China: Prostitutes do not use condoms for fear of police

Most sex workers in China do not use condoms because if caught by police, the disease prevention tool would be used as evidence against them.

Sex workers who had been questioned by police were the least likely to use condoms, with 67.8 percent of those who had not been questioned saying they used condoms, compared with 47.7 percent of those who had been questioned, according to a report released on July 25.

They said that simply carrying condoms was enough reason to be arrested, even if police did not catch them selling sex.

Chinese police raided a brothel. Photo: Shanghaiist

A transgender sex worker named Shasha said that she was once stopped by police on the street and accused of prostitution, simply because she had condoms and lubricant in her bag, even though she was not working that day.

"They have no evidence, nor did they catch me having sex or chatting with anyone. On what basis do they say I am a prostitute?" she said.

"If I stand in an alley, I will definitely be questioned by the police. If I don't have condoms, the police will stand there and ask a few questions, but if I just deny passing by, they won't be able to arrest me. However, if I have condoms, I will definitely be arrested," said Xiaoxue, another prostitute.

Prostitutes often hide condoms in refrigerators, rice bins or near garbage dumps to avoid being detected by the police. Photo: Shanghaiist

The distribution of condoms at entertainment venues has also been hampered by police. Zhaoke, an employee of a health organization, said that although the Ministry of Health requires these establishments to provide condoms, business owners do not dare to do so because they are afraid of being visited by the police.

Ke once witnessed a police officer ask a manager, "Is this an illegal business?" and then order them to clean up all the condoms. As a result, one manager said, when health inspectors came, they would display the condoms for inspection, then put them away again when the police arrived.

According to VNE