An interesting read but outdated a bit........
IV. Hong Kong Practice
IV.A. Introduction
Before considering the various categories of women recruited to work in the Hong Kong sex industry, some general background information, both on female migration to Hong Kong and on the Hong Kong sex industry, may be useful.
IV.A.1. Background on Female Migration to Hong Kong
Hong Kong has experienced rapid economic growth in the last 20 years. As its own population has moved into better paid jobs, this has created a demand for people willing to perform unskilled and low status jobs, in particular domestic work. This demand has been met largely by the migration of women from economically poorer countries in Asia, with Hong Kong being particularly attractive to those who can speak Chinese or English. The main sending country is the Philippines, with migration being encouraged both by the Hong Kong government (including through a compulsory standard form contract for domestic helpers) and by the Philippine government, which sees migration as a solution to high local unemployment and as a crucial source of foreign currency.[1]
IV.A.2. Background on the Hong Kong Sex Industry
The number of sex workers in Hong Kong was estimated at 20,000 in 1993.[2] However, it is not clear on what basis this estimate was reached, nor do any other estimates seem to be available. Hong Kong’s sex industry predominantly serves the local community. It is not a sex tourist destination and even the number of ships from the UK and Australian marines docking in Hong Kong for “rest and relaxation” has decreased since the 1997 change in sovereignty. In May 1999, it was estimated that one in seven local men in Hong Kong (approximately 276,000 men) had visited a prostitute in the previous six months, with over half those visits taking place in Hong Kong.[3] The Hong Kong sex industry seems to demand a high turn-over of women, which might explain the fact that, taking a rough estimate, about two-thirds of the sex workers in Hong Kong are non-local.[4] Most women who come to Hong Kong for the purpose of working in the sex industry are from Mainland China. In 1997, it was reported that 80-110 Mainland women were arrested each week in the Mongkok district alone for working as a prostitute in breach of conditions of stay.[5] Thai, Filipino and Malaysian women represent the next largest “tranche” of non-local sex workers. There are also reports of women coming from other parts of Asia, including Korea,[6] Nepal[7] and Vietnam,[8] and from Central and South America, including Columbia, Bolivia and Panama,[9] as well as from various Western countries. The large majority of women appear to be assisted in their arrangements to come to Hong Kong and are recruited either through an informal network of friends and family, or through an agent. There are large profits to be made. In 1996, police estimated that triads in the Mongkok district were making as much as HK$14 million profit each month from foreign prostitutes alone.[10]
IV.A.3. Categories of Non-local Women Recruited to Work in the Hong Kong Sex Industry
For the purposes of this report, non-local women who have been recruited to work in the Hong Kong sex industry/prostitution[11] have been classified into the following four different categories:
1. women who are recruited to work as prostitutes on the streets,
2. women who are recruited to work as prostitutes in or from “villas” (brothels),
3. women who are recruited to work in other jobs, and are forced into prostitution on their arrival in Hong Kong,
4. women who are recruited to work in night clubs in Hong Kong and provide “escort services”.
I have not found any reports of women being abducted or forcefully taken from their homes and brought to Hong Kong for the purposes of prostitution.
The main purpose of this report is to attempt to document the experiences of women in each of the four situations set out above. It will then be considered whether they are, or may be, victims of trafficking, both under current Hong Kong law, and under the more modern definition of trafficking adopted in the Special Rapporteur’s Report (the modern international definition). The review is not intended to be too strictly confined. By taking the different types of experience of women as a starting point, rather than a particular definition, it is hoped that a broader understanding of their situations will emerge, for whilst they may not be victims of trafficking under the particular definition adopted, the women may suffer other human rights abuses or intolerable living and working conditions in respect of which they require protection and assistance.
IV.B. Women Recruited to Work on the Streets
IV.B.1. Recruitment
Women from Mainland China who work on the streets generally seem to be recruited through an informal network of friends or relatives who have previously worked in the Hong Kong sex industry, or to be encouraged by their boyfriend/pimp (who, however, does not usually accompany them to Hong Kong).[12] Through this informal network, the women may be assisted in applying for documentation and making travel arrangements, and advised on accommodation and places to work in Hong Kong. They may accompany an experienced friend or relative on their next trip to Hong Kong. This assistance will be for free, although if the woman has been encouraged by a boyfriend/pimp, he is likely to obtain some financial benefit out of the arrangement in one way or another.[13] Women who have been to Hong Kong before may make their arrangements independently on later visits.
Thai women are also known to work on the streets. They seem to know which areas to go to for work, which suggests that either an informal network or an agency is involved in making their arrangements to come to Hong Kong. Action for Reach Out, a non-governmental organisation providing assistance and support to sex workers, has seen Thai women being dropped off in vans in the Sham Shui Po area, which would suggest the involvement of an agency in the recruitment process in some cases.
No Filipino women are known to work on the streets. I do not have any information on women of other nationalities working on the streets, such as Malaysians.
