Don't be so quick to condemn 'immoral' young sex workers
Wing Man Yip says they often suffer abuse and neglect in childhood
A 15 year-old girl, believed to have been involved in compensated dating, was found dead in a bag at a rubbish collection centre in Mong Kok this week.
While some people might view this as a tragedy that happens only "once a while", the seriousness of the issue is a constant concern for those of us with experience of working with young female sex workers.
Our worries relate not only to the girls themselves, but also to their families, and society in general.
We have seen from our project helping young female sex workers since 2010, which includes those involved in compensated dating, that they are relatively young - many are still of school age - and have little experience of life. Like other teenagers, when faced with a crisis or unreasonable demands from adults, they might not think they have enough strength or courage to deal with the situation.
As part of our project, we have carried out research with the Chinese University of Hong Kong about threats against young female sex workers. More than half of interviewees said they had experienced clients forcing them to take off condoms during sex acts, and 23 per cent had experienced some form of sexual violence.
These figures are a wake-up call to educate the girls about their rights, to protect themselves. More importantly, we are eager to understand why they have got to this stage, even if they know the risks.
Some people might think it is all about the temptations of money and a luxury lifestyle. While it's true these young women can make money, they are often seeking recognition, appreciation, or even love and care from their clients - something they have never got from their own family.
This begs the question: why? Our research found almost 80 per cent of the interviewees claimed no one had protected them when they were little, about 70 per cent said no one had taken care of them or loved them when they were young, while 43.7 per cent and 35.7 per cent said they had been physically and sexually abused by adults respectively.
Moreover, society's discourse about compensating dating and young female sex workers has resulted in the girls being seriously stigmatised. The public judges them morally, condemning them by saying they are giving up their dignity for money, while the police or media portray them as people who lead themselves into tragedy because of greed.
What is worse, under Hong Kong's legal system, there is no policy or law to protect these workers; a lot of girls who use our services were under the impression that that the police had an absolute right to arrest them for being a sex worker.
All this pushes them further away from the rest of society, discouraging them to seek help and fight for their rights.
Nobody wants to see any tragedy befall them, but it is worth remembering that people should show pity for a victim, no matter whether she is viewed by society as a "good" or "bad" girl.
My intention here is not to encourage young girls to get into compensating dating or sex work; there are undoubtedly many risks involved.
Yet we should note that how people make a living is only one of the ways to understand them. When people condemn others for doing such work, and pour scorn on these girls, they should not judge them only on their behaviour, but also look into what they have endured and society has inflicted on them.
Issues related to compensated dating and sex work have been a serious concern for many years, yet all the NGOs that help this vulnerable section of society still struggle for funding to maintain their services.
It is up to the government to provide more resources to address the issue. But all of society can play its part, too.
Wing Man Yip is a social worker at Caritas Youth and Community Service