Sex Work and Sex Trafficking in Singapore: A Closer Look
A recent Straits Times article outlines the sex work industry and tells the story of sex workers in Singapore. It points out that there are many reasons why people enter the sex work trade. The reasons are deeply personal and varied; some enter the profession more voluntarily than others. It is an important story, for sex workers are too often shunned and maligned, forced to make a living under the long shadow of stigma. The article also highlights the important work done by organisations like Project X, that have long advocated for sex workers to have stronger protections and rights, and to be able to live and work with dignity.
Then there are those who find themselves in the sex work trade completely involuntarily. HOME has seen many workers who have been deceived into providing sexual services. These workers have been lied to about the kind of work that they will be doing in Singapore: they believe they are coming to do food packing, waitressing, or administrative jobs, only to be forced into working at massage parlours or entertainment venues, where they then have to provide sexual services to customers.
These workers are extremely vulnerable to being victims of forced labour: they come saddled with high recruitment fees; this indebtedness compels them to stay in jobs that they do not want to do. They are fearful of reporting their employers and agencies in the event that they are persecuted themselves; HOME has seen workers given warning letters for illegal work, or being unable to claim salaries on the basis that they have been partaking in “vice” activities, even though they were completely under the control their employers and agents.
Such vulnerabilities are often not acknowledged when they are brought to the attention of the authorities. Singapore’s Prevention of Human Trafficking Act also does not protect workers from getting prosecuted for offences which they have little control over when they are trafficked (such as non-consensual sex work), even though such protections are in line with international standards.
Sex trafficking can only be effectively combated if sex workers have labour rights, and are not seen as engaging in vice activities and treated as criminals. Such a move will de stigmatise the industry, offer protection and allow workers to report abuse without fear of prosecution.
These situations demand:
(1) stronger labour protections, including the right for workers to change employers;
(2) a victim-centric approach, including non-persecution of victims of exploitation;
(3) harsher punishment for perpetrators of such abuse and exploitation;
(4) legal and employment protections for sex workers.