IV.B.2. Entry into Hong Kong
Most women from Mainland China enter Hong Kong legally. This may be on a two-way permit, granted for the purpose of visiting relatives in Hong Kong. Two-way permits are usually granted for three months, although they may be granted for a shorter period if Hong Kong Immigration is suspicious of the purpose of entry.[14] Women who do not have any Hong Kong relatives may enter on a Chinese passport with a visa to another South East Asian country, which allows them 7 days in Hong Kong in transit each way.[15] Some Mainland women enter Hong Kong illegally. However, it is assumed that those who have arranged illegal documentation and/or transport through an agent are more likely to work in villas than on the streets (see Part IV.C.3. below, infra p 20).
Women from Thailand enter on 7-day tourist visas.
IV.B.3. Work Conditions
Mainland Chinese women usually work independently on the streets, and not through a third party. They take their clients to hotels to provide sexual services, and may have an arrangement with a particular hotel. In 1998, it was reported that Mainland Chinese women worked out of about 16 short-term hotels in Yuen Long. Clients were charged between HK$300 and HK$400, of which the hotel operator received about HK$150 for the room.[16]
Thai women also work independently on the streets. However, one author writing in 1995 observed that some Thai women were being guarded on the streets, which indicates that those women were not working independently.[17] Perhaps these women were in fact working as “running girls” (see Part IV.C.3 below, infra p 20).
IV.B.4. Trafficking under Hong Kong Law
As mentioned above (see Part III.A, infra p10), section 129 of the Crimes Ordinance makes it an offence to take part in “bringing another person into Hong Kong for the purposes of prostitution”, whether or not the person consented to being brought into Hong Kong, knew it was for the purposes of prostitution or received any payment. This section appears to be interpreted to include only those women who are brought into Hong Kong for the purposes of prostitution by a third party and who remain subject to the control of a third party after their arrival. This does not seem to be the typical case of women working on the streets; thus women who have been brought into Hong Kong by friends or an agent who then work independently on the street are unlikely to have been trafficked within the meaning of Hong Kong law.
IV.B.5. Trafficking under the Modern International Definition
Assuming that women working on the streets have been recruited freely, without the threat or use of violence, force or deception, and are working independently, they are also not victims of trafficking under the modern international definition. Rather, they have (voluntarily) migrated to (voluntarily) work in the Hong Kong sex industry. Whilst unfortunately this may in some circumstances be out of economic necessity – and as a long-term goal, economic factors must be addressed to obviate the need for such migration – in my view, this does not render a woman’s choice to work in the sex industry, rather than for example in a factory, non-consensual for the purposes of trafficking.
IV.C. Women recruited to work in or from Villas (Brothels)
IV.C.1. Recruitment
Many women seem to be recruited by an agent to work as prostitutes in “villas” (brothels) in Hong Kong, although little is known about how they are recruited or how much they know about their living and working conditions before they come to Hong Kong. In particular, since they are always “under protection”, Action for Reach Out and Zi Teng have not been able to speak to these women to find out about their experiences. Reports in the Hong Kong press suggest a high level of organised crime involvement in this type of recruitment, often with triad connections. One of the particular techniques used by organised crime syndicates and triad societies is to set the woman up in a sham marriage with a Hong Kong local, so that she can obtain a dependant’s visa, allowing her to work legally and usually long-term in Hong Kong. The local man may be someone in debt to the particular syndicate or triad society. The following are a few examples of cases involving syndicates and triad societies which have been reported in the Hong Kong press in the last 10 years:
· In 1993, a multi-million dollar prostitution syndicate covering four countries and run by a Hong Kong born man, Cheung Thai Kwok, was uncovered (the 1993 Syndicate). Agents in Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines had recruited women to work in prostitution in Hong Kong. The syndicate, which was later found to have triad connections, arranged for the women to be married to Hong Kong residents, the marriage usually taking place in the home country of the woman, with the man being flown there especially for the purpose. The women worked from villas in Hong Kong, having to provide sexual services to 1,000 men to pay off their debts to the syndicate.[18]
· In 1994, it was reported that the Hong Kong Vice Squad was investigating links – so-called “Chiu Chow connections” – between two Hong Kong triad societies, the Fuk Yee Hing and Sun Yee On triad societies, and their counterparts in Thailand and the Philippines, in bringing women into Hong Kong on two-week tourist visas[19] to work from villas as “running girls”.
· In 1997, it was reported how a member of a Hong Kong triad in Yuen Long personally travelled to the Mainland to recruit women, as he was able to make more profit by recruiting particularly young and pretty women.[20] This seems to be a common tactic.
· In 1999, it was reported that Mainland prostitutes worked at an estimated 15 villas operated by triads in Yuen Long.[21]
IV.C.2. Entry into Hong Kong
The mode of entry of women being recruited to work in villas in Hong Kong varies, depending on where the women come from.
