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The High Cost Of Selling Sex
Just like everything else in orderly Singapore, sex work has its designated place. Faced with judgment in the eyes of both the public and the law, sex sells, but at a price.
I
n Singapore, land is officially divided into zones for commercial, industrial and residential use. Unofficially, there seems to be zones for sex workers to ply their trade too.
If a man is looking for paid sex, he may go to Geylang or Orchard Towers. He could also go to Desker Road, Flanders Square or Keong Saik Road.
But not many other places.
Sex work is complicated in Singapore. It is legal, but most related activities are not. For example, living off the earnings of a sex worker and publicly soliciting for customers are illegal.
Some places are seen as designated red-light areas, with licensed brothels and sex workers. Others are more clandestine, where women work as masseuses but offer ‘happy endings’.
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While the government does not explicitly designate areas as red-light districts, sex workers often ply their trade in these neighbourhoods.
Of course, this does not mean it is impossible to find paid sex outside of ‘designated’ areas.
The Straits Times reported last year that residents in Jurong West complained to their Members of Parliament when illegal brothels popped up in their neighbourhood. Safety concerns were raised, as men would stream in and out to visit the sex workers.
Earlier this year, police also carried out an 11-day islandwide raid in areas including Yishun and Chinatown, believed to be the longest raid conducted in heartland areas so far.
Other cases include investigations into ‘forest brothels’, where makeshift brothels are set up in clearings among trees and bushes, often on a dirty mattress near foreign worker dormitories.
These raids signal one of the hallmarks of the sex industry — government control.
Seeing red
This level of control is not without controversy. Researcher and writer at advocacy group Project X Sherry Sherqueshaa said street ladies were treated with abuse, verbally and physically, during raids.
“That makes us very angry because no one wants to talk about it, no one wants to bring it up,” she said. “Where’s the humanity in people?”
Late last year, a raid on an unlicensed brothel in Rowell Road also drew ire from director of Project X Vanessa Ho. She posted on Facebook about a raid she witnessed where police used “battering rams and sledgehammers”.
She described it as “groups of armed men terrorising women”. Her post, which was later taken down, elicited a response from Minister of Home Affairs K Shanmugam, who expressed his support for the police and their strategies on Facebook.
He explained that many illegal brothels are run by criminal syndicates that may retaliate. “Speed and surprise are key elements during raids. Police cannot be expected to knock on the door and wait for a response,” said Mr Shanmugam.
In 1999, then-Minister for Home Affairs Wong Kan Seng said in Parliament that “criminalising prostitution will only drive such activities underground, resulting in crime syndicates taking control over such activities”.
As such, the authorities conduct “regular checks at known locations” to “prevent criminal gangs from exploiting the prostitutes, and underaged girls from getting involved”. Local media often report on raids where people are arrested for suspected involvement in vice.
The authorities keep a tight rein on sex workers and brothel owners by issuing licenses. According to Project X, an anti-vice team provides clearance for brothel sex workers to acquire a work permit. They must also undergo monthly health checks and will be given a yellow card, or license.
Dirty laundry
There are benefits to being licensed. Former transgender sex worker Tracy Lim* felt she had a safe space to work because she was in a licensed brothel. “The clients know they cannot do any hanky-panky because we are licensed, we are regulated,” she said.
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Do sex workers enjoy what they do? For Tracy Lim, it's a
big, resounding yes.
Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are strictly her own.
Sex workers without the yellow card are without a license, and are hence illegal.
Beyond legality, National University of Singapore sociologist Laurence Leong said historically, sex workers have been condemned for selling their bodies. This can make it difficult for them to be accepted. Dr Leong described the situation in Singapore as a “begrudging acceptance”.
“It’s always very interesting how people think about sex work. They don’t approve of it, but they think it’s necessary for other people,” he said.
“Sex work is so prevalent and people’s attitudes towards sex are so contradictory. A man may say he looks down on them and doesn’t want them. But they themselves indulge in it.”
Project X’s Sherry, who is also a sex worker, said: “I’m spending time with you and doing a lot of things for you. So in return, that small fee shouldn’t be an issue.”
She said: “For me, it is a legitimate way of life and work.”▝
* Names changed to protect their identities
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