. So far, we have provided local and migrant sex workers English classes, skill improvement classes, law classes, and massage skills classes to raise their negotiation power with customers. Apart from skills enhancement, we also make use of workshops and trainings to improve sex workers’ rights consciousness. We aim to enhance their concern and awareness in occupational health and safety, to increase their self-protection abilities. In order to achieve this aim, we provide health and work safety information as well as legal information for sex workers. We have just made a VCD on occupational safety. We intend to make use of the VCD to let new-entry sex workers, particularly the ‘one-apartment-one women’, learn more about self-protection, and the occupational safety and health information.

Providing legal aids

Though sex work is not illegal in Hong Kong, there are numerous traps and obstacles in the written law, which discourage the business of sex workers. The police and the Immigration department often set traps to sex workers, framing and even jailing them without strong reasons. The Immigration Department often arrests Mainland visitors who have not even breached any condition of stay. In order to cope with the unreasonable arrest and operation of law enforcers, not only we provide legal information and hotline enquiries, we also contact lawyers and provide assistances for arrested sex workers. Recently, there was a case in which a woman from Mainland China was framed of ‘soliciting for immoral purposes’. During her custody, we helped her to contact with her son, visiting her regularly, as well as finding her the suitable lawyer and barrister. We are glad that she can protect her reputation and released. Nonetheless, there are very few cases where innocent sex workers can win over the law enforcers. The judges are more inclined to believe in the words and accusation of law enforcers. So far, there are still numerous cases in which sex workers are unreasonably arrested and charged by law enforcers.

Organizing interest groups and social gatherings

In order to consolidate the support network among sex workers, and to strengthen the linkage between sex workers and Zi Teng, Zi Teng organizes social activities unevenly. We organize interest groups such as tarot classes, dancing classes, yoga classes for sex workers. On December 19, we organized a Christmas tour for migrant sex workers. We went to Tsimshatsui with them to enjoy the outdoor Christmas decorations. Furthermore, we held a Christmas party on December 24 to have fun with sex workers. Both Zi Teng staff and sex workers enjoyed the party much.

Mainland China

Similar to the services in Hong Kong, Zi Teng provides legal aids, hotline services, and outreach services for sex workers in Mainland China. Ever since the breakdown of the rural economy, peasants have to leave their hometown to work in the urban areas. As there is not enough job opportunity, neither is the working environment satisfactory, many peasants have to choose to enter the sex industry. They form as a large group of migrant sex workers, who are highly mobile. In the 21^st century, it is estimated that there are more than ten million sex workers in China.

So far, Zi Teng has established programs in regions like Qingdao, the border areas in Yunan, Shanghai. We aim to provide services for Mainland sex workers. We also aim to set up service models for sex workers service providers so that they can eventually run the program independently and stably on their own. We are glad that our Qingdao program has come to a mature stage, where sex workers are able to try to run the program on their own. This enables sex workers in the region to obtain more concrete medical and referral services. On the other hand, through running the program on their own, sex workers can increase their organizational skills. They can also come up with better services and programs, which caters more to the needs of their sex worker counterparts.

Macau

Due to the proximity, sex workers from Mainland China not only travel cross-provincially, they also work in Macau and Hong Kong. Zi Teng makes use of outreach service to try establishing relationship with the sex worker community. So far, we have gradually established a stable and expanding network in the Mainland sex worker community. The drop in center in Macau is ready to provide services. We are also trying to set up clinic in Macau so as to further cater to the needs of sex workers.

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