Most Mainland Chinese women enter legally on a two-way permit. However, in 1997, it was estimated that about 20% of women from the Mainland working as prostitutes entered Hong Kong on a false two-way permit, obtained through a syndicate at a cost of between HK$500 to HK1,500.[22] This seems extremely low, with current reports of forged documentation costing between HK$10,000 and HK$50,000. There are also reports of women being smuggled in by speedboat from the Mainland, and dropped off on the East Coast of Hong Kong, at Sai Kung, Deep Bay or Tolo Harbour. These trips are reportedly operated jointly by Mainland Chinese and Hong Kong triads, not necessarily of the same triad fraternity, at a cost of around HK$20,000.[23] Action for Reach Out has also heard of cases where women were smuggled in by speedboat from Mainland China to work for a day at a time.
Women from other countries tend to enter on a tourist visa. As mentioned above, sham marriages also seem to be a relatively common mode of entry, or a means to convert a tourist visa into a dependant’s visa once in Hong Kong.
IV.C.3. Living and Working Conditions
Most women both live and work, i.e. receive clients, at the villas. In particular, those who have entered Hong Kong illegally are likely to work at the villas, as they are less likely to be picked up by the police. Many villas seem to be operated by triads. As mentioned above, in December 1999, it was estimated that there were about 15 villas operated by triads in Yuen Long alone.[24] Clients are arranged through a mamasan or pimp, or, in the case of triad-run villas, through a mafu (a young triad member). There are also a few reports of women working in massage parlours.
Those women who have entered Hong Kong legally may be required to work as “running girls”. This seems to be an arrangement used only by triads. Whilst the women live at a villa, they work off the premises, always accompanied by a mafu. The mafu’s contacts at hotels and massage parlours call or page him when someone has requested sexual services and he escorts the women to and from the clients.
The pattern in both cases seems to be that the women provide sexual services to the first 100 or 150 clients without pay, to cover the cost of the arrangements to bring them into Hong Kong.[25] It is not clear whether this quota applies to all women, or whether the quota is higher for women brought in illegally, considering the “going-rates” for false documentation and smuggling mentioned above.[26] After that, the women are paid for further clients. There are varying reports of how much they are paid for further clients - out of the HK$290 to HK$450 charged to the client (often depending on the woman’s nationality), they may receive anything from HK$30 to HK$100. In the case of women working in villas, the remainder is split between the mamasan, the villa keeper and the syndicate.[27] In the case of running girls, the mafu and hotel or massage parlour get a cut. Where women have been married to local men, their “debt” is much higher. In the case of the 1993 Syndicate mentioned above, the women involved had to provide sexual services to 1,000 customers for free to pay back their debt to the syndicate. This reportedly took them about two months.[28] Some cases are reported of women who never receive the money owed to them. In a case involving Thai women in 1994, the women had been recruited in Thailand and had paid a HK$2,000 introduction fee, which included a one-way ticket to Hong Kong. They were supposed to receive HK$30 for each client (who was charged HK$300), but this was never paid to them as promised when they returned home.[29]
The women are usually guarded in the villas, and there are reports of their identity documents being confiscated to prevent them from running away, particularly whilst they are paying off their original debt. For example, in the case of the 1993 Syndicate, the women were guarded in the villa to prevent them from escaping, but after they had reached their 1,000 quota, security was relaxed a little. Nevertheless, they always had to be accompanied by a mafu.[30]
IV.C.4. Trafficking under Hong Kong Law
Trafficking under section 29 of the Hong Kong Crimes Ordinance clearly encompasses all cases where women are brought into Hong Kong for the purposes of working as prostitutes in villas, including those whose recruitment and working and living conditions are entirely consensual (what is in my view, more correctly termed migration for prostitution/sex work).
IV.C.5. Trafficking under the Modern International Definition
The modern international definition defines trafficking more narrowly than Hong Kong law, by reference to the non-consensual circumstances of the recruitment and end conditions. However, a woman who is voluntarily recruited for the purposes of prostitution can still be a victim of trafficking under the modern international definition, if (taking the most relevant alternatives within the definition): (a) she is recruited for the purposes of being placed or held in a forced labour or slavery-like situation; and (b) she is either deceived as to the conditions in which she will be living and working or is in debt bondage.[31]
In relation to (a), some of the following conditions have been reported in Hong Kong, which, in combination with other factors, might amount to a slavery-like situation: illegal confinement (not being allowed to leave the villa or only being allowed out under supervision), identity documents being confiscated, not being paid or paid less than agreed. In relation to (b), there is no information on the extent to which women consent to such living and working conditions. However, there is evidence of some women being in a situation of debt bondage, as in the case mentioned of the Thai women in 1994. Thus some women working in or from villas might be trafficked within the modern international definition.
IV.D. Women Forced into Prostitution
IV.D.1. Introduction
There is no research, nor are there any statistics available, on the number of women forced into prostitution in Hong Kong. I have only been able to identify 16 cases, involving 39 women, in the last ten years, through discussions with various non-governmental organisations and articles in the Hong Kong press (see further Appendix 1 (“Methodology”)). Brief details of these cases, and the alphabetical letters by which they will be identified, are set out on the next page.
