Our generation, the understanding of Hong Kong are mostly from the First impression of the Hong Kong community is: debauchery, dissipation, coupled with the unfettered sex and violence.
2007 6 months, I do in the short term the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a visiting scholar. One day, pick up a Sun, translation by the local people as a guide to the layout of prostitution, there are more than half actually version inside are doing all kinds of sexual services advertisements in the form of bold, explicit content, completely beyond my imagination of the people of this continent. a local work friends told me that as long as the holders of Hong Kong local account services in the community engaged in legitimate, including direct advertising in the newspapers. I was speechless then, the mainland's laws are expressly prohibited prostitution, and hiding in Social hidden corners of the sex industry is still so prevalent in Hong Kong, the legalization of this line completely, the situation is this not worse? of society rely on the moral order to support, how is this line?
next day, with a with access to the mainland in Hong Kong, a professor of women about the matter, she Waner smile: in Hong Kong's pluralistic society, people can not only provide legal services, and the right to conclude their own trade organizations. in previous years, local Hong Kong they took her to a reporter visited a prostitute Association. heard this, my tongue will be even longer.
discovered that she was older, so I asked: not afraid to mess too, have time to take me to see. Portland Street is a piece of the sex industry is the most developed areas.
in-depth look at Hong Kong's sex workers. to find a free evening to go to experience. plan, and asked if it is safe to go out at night?
did not think he heard it said that the past few days has been the Hong Kong Police anti-vice, the day before yesterday just across the street action in the blue bowl. To avoid trouble, you still have a while to go Check it out.
I opened the newspaper yesterday, sure enough, a police anti-vice in the news. unannounced visits to the plan fell through. I only hope that the prostitutes in the Association, to see if through this particular organization, piece of a jigsaw to find out the sex industry in Hong Kong.
Later, I learned that, in fact, the Hong Kong sex workers, local people who care, people are very disgusted at the front of the sex workers themselves as prostitutes or chicken or something, They believe that this law is discriminatory, said the taste is anti-human rights. This is also the organizations and initiatives have been in the dissemination of a concept of equality.
the history of Wisteria
ago, I know in Hong Kong, only limited to political and economic development, and ecological structure of our society and the life of the people are basically ignorant. because the do not understand, so I designed for sex workers in this service organization, will have a little more interest in .
professor in the woman's help, we contacted a local media colleagues, and then, through her matchmaking, and finally walked into this mysterious and strange world.
some of this by the mainland people are used as prostitutes Association organization has a distinctive name: Wisteria.
Wisteria is a rather robust vitality of the plant, its leaves and the skin can be used with rope or fabric, they grow silent, fresh as known. This is a symbol of our more than 20 million sex workers, they were engaged in the world's oldest profession, has been reviled and suffered discrimination, lack of proper rights and protection at work to face the broker career exploitation and abuse of clients, sexually transmitted diseases, abuse, legal issues such as unfair treatment. They are both members of the public, but it is long been neglected by social groups, can not enjoy basic human rights or not to lead a dignified life.
our media colleagues who Linda, with our street to street, looking around to walk more than twenty minutes, found only in Prince Edward Road, the new relocation address of the organization. Linda told me that wisteria is located in here to work convenient, because the famous bowl Portland Street will be in the vicinity, where they serve.
studio inside Wisteria any information, we can not find the name of prostitutes Association. because the wisteria to their own position is: concern groups of sex workers. if only from the outside, do not see that this is a history of more than a decade of civil society organizations.
1995, Hong Kong's Miss Yan Yuelian chained woman concerned about the plight of three women Huifang, the district Mabel, Jiang Hong, determined to set up a special concern for pregnant workers groups. They turn in the dictionary to turn to, and finally found an apt and special name: Wisteria. That year, the volunteers started off Wisteria to visit work areas persons.
1996 年 7 months, wisteria officially registered in Hong Kong, the civil affairs departments. In the same year in November, began a full-time volunteers Wisteria.
