SEX WORK AND THE LAW - HIV/AIDS Data Hub

Sex workers working independently are more vulnerable to arrest and police abuses than
workers at licensed establishments. A 2003 study conducted in Pasay City found that streetbased
sex workers often refused to accept free condoms from outreach workers because
they feared police would use them as evidence of illegal conduct. Police impeded their
access to HIV prevention services by confiscating condoms, using possession of condoms
as evidence of sex work, or arresting them for vagrancy. 526
In 2011 police detained 57 freelance sex workers in Bacolod City for the purpose of health
examinations by the Bacolod City Health Office. 527 Those who were diagnosed with STIs
were provided with treatment. The freelance sex workers were targeted because, unlike
those working at entertainment establishments, they are not required to have regular
STI tests as a condition of employment. The City Police Director ordered a city-wide
crackdown on sex workers due to concerns about STIs. As part of the crackdown, police
also inspected entertainment establishments to check that female employees had ‘pink
cards’, which provide proof that an employee has attended for STI check-ups. 528
Health insurance
Most establishment-based sex workers are not provided with health insurance. Employers
take advantage of a loophole in relevant employment laws by claiming that sex workers
are not regular employees because they are commission-based. 529
6.7.3 Efforts to improve the legal environment
The consultation convened in 2011 by UNDP, UNFPA and UNAIDS to discuss the Philippines
draft chapter identified the following efforts to improve the legal environment:
There is a current provision in a proposed amendment to the AIDS Law (Republic Act
8504), which prohibits the use of condoms as evidence for prostitution.
In Davao City, the association of entertainers negotiated with establishments to
provide sex workers with health and social benefits.
In Angeles City, some establishments provided some benefits to sex workers through
the Leagues of Angeles City of Establishment Managers, including health insurance
and social security.
In the cities of Angeles, Cebu and Iloilo, some NGOs and barangay 530 councils provided
educational opportunities for sex workers such as literacy and livelihood alternatives.
In Marikina and Cebu cities, faith-based groups provide sex workers with alternative
livelihoods.
In the cities of Olongapo and Angeles, sex workers have regular meetings with the
bar owners’ association and local government authorities.
The Cebu City Health Office reportedly initiates meetings between sex workers/
entertainers and bar owners.
526 Human Rights Watch, Philippines: Unprotected: Sex, Condoms and the Human Right to Health, 5 May
2004, C1606.
527 Nemes A. (2011) CHO helps sex workers with STD, Visayan Daily Star (electronic edition), 18 July 2011.
528 Dangcalan D. (2011) 45 Commercial sex workers nabbed in Bacolod, The Freeman 19 July 2011.
529 Information provided at country consultation workshop, 6 October 2011.
530 A barangay is the smallest administrative unit in the Philippines, equivalent to a village, district or ward.
152