SEX WORK AND THE LAW - HIV/AIDS Data Hub

East Asia
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EAST ASIA
5.1 Overview
Punitive laws and law enforcement practices are applied to sex workers throughout East
Asia. Detention facilities that house sex workers are reported to exist in mainland China
and Republic of Korea (South Korea).
There has been some experience in regulation of sex work in East Asia. Licensing systems
that require periodic STI tests of sex workers have operated in parts of Taiwan for many
years, and existed in South Korea prior to 2004. In Taiwan, a new licensing system for
red-light districts commenced in 2011. During colonial times, brothels in some of China’s
European settlements were licensed (e.g., Shanghai). This was intended to address the
spread of STIs.
Independent sex workers can operate legally as sole operators in Hong Kong. However,
soliciting is illegal. Some illegal brothels are associated with organized crime syndicates.
Examples of community-based advocacy for a less punitive approach to sex work in East
Asia include the following:
The Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters, COSWAS, which has advocated for
non-discriminatory laws that protect health and safety of sex workers in Taiwan.
The China Sex Worker Organizations Network Forum, which has documented the
impact of the 2010 police crackdown on sex work and HIV responses in mainland
China.
Sex worker organizations in Hong Kong (Zi Teng and the JJJ Association), which
have formed cooperative arrangements with police to address police abuses of sex
workers’ rights.
100% condom use programmes (CUPs) in China and Mongolia have engaged public
security officials and police officers in cooperative arrangements with health officials
to enable HIV prevention activities to occur among sex workers. Although these 100%
CUPs have reportedly had some beneficial HIV prevention outcomes in the short term,
the human rights implications of lack of provisions for informed consent to testing and
voluntary participation in programmes have raised concerns.
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