THE CONDOM QUANDARY

I have no good impression and trust of those so called government people. They
do such shameful things with the money from the government! I guess they had
quotas to fulfill during that time, so they tortured me to confess. 146
The fear of government authorities among sex workers as a group may affect their
willingness to accept and obtain government services, and the ability of public health
institutions to provide services may also be weakened. Zhao Ke, a health worker, said that
prior to the vice raids, managers tacitly approved of health department staff going to venues
for outreach and intervention; but after the vice raids, managers would say that their venues
had no target groups requiring intervention. 147
5.3.4 Limited coordination between departments
Interviews with key informants--local health authorities, managers of sex work venues,
CBOs and PSB officers --indicate that crackdowns on sex work greatly decrease the ability
of health departments and CBOs to conduct HIV prevention work and distribute condoms to
sex workers. The problem is compounded by the limited communication and coordination
between health and public security departments.
Health officers and CBO staff who were interviewed for this report said that PSB law
enforcement activity is a factor that always has to be considered in intervention work
targeting sex workers as a group. Interview respondents said that the police carry out
inspections at entertainment venues on major holidays or around major conferences, or
they target specific premises for searches based on reports from members of the public. 148
Xiao Zhang, a health worker, said raids were carried out all over his city in a crackdown
targeting sex workers in saunas and hair salons in 2014. In addition to arrests made at the
scene, police also designated condoms they found as key evidence of prostitution. 149 Moyu,
a health worker in southeastern China, said that during large-scale vice raids in his city in
2014, entertainment venues were not allowed to display condoms. 150 These crackdowns
have a chilling effect on the sex industry. Mother Binbin, manager of an establishment for
female sex workers, explained:
Starting last year, business hasn’t been good. Now there’s just seven or eight
[customers] all day, from morning to night. In the past we’d have a dozen or so
at night alone. Since those higher ups called for vice raids, a lot of people have
stayed home, and business has been terrible. 151
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