Violence against sex workers is considered a global phenomenon. Despite this, very little is known about the patterns and nature of this form of violence. This article is concerned with violence against Chinese female sex workers in Hong Kong. Based on a systematic analysis of 75 police case files, it was found that violent attacks on sex workers display clear temporal and spatial patterns, and that perpetrators share certain characteristics. The article concludes that violence against female sex workers in the Chinese context is largely opportunity driven and goes on to argue that situational measures offer the greatest potential for preventive gains. Barriers to effective implementation such as the inappropriate or unfavourable responses of the government, the police, community leaders, and local residents toward commercial sexual activity are also discussed.
Action for Reach Out. (2007). A survey on occupational safety of female sex Workers in Hong Kong (Report). Hong Kong, China: Author.
2.
BarnardM. (2009). Violence and sex work in Britain. Sociology of Health & Illness, 31, 1113-1114.
3.
CaoL.StackS. (2010). Exploring terra incognita: Family values and prostitution acceptance in China. Journal of Criminal Justice, 38, 531-537.
4.
Census and Statistics Department. (2007). Thematic Household Survey Report No. 31: Crime & its Victims in Hong Kong in 2005. Hong Kong: Author.
5.
ChoiS. Y. P.HolroydE. (2007). The influence of power, poverty and agency in the negotiation of condom use for female sex workers in mainland China. Culture, Health & Sexuality: An International Journal for Research, Intervention and Care, 9, 489-503.
6.
ChuY. K. (2000). The triads as business. London, England: Routledge.
7.
ChurchS.HendersonM.BarnardM.HartG. (2001). Violence by clients towards female prostitutes in different work settings: Questionnaire survey. British Medical Journal, 322, 524-525.
8.
ClarkeR. V. (1980). Situational crime prevention: Theory and practice. British Journal of Criminology, 20, 136-147.
9.
ClarkeR. V. (2008). Situational crime prevention. In WortleyR.MazerolleL. (Eds.), Environmental criminology and crime analysis (pp. 178-194). Cullompton, Devon: Willan.
CohenL. E.FelsonM. (1979). Social change and crime rate trends: A routine activity approach. American Sociological Review, 44, 588-608.
12.
ComackE.SeshiaM. (2010). Bad dates and street hassles: Violence in the Winnipeg street sex trade. Canadian Journal of Criminology and Criminal Justice, 52, 203-214.
13.
CornishD. B.ClarkeR. V. (2003). Opportunities, precipitators and criminal decisions: A reply to Wortley’s critique of situational crime prevention. In SmithM. J.CornishD. B. (Eds.), Crime prevention studies (Vol. 16, pp. 41-96). Monsey, NY: Criminal Justice Press.
14.
DallaR.KennedyH. (2003). “You just give them what they want and pray they don’t kill you”: Street-level sex workers’ reports of victimization, personal resources, and coping strategies. Violence Against Women, 9, 1367-1394.
15.
EI-BasselN.WitteS. S.WadaT.GilbertL.WallaceJ. (2001). Correlates of partner violence among female street-based sex workers: Substance abuse, history of childhood abuse and HIV risks. AIDS Patient Care and STDs, 15, 41-51.
IzugbaraC. O. (2005). “Ashawo suppose shine her eyes”: Female sex workers and sex work risks in Nigeria. Health, Risk & Society, 7, 141-159.
19.
JenkinsC. (2006). Violence and exposure to HIV among sex workers in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Washington, DC: United States Agency for International Development.
20.
KarandikarS.PrósperoM. (2010). From client to pimp: Male violence against female sex workers. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25, 257-273.
21.
KerschlA. V. (2004, 3-5July). The dislocation process of the illegal street prostitution scene in Cologne: Results from the scientific evaluation of the pilot project. Paper presented at AC Company Conference “Dealing With Mobility and Drug Use in A Changing Europe,”Prague.
22.
KurtzS.SurratH.InciardiJ.KileyM. (2004). Sex work and “date” violence. Violence Against Women, 10, 357-385.
23.
LaidlerK. J.PetersenC.EmertonR. (2007). Bureaucratic justice: The incarceration of Mainland Chinese women working in Hong Kong’s sex industry. International Journal of Offender Therapy & Comparative Criminology, 51, 68-83.
24.
LeeM. (2007). Women’s imprisonment as mechanism of migration control in Hong Kong. British Journal of Criminology, 47, 847-860.
25.
LethbridgeH. (1978). Prostitution in Hong Kong: A legal and moral dilemma. Hong Kong Law Journal. 149-173.
26.
LutnickA.CohanD. (2009). Criminalization, legalization or decriminalization of sex work: What female sex workers say in San Francisco, USA. Reproductive Health Matters, 17, 38-46.
27.
Ming Pao Daily News. (2008, 16March). A sex worker died in a robbery (p. 406).
28.
O’NeillM.CampbellR.HubbardP.PitcherJ.ScoularJ. (2008). Living with the other: Street work, contingent communities and degrees of tolerance. Crime, Media, Culture, 4, 73-93.
29.
PenfoldC.HunterG.CampbellR.BarhamL. (2004). Tackling client violence in female street prostitution: Inter-agency working between outreach agencies and the police. Policing & Society, 14, 365-379.
30.
RatinthornA.MeleisA.SindhuS. (2009). Trapped in circle of threats: Violence against sex workers in Thailand. Health Care for Women International, 30, 249-269.
31.
RosslerW.KochU.LauberC.HassA.-K.AltweggM.Ajdacic-GrossV.LandoltK. (2010). The mental health of female sex workers. Acta Psychoatr Scand, 1-10.
32.
SalfatiC. G.JamesA. R.FergusonL. (2008). Prostitute homicides: A descriptive study. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 23, 505-543.
33.
SanderT.CampbellR. (2009). Global sex worker regimes, politics and policy. In JaishankarK. (Ed.), International perspective on crime and justice (pp. 114-140). Tyne, UK: Cambridge Scholar.
34.
SandersT. (2004). The risks of street prostitution: Punters, police and protesters. Urban Studies, 41, 1703-1717.
35.
SandersT.CampbellR. (2007). Designing out vulnerability, building in respect: Violence, safety and sex work policy. British Journal of Sociology, 58, 1-19.
36.
ShannonK.KerrT.StrathdeeS. A.ShovellerJ.MontanerJ. S.TyndallM. W. (2010). Prevalence and structural correlates of gender-based violence among a prospective cohort of female sex worker. British Medical Journal, 1-8.
37.
SimićM.RhodesT. (2009). Violence, dignity and HIV vulnerability: Street sex work in Serbia. Sociology of Health and Illness, 31, 1-16.
SureshG.FurrL. A.SrikrishnanA. K. (2009). An assessment of the mental health of street-based sex workers in Chennai, India. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 25, 186-201.
Van DoorninckM.CampbellR. (2006). Zoning street work. In CampbellR.O’NeillM. (Eds.), Sex work now (pp. 62-91). Cullompton, Devon: Willan.
42.
WechsbergW. M.LusenoW. K.LamW. K. (2005). Violence against substance-abusing South African sex workers: Intersection with culture and HIV risk. AIDS Care, 17, 55-64.
43.
PoWen Wei. (2008, 18December). A demonstration fighting for sex workers’ right (p. A29).
