More sex workers report abuse by police, survey finds

An increasing number of sex workers report being threatened or blackmailed by police, according to a survey conducted by Action for Reach Out (AFRO), a non-governmental organisation representing female sex workers' rights in Hong Kong.

The survey, which polled 200 sex workers in Hong Kong, found that nearly 10 per cent had experienced being threatened or blackmailed by police or individuals claiming to be police. Out of this figure, only about one-third admitted to being able to tell a fake police officer from a real one.

A similar survey conducted recently by local rights group Zi Teng also found more cases this year of undercover police receiving free sex or “massages” before making arrests on sex workers.

AFRO’s findings also stressed the increasing number of hurdles sex workers faced while conducting business. Most sex workers affected worked as private purveyors in “one woman/one brothel” premises (single bedroom apartments), which are legal in Hong Kong.

The number of customers requesting to not use a condom while having sex rose to 67 per cent in 2012, a significant increase from the last time the poll was conducted in 2007.

However, the average number of customers sex workers received forcefully demanding sex without a condom, dropped from 40 per cent in 2007, to 30 per cent in 2012.