These cases probably represent the tip of the iceberg. Many victims might not report the case to anyone in the first place, for example if they are too traumatised or fear reprisal against their families. Some might be aided by their consulate without any support organisations or the press being aware of the case. Finally, whilst one woman may escape, she is likely to leave others behind in the same predicament, who might be moved on before the police are able to locate the premises (if they are able to do so at all – see Part V.C below, infra p 34).
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Identified Cases of Trafficking for Forced Prostitution between 1990 and 2000
| Year | Case | Total | Nationality | Entry | Discovered |
Source(s)
|
| 1990 | | - | | | | |
| 1991 | A
B
| 6 | 5 Filipinos
1 Filipino
| Illegal (fp & fm).
Illegal (fp)
| Escaped
| AHRC Newsletter; CDPCF, AFRO
Mission
|
| 1992 | C
D
| 4 | 2 Filipinos
2 Columbian
| ? (fm)
Legal (tv)
| Escaped
?
| CDPCF
CDPCF
|
| 1993 | E
F
G
| 8 | 5 Filipino
1 Filipino
2 Mainland | Legal (tv)
Legal (tv)
Illegal (smgld) | ?
?
? | SCMP
AFRO/Mission
SCMP |
| 1994 | H
I | 8 | 1 Thai
7 Filipinos | ?
? 1 illegal (fp). | Police raid | SCMP
SCMP |
| 1995 | J
K | 4 | 1 Filipino
3 Mainland | Legal (dhc)
Illegal (smgld) | Police raid | Mission
SCMP |
| 1996 | - | | | | | |
| 1997 | L
| 1
| 1 Filipino
| ? | Escaped | Mission |
| 1998 | - | | | | | |
| 1999 | M | 1 | 1 Filipino
| Illegal (fp) | Escaped | AFRO, Bagwis, SCMP |
| 2000 | N | 1 | 1 Mainland | ? | Dropped note out of window | SCMP |
| ? | O | 1 | 1 Filipino | Legal (tv) | Escaped | AFRO |
Early
1990s?
| P | 5 | 5 Columbians | Legal (tv) | Police Raid | AFRO |
Definitions
dch: domestic helper contract AFRO: Action for Reach Out
fp: false passport Bagwis: Filipino free newspaper
fm: false marriage CDPCF: Catholic Diocesan Pastoral Centre for Filipinos
smgld: smuggled Mission: Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers
tv: tourist visa SCMP: South China Morning Post
Of the 39 women identified as having been recruited for the purposes of being forced into prostitution, 25 were from the Philippines, 7 from Columbia, 6 from the Mainland and 1 from Thailand. All the women were lured to Hong Kong by the promise of legitimate work. Before the situations of these women are discussed more generally, a better understanding may be gained by considering two particular cases in detail.
IV.D.2. Two Case Histories
The following two cases below were reported in 1999 and 1991 respectively. Case M was originally reported in the Philippine press.[32] Action for Reach Out read of the case and visited the Philippine consulate to offer their assistance, but were not allowed to speak to the woman involved, nor were they subsequently provided with information on the case, as promised. Once the case went to trial, it was reported in the Hong Kong press.[33] Case B was not reported in the press. The Mission for Filipino Migrant Workers (the Mission) learnt of it directly from the woman involved.
Case M
Juliet Ochada, a Filipino woman aged 19 on her passport (but reportedly 16), was recruited in Cebu City, the Philippines, by a Filipino man, for unspecified work in February 1999. When she arrived in Manila in March 1999, she was held in a hotel and told the work in Hong Kong involved prostitution. Whilst there, she signed false marriage papers with a Hong Kong resident and then flew to Hong Kong on a false passport with her husband and her agent. She was taken to a flat in Mei Foo Sun Chuen and told she would have to work in a Mongok villa, providing sex to 20 men a day, once she had obtained a dependant’s visa and identity card. She was taken to the Immigration Department to change her visa status on the basis of her marriage and was told by the agent that she owed HK$20,000 for the arrangement. She was threatened that her family would be killed if she told anyone about what had happened. She managed to escape and reported the case to the police on 1 July 1999.
