THE CONDOM QUANDARY

Interview respondents said that health authorities were at a great disadvantage when
working with the PSB. Moyu said that during the 2014 vice raids, when the PSB didn’t allow
condoms to be displayed, local health and public security officials convened a coordination
council on the issue:
The public security department is also a work unit for banning drugs and
preventing AIDS, but when coordinating with them we couldn’t say it was for the
health of call girls, or say that there were call girls. If we did, they’d be subjected
to a crackdown. It’s like our province has an AIDS Prevention Office and has the
AIDS Prevention Office coordinate with the PSB, saying they want to put out AIDS
prevention items, but not using the word “condom.” To tell the truth, the “higherups”
declare that there’s no problem, but when it comes to implementation by local
police, it’s another story. 158
In some places however, HIV work has gained the enthusiastic support of the PSB, as the
local police force is more open and collaborative. A CBO staff person who was interviewed
told of running into a police vice raid once while engaged in outreach and being forced to
stop. One of the organizations then communicated with the PSB through the local CDC to
gain their understanding and support. The PSB then said it would do its best to cooperate
with their outreach work. From then on, the CBO and the PSB were on very friendly terms,
and when that organization was later subjected to extortion by an organized crime gang,
the local police intervened and assisted the CBO. That staff member said, “The smooth
performance of our daily work is largely thanks to the protective presence of the police.” 159
Xiao Li, a PSB officer, said:
[Whether or not to put condoms out] I feel this is a question of two departments
coordinating with each other. But how do we coordinate? If they [condoms] are
put out, that suggests that the PSB tacitly approves of prostitution being carried
out at that venue. If they’re not put out, there’s no way for the Center for Disease
Control to reduce the spread of STDs and HIV. Every department thinks of its own
problems and difficulties, so the two need to discuss them together. Here in our
jurisdiction the police haven’t done that; it requires those at the higher levels to
develop favorable policies. This is a problem of national law and not something
that any public security department or Center for Disease Control can resolve. 160
A health official interviewed for this report called for an end to the crackdown on sex work,
as it directly impacts on HIV prevention work and distribution of condoms:
55