bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

AN identity card system for prostitutes introduced to curb venereal disease more than 100 years ago should be re-introduced to curb the spread of AIDS, an academic has suggested.

  Hongkong University sociology lecturer Dr Carol Jones said the health merits of an identity card system for prostitutes had been recognised decades ago.

  In 1857 the Hongkong Government introduced a system for the registration and inspection of brothels at the request of the Royal Navy to stem widespread venereal disease among officers. But it gave up the system in 1894 after moral reformers had it abandoned in the United Kingdom.

  The Japanese set up their own system of inspecting Hongkong brothels to check health and hygiene during their occupation in 1941.

  Dr Jones said the spread of AIDS had fuelled the debate over whether prostitutes should be licensed.

  She suggested AIDS checks could be introduced as a prerequisite, to provide life-saving advice to clients.

  The United Migrant Workers, which represents about 2,000 Filipino workers in Hongkong, criticised suggestions for licensing and taxation and described them as ''nonsense''.

  ''Income tax people would have better things to do than chasing tarts down Mongkok,'' a spokesman said.

  ''Who is going to enforce the licensing requirement? And anyway, can you really imagine anyone stepping up for a licence?''   But Dr Jones said prostitutes could see the safety and health benefits of both proposals.

  She said thousands of women probably worked as prostitutes in the territory.

  ''Some are just young kids going out after school,'' she said.

  ''Some are runaways as young as 13. Some are part-time workers and others are women aged 40 to 60 who have done it all their lives. One woman is 65 and has her regulars who tend to be quite poor people.''   Shamshuipo and Wan Chai have street-walkers while sophisticated brothels have been set up in Tsim Sha Tsui with prostitutes from overseas. The highest paid were European women, followed by Malaysians, Thais and Filipinas.

      These businesses served clientele such as Hongkong businessmen who provided Chinese businessmen with ''entertainment''.



ID cards 'could reduce spread of AIDS'