Five members of the syndicate were subsequently prosecuted in November 1999 for trafficking for the purposes of prostitution, and for conspiracy to defraud the Immigration Department. They were acquitted on both counts. Judge Day criticised police officers for showing a “cavelier disregard” for the rules when taking statements from the defendants, and refused to allow statements from three of the defendants for this reason. The judge also cast doubt on the reliability of Miss Ochada as witness - he was reported as saying that “he didn’t for one minute believe her evidence” that she had been brought to work as a prostitute against her will.[34]
Case B
A young Filipino woman, aged 16, had been introduced to an agent in the Philippines, and was recruited to work in Hong Kong as a receptionist in 1991. She was given a passport in a false name, and a middle-man posed as her father in entering Hong Kong. When she arrived in Hong Kong, she was taken to a flat and raped by the boss, and then had to provide sexual services to another man straight afterwards. She continued to have to service clients every day for no pay. She was told she would have to pay back the money for her passport, airfare and clothes. After two months, she suffered two epileptic fits in one afternoon, and was taken to hospital. The Mission were called to the hospital by the interpreter, who had been concerned about the woman. Whilst the woman said she wanted to report the case to the police, she did not subsequently pursue this. The hospital discovered that her visa had expired and informed the Immigration Department, which filed a case against her for overstaying. She failed to turn up to the first court hearing and was given a 6 month custodial sentence, which was later reduced to 3 months.[35]
IV.D.3. Recruitment
In all the known cases of women being recruited for the purposes of forced prostitution, the women were lured to Hong Kong by the promise of legitimate work, whether as baby-sitters, receptionists, karaoke bar workers, jewellery sellers or, in one case, as a domestic helper. There are no reported cases of women being abducted, or recruited by force or coercion.
There is evidence of organised crime and triad involvement in recruiting women into Hong Kong for forced prostitution, as there is in recruiting women to work in prostitution in villas. In 1994, for example, it was reported that the Sun Yee On triad society was luring Thai and Filipino women into Hong Kong, setting them up in false marriages and forcing them to work as prostitutes.[36] This type of organised crime and triad involvement would suggest that much greater numbers of women are involved than the 39 identified.
IV.D.4. Entry into Hong Kong
Of the 28 women for whom the information is available, 15 entered legally and 13 illegally. The women who entered legally came on tourist visas, except for one woman who came on a domestic helper’s visa. Of the 13 women who entered illegally, it is known that 2 Filipino women came on false passports and 5 Mainland women were smuggled in over the border by speedboat. One woman was married to a Hong Kong resident in the Philippines before being brought into Hong Kong (and seven were forced into sham marriages with local residents after they arrived in Hong Kong).
IV.D.5. Living and Working Conditions
Most of the women were taken from the airport straight to villas, usually in the Mongkok, Sham Shiu Po or Tsuen Wan districts. One Thai woman was sold to a villa for HK$10,000, and then sold on to another villa a few days later (Case H). The woman who entered on a domestic helper’s visa was taken to a private flat, where she was forced to provide sexual services to clients (Case J). Some of the women were initially raped by their bosses or guards. In one case, the woman was drugged on her first night, before being raped and then having to provide sexual services to 35 men that night (Case I).
All of the women were confined to the villa and guarded. Whilst most of the women provided sexual services in the villa, in one case, the woman was escorted to customers in houses and flats within the district. Some had their passports confiscated, and were not allowed to keep any money (for example from tips), in order to prevent their escape. Most of the women were forced to provide sexual services for between 10 and 20 customers a day for no pay. In some cases their earnings were supposedly being credited against their “debts” for travel and documentation. For the women for whom sham marriages had been arranged, that debt was between HK$20,000 and HK$35,000.
In some cases, women reported that they were not allowed to refuse oral or anal sex, and many customers refused to wear condoms. In one case (Case I), the women were given drugs, and received injections to stop their menstruation. They were locked into a cell with bunk-beds and a bricked-up window at night, with a plastic bucket as a toilet.
IV.D.6. Escape
Despite the difficulties involved, many of the women had managed to escape, for example whilst their guards were asleep. A few were discovered during police raids for illegal immigrants. A case was also reported in April 2000 of a Mainland woman who had dropped a note out of the window of the brothel, saying she was being held there against her will (Case N). However, no further details on the case have been reported since.
IV.D.7. Trafficking under Hong Kong Law
It is clear that those women who have been brought into Hong Kong for the purposes of forced prostitution are victims of trafficking, and those responsible have committed a (particularly grave) offence of trafficking under section 29 of the Hong Kong Crimes Ordinance.
IV.D.8. Trafficking under the Modern International Definition
Women who have been recruited by deception or debt-bondage for the purposes of forced prostitution are unquestionably victims of trafficking under the modern international definition.
IV.E. Women Recruited to work in Nightclubs
IV.E.1. Introduction
Many women from the Philippines and Thailand are recruited to work as entertainers in nightclubs in Hong Kong. These are mainly located in the districts of Tsim Tsa Tsui and Wanchai. This section focuses on the women working in the clubs in Wanchai. It is based on discussions with Action for Reach Out, which has visited 27 clubs in Wanchai. As described further in Appendix 1 (“Methodology”), I have also been liaising with Action for Reach Out to conduct a study on the experiences of 10 Filipino women working in different clubs and for different agencies in Wanchai. Whilst a number of women have already agreed to participate, due to their very limited free time, only one interview had been conducted at the time of writing[37]. This was with “E”, who came to Hong Kong in March 2000 (see Appendix 3 for the questions drafted to guide the interviews).
