THE CONDOM QUANDARY

Therefore, providing HIV services alone is not enough; it is also crucial to have an enabling
legal, policy and law enforcement environment for an effective HIV response. World Health
Organization (WHO) recommends comprehensive condom and lubricant programming for
sex workers, as it has been found that consistent and correct use of male condoms reduces
sexual transmission of HIV and other STIs by up to 94%. 20 At the same time, in recognizing
that sex workers often face power imbalances that limit their ability to use condoms
with clients, WHO also recommends the creation of an enabling environment. Specific
recommendations to address the legal barriers for sex workers include decriminalization
of sex work; the elimination of the unjust application of non-criminal laws and regulations
against sex workers; and an end to the police practice of using possession of condoms as
evidence of prostitution and grounds for arrest. 21
Sex Work and the Law in Asia and Pacific is a review of the laws of 48 countries in the
region to assess the legal and policy framework and law enforcement practices that affect
the human rights of sex workers and impact on the effectiveness of HIV responses. The
review concludes that confiscation of condoms by police as evidence of illegal conduct or
to justify harassment and extortion is a widespread problem in the region. Countries where
sex workers report condom confiscation or police harassment for possessing condoms
include China, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Papua New Guinea, the
Philippines, Sri Lanka and Viet Nam. 22
1.3 The purpose of this study
Since the discovery of the first HIV cases in China in 1985, the Chinese government’s HIV
response has made impressive progress. Condoms are an effective tool in preventing HIV,
and the government has actively promoted their widespread use among key populations,
including sex workers. However, because sex work is illegal in China, sex workers also
regularly face law enforcement actions. Research has found that police use the presence
of condoms as supportive evidence of prostitution, directly undermining other government
policies and programs that are designed to distribute condoms to sex workers for HIV and
other STI prevention. 23
However, public debate on the impact of law enforcement on the HIV response is rare, and
limited by a lack of substantiated data on the issue. Little is known about law enforcement
operations in general; the extent to which the police are confiscating condoms as
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