Each club employs about 15 to 20 women as entertainers. This involves dancing, drinking and talking with clients and, although this is on a voluntary basis, “escort work”. Escort work does not necessarily involve providing sexual services (some men simply want company for dinner for example), although it usually does.
IV.E.2. Recruitment
Action for Reach Out estimates about 75% of the women working in the clubs in Wanchai are from the Philippines and 25% from Thailand.
The Filipino women are in nearly all cases recruited by an agency, for a six-month period. There are three to five agencies operating in Hong Kong, providing women to different clubs. The largest agency, which recruits about 50% of the Filipino women, has a particularly good reputation for treating the women well and seems to be a legitimate business, with office addresses in the Philippines and business cards. Some Filipino women are put in touch with an agency by friends. Others are also recruited through a “talent manager”, who is employed by agencies to scout for attractive women. “E”, for example, was approached in a shopping mall and asked if she wanted to go abroad to earn more money.
Some Thai women are also recruited by an agency. However, most of the Thai women are Hong Kong residents (having married locals), and operate only through a mamasan rather than through an agency.
It is not very clear how much women are told about the job by the agency, or how much they know from friends, before they come to Hong Kong. This is one of the main areas to be discussed in the interviews. Some women are given contracts, but these might be in Chinese, which are then translated orally. To date, it has not been possible to obtain a copy of a contract, in order to establish whether there are any discrepancies between what the contract says and what the women are told it says. “E” signed a contract, but was not given a copy to keep.
Regarding the nature of the job, Action for Reach Out estimates that about half of the women know before they come to Hong Kong that the clubs also offer escort services. The other half believe that they are simply coming as dancers, and (as was the case with “E”) do not know that they will be expected to do escort work. In relation to pay, all the women seem to be informed by the agency what they will earn as basic salary and commission on drinks. It is not clear whether some women are also told what they can earn through providing escort services (if they are told about escort work at all).
The agency fee that Filipino women pay is between HK$10,000 and HK$16,000. The Thai women tend to pay a lower agency fee of about HK$8,000. The agency fee usually covers visa, ticket and accommodation, and sometimes a small allowance on arrival. There are some reports of agencies charging for insurance, although it is not clear what this covers, since, at least in relation to medical expenses, medical check-ups are offered for free at the Social Hygiene Clinic or the women report paying HK$500 to visit a private doctor. “E” also had to pay a separate fee of HK$3,000 to the manager who “discovered” her.
IV.E.3. Entry into Hong Kong
The Filipino women are either escorted to Hong Kong or come in small groups and are met on arrival by someone from the agency. They enter legally on a six-month entertainer’s visa.
Action for Reach Out believes the position is the same with the Thai women recruited through an agency, i.e. they enter legally on an entertainer’s visa.
IV.E.4. Living Conditions
The women are accommodated in flats provided by the agency. They have to pay for their own food and personal items. Action for Reach Out has visited two flats, which were probably around 500 square foot, housing between 7 and 15 women each. “E” shares her bedroom with 5 other women. She thinks that the size of the room is fine for 6 women, and each has their own bed. Some women have complained that they have to share a single bed (of a bunk bed) when there is an overlap between those women who are leaving and those who are arriving. This overlap can be for two weeks.
Depending on the agency, the women might live in a flat which is not “minded” (guarded), and be relatively free in their movements (as is the case with “E”), or they might live in a flat which is minded and have limited, or no, opportunity to leave the flat. About half fall into each category. The women who are not minded are nevertheless supposed to stay in the flat, and the agency might sometimes call to check up on their movements. Of the women that are minded, some women have to sign out and give details of where they are going, and provide proof on their return. Others have free time, but this may be limited to a mere two hours a week, and then between 1 pm and 3 pm, when the women would usually be sleeping. Most women are allowed to visit the Social Hygiene Clinic, which offers free check-ups every fortnight. The strict confinement of the women is obviously prompted by a concern that the women may earn some money “on the side”, of which the agency and mamasan would be deprived their usual cut (see IV.E.5 below). Action for Reach Out has never heard of any cases of psychological or physical abuse against the women by the agency, mamasan or minders. The interviews will seek to confirm this.
IV.E.5. Working Conditions
The women are required to work seven days a week, usually from 8 pm to 5 am. However, those clubs that have a happy hour (5 or 6 out of the 27 clubs) require the women to work from 3.30 pm to 5 am. Some of the women are given two days off a month. “E” preferred to work instead of taking her two days off, as she received double pay on those days.
Most of the women have to pay back the agency fee within three to six months of their arrival in Hong Kong. However, “E” reported that her agency’s policy was to take her first two months’ basic salary and first month’s commission and tips to pay back the agency fee. The basic salary is usually HK$2,300 to HK$3,000 a month, although “E” reported that she was paid a basic salary of HK$6,500 (she was not aware that this was unusually high, however, she had not yet worked the first two months, so it remains to be seen if she actually received this amount). The women also receive an average of HK$40 commission on each drink bought for them by a customer (it varies between HK$30 and HK$50 depending on the club), as well as tips. “E” said she was bought about 60 drinks each month at HK$40 commission each, which amounts to HK$2,400 commission a month. On the basis of an average basic salary of HK$2,600, and commission on (say) 40 drinks a month at an average of HK$40 each, amounting to HK$1,600, a woman would earn a total of HK$4,200 each month. Over three months she would therefore earn HK$12,600, and over six months, HK$25,200. It is clear from these calculations that if a woman is only given three months to pay back the agency fee (HK$10,000 to HK$16,000), she is likely to struggle unless she does escort work or a boyfriend pays the agency fee back for her, which sometimes happens. In “E’s” case, since her first two months’ basic salary and her first month’s commission were used to pay the agency fee, she said she needed to do escort services, otherwise she would not have had any money to pay for food or personal items. The interviews seek to establish more information in this area.
All the women are asked whether they also want to work as an escort. This is technically voluntary, and it would seem that the agencies do not pressurise the women. However, “E” thought that if she refused, the mamasan (who receives commission on escort services) would send her back to the agency. In any event, most of the women, seeing how much can be earned through escort work, find it hard to refuse. The club charges customers HK$4,000 to buy a woman out for the night. Although the woman must return by midday the next day, all the other details of the arrangement are left for her to agree with the customer, which makes the arrangement technically legal. Of the HK$4,000 buying-out fee or “bar fine”, the woman receives HK$1,000. The club, mamasan and agency each receive HK$1,000. If a customer buys a woman out after 4 am, he may pay a lower bar fine, and the woman may consequently receive less, usually HK$750. Women tend to average between 4 and 10 escorts a month (“E” averaged 13 in her first month). They may also earn a lot from tips from customers.
The mamasan, who works outside the club attracting customers, receives commission on the men who want an escort, but not on drinks. Some women have reported being pressurised by their mamasan to take customers generally, or particular customers, or to give the mamasan a cut of their commission on drinks. However, generally, the mamasans seem to treat the women well, and look after their interests. For example, the mamasan usually vets potential customers, and is cautious about tourists (since they are not resident in Hong Kong), or men of certain nationalities who have a general reputation for treating women badly or wanting sado-masochistic sexual services. Where the man is not a regular, the mamasan requires payment by credit card, so that there is a record of the client should the woman not return or have difficulties with him. All the women say that they ask men to use condoms, but some men refuse, and some men pay more for sex without a condom, which some women might agree to. “E” reported that some men slip the condom off during sex. Indeed, a 1999 report on Hong Kong men using prostitutes (both in Hong Kong and abroad) found 27% refused to wear condoms.[38]
The club keeps a record of what the woman has earned through commissions on drinks and escort services. Action for Reach Out also encourages the women to keep their own records, so that they are able to check the record is correct. However, they have not heard of any complaints about non-payment, or incorrect payment.
The women tend to earn about HK$20,000 in six months, although they can earn a lot more if they are popular and do a lot of escort work. They are never allowed by the agency to extend their six-month visa, as the clubs want a constant turn-over of new women.
IV.E.6. Trafficking under Hong Kong Law
In my view, it seems unlikely that section 29 of the Crimes Ordinance, which makes it an offence to bring women into Hong Kong for the purposes of prostitution would be interpreted by the Hong Kong courts to include bringing women to work in Hong Kong nightclubs as entertainers, even though on average they provide escort services every third night. There are certainly no reported attempts to ask the Hong Kong courts to interpret it this way.
IV.E.7. Trafficking under the Modern International Definition
However, depending on the particular circumstances, a woman who has been recruited to work as an entertainer in a nightclub in Hong Kong could be a victim of trafficking under the modern international definition, if her situation is non-consensual. Taking the most relevant internal alternatives of the definition, this might be if: (a) she is recruited by deception or debt bondage; and this is (b) for the purposes of being placed in forced labour or slavery-like practices. Both (a) and (b) must be met for the case to amount to trafficking under the modern international definition. In the case of women recruited for nightclub work, each is a very grey area in itself.
In relation to (a) (the recruitment process), there often appears to be a level of deception in the recruitment process, in that many women are not informed that the job also invariably entails providing escort services. However, escort work is technically voluntarily. There is no evidence of women being recruited by means of debt bondage, although the study seeks to confirm this.
In relation to (b) (the purposes of recruitment), the agency primarily recruits women for the purposes of entertainment. Depending on the particular circumstances, the conditions in which the women live and work could possibly amount to slavery-like practices for the purposes of (b). Of particular relevance would be whether, due to the amount of her agency fee, the repayment period, her basic salary and commission on drinks, a woman has no choice in whether or not to do escort work in order to pay her agency fee back within the repayment period. A further relevant factor is that many of the women are confined to the flat when they are not working in the nightclub or have an extremely limited level of freedom. In itself, this is a violation of the human right to freedom of movement.[39] Other issues include some women not having a bed to themselves, some having to work 14½ hour days 7 days a week, some not being allowed to refuse customers and some customers refusing to wear a condom. More issues may become apparent through the interviews.
[1] When the Philippines government allowed its nationals to work overseas in 1974, this was considered a temporary solution to the country’s problems. Now, the Philippines is the second largest exporter of labour in the world (second only to Mexico), Adam Graycar, Human Smuggling, paper presented at a Symposium on Human Smuggling at the University of Hong Kong, 19 February 2000, 6.
[2] “2,000 Housewives in the Sex Industry”, South China Morning Post, 3 May 1993.
[3] “One in Seven Makes Visits to Prostitutes”, South China Morning Post, 26 May 1999.
[4] The South China Morning Post estimated in 1993 (“2,000 Housewives in the Sex Industry”, South China Morning Post, 3 May 1993) that about half of the sex workers in Hong Kong were non-local. Action for Reach Out believes the proportion of non-local sex workers would probably be higher than this now, based on its own observations through its work.
[5] “Sex Crosses the Border”, South China Morning Post, 10 March 1997.
[6] CATW, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific, available at CATW’s website, at:
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/catw/asiapr3.htm (site visited 31 January 2001).
[7] Id.
[8] GAATW, Trafficking in Women in the Asia-Pacific Region, A Regional Report (GAATW, Bangkok 1997), 5.
[9] “Police Probe World Prostitution Racket”, South China Morning Post, 23 December 1993. For a (journalistic-style) case history of a young Columbian woman brought to Hong Kong by her pimp/boyfriend, see Kate Whitehead, “Columbian Teen” in Sex in South China: After Suzy (Chameleon, Hong Kong, 1977), at 93 –98.
[10] “Standing Up for Fair Play”, South China Morning Post, 26 May 1996.
[11] Whilst I would prefer to use the term “sex worker” and “sex industry” in respect of women who are voluntarily working in the sex industry, and “prostitute” and “prostitution” for those who are forced into it (not including being “forced” through economic circumstances), the very nature of this report makes such a distinction difficult and potentially confusing. The terms are therefore used interchangeably.
[12] Zi Teng, a non-government organisation providing assistance and support to sex workers in Hong Kong, has produced a Research Report on Mainland Chinese Sex Workers (Zi Teng, February 2000), based on interviews with 11 Mainland women working independently on the streets in Hong Kong, which is of particular interest in this area.
[13] Id, at 22 and 23.
[14] See Part V.D. below, infra 38.
[15] Zi Teng, Research Report on Mainland Chinese Sex Workers, supra note 65, 20-21.
[16] “Mainland Tourist Offer Sex”, South China Morning Post, 5 August 1998.
[17] Veronica Pearson, “Business and Pleasure: Aspects of the Commercial Sex Industry”, Chapter 9 in Veronica Pearson and Benjamin KP Leung (eds) Women in Hong Kong (Oxford University Press, Hong Kong, 1995), 244, at 256.
[18] “Police Hunt Asia’s Biggest Pimp”, South China Morning Post, 19 September 1993.
[19] “Gang’s Prostitution Links Investigated”, South China Morning Post, 10 March 1994.
[20] “Sex Crosses the Border”, South China Morning Post, 10 March 1997.
[21] “War on One Women Brothels”, South China Morning Post, 12 December 1999.
[22] “Police Team Up against Influx of Prostitutes”, South China Morning Post, 22 September 1995.
[23] “Sex Crosses the Border”, South China Morning Post, 10 March 1997.
[24] “War on One Woman Brothels”, South China Morning Post, 12 December 1999.
[25] For example, “Police Team Up Against Influx of Prostitutes”, South China Morning Post, 22 September 1995.
[26] See Part IV.C.2 above, infra p 19.
[27] “Sex Crosses the Border”, South China Morning Post, 10 March 1997.
[28] “Police Hunt Asia’s Biggest Pimp”, South China Morning Post, 19 September 1993.
[29] “Gang’s Prostitution Links Investigated”, South China Morning Post, 10 March 1994.
[30] “Police Hunt Asia’s Biggest Pimp”, South China Morning Post, 19 September 1993.
[31] For definitions, see Part II.C.4 above, infra p 8.
[32] Bagwis, August 1999.
[33] “Filipina ‘Forced into Sex Trade’”, South China Morning Post, 16, 18 and 24 November 1999.
[34] “Scolding for Police as Five Cleared of Prostitution Case”, South China Morning Post, 24 November 1999.
[35] As case notes were no longer available in relation to this case, the author made attempts to re-confirm with the Mission that the details cited above were correct.
[36] “Foreign Women Lured to Hong Kong Brothels”, South China Morning Post, 1 January 1994.
[37] Subsequently, a number of other interviews have been conducted. The results of these interviews will be published at a later date.
[38] “One in Seven Makes Visits to Prostitutes”, South China Morning Post, 26 May 1999.
[39] As protected inter alia by the UDHR, article 13(1) and the ICCPR, article 12(1).
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