1997 years later, the wisteria around the world extensively in civil society organizations and research institutions and cooperation, including cooperation with the mainland.
establishment of organizations, the most important is the consensus. Wisteria up before, several veteran McCain over and over again about the collision, the consensus is that they initially agreed to work is a proper job . Then, starting from the discussion of the nature of the job, they should be thinking to find some common topic: in a capitalist society, what are commercialized, people selling different things, some people sell their labor, it was selling brain power, then why do the sex trade can not be a legitimate job? why sex workers are discriminated against?
With these questions, several full of intellectual and rational woman, started in all spheres of society to promote their own ideas and concepts. As the frequency of and sustained participation in social and public life, civil and official knowledge of more and more on Wisteria .10 years later, wisteria from a name without a pass and controversial organization, has grown impressively inside the Hong Kong Public community can not ignore an the civil power.
Wisteria, the reception of our volunteers is a Mingjiao Lin Yi Ling. Despite her young age, but it has wisteria nearly 10 years in service. from her, we learned that the service Wisteria object is local and from mainland China to Hong Kong in the women work.
in Hong Kong, sex workers are mostly women, their work place and type of transactions, including Station Street, first floor of a (working alone in the unit ), running clock (on-call), Kara OK, nightclubs, massage, massage and sauna yards.
this number in the end how much? Wisteria has been very much hope that the official can be said, however, until a few years ago, they only get a very fuzzy numbers: 20 million. This does not include those from China, Southeast Asian countries and Russia came to Hong Kong people who engage in sex work.
outside to figure how much? 2003 Wisteria made an estimate, from the outside to the female sex workers in Hong Kong nearly 10 million people, of which nearly 8 percent came from mainland China. because there is no legal status, are not familiar with local conditions, their working environment even worse, the possibility of greater harm.
Wisteria range of activities, one of these sex workers to provide legal, occupational safety and health advisory services and assist them to recommend mutual support network. wisteria is also a 24-hour free hotline to provide emergency support and other services. Second, public education, reflecting the lives of sex workers and the situation, let the public know more about them, to eliminate neglect and discrimination, and about government policies and related laws provide setting and enforcement, pay attention to the sex workers of their possible impact, respond to concerns of health sector workers required medical and health services. Third, to conduct research.
volunteers have a common understanding of : regardless of her career, class, religion, race, age, sexual orientation, every woman has the right to enjoy basic human rights, legal and other social systems in a fair treatment before, not violence and oppression, to live with dignity. While the ideas and work thinking
are so clear, however, the past 10 years, walked the streets of Wisteria is not smooth.
work is the work of civil affairs departments in Hong Kong
Wisteria registration, corporate nature is defined as non-profit organization. under the laws of Hong Kong, non-profit organization does not mean that charitable organizations. the public can only contribute to charitable organizations in order to get a tax cut policy to take care of. wisteria does not have the qualities of charity, which will undoubtedly contribute greatly hurt the people enthusiasm.
do this, create the beginning, volunteers have been trying to persuade officials to allow its registration as a charitable organization, but officials responded by saying that your service is not the women, but sex workers.
as a non-charitable organizations, Wisteria even allowed to take to the streets to the people coming across models. So, after the establishment of Wisteria facing the first major problem is how to survive. At first, all the work Wisteria expenses, expenses on sundries, including the volunteers of the subsidies, all the parties have to rely on individual donors friends.
A john told us volunteers, due to the impact of traditional values, the community of sex workers living conditions and situation of long-term do not want to know, not only do not understand, and support the attitude of discrimination and exclusion. And Wisteria service is designed for such people, so that in the initial years, the wisteria is full of controversies, often provoke people, and even official censure and criticism. In this case, to want to get their support, is even more difficult.
until later, Wisteria apply to some foreign fund support, work conditions and environment have changed only slowly, while the activities of only the expansion of space, they can conduct More programs, such as drop-zone, legal advice, health promotion, volunteer programs, research and publications. Currently, the monthly expenditure Wisteria 15,000 yuan, the understanding and support for social, is still their main task in front of .
Wisteria today, has four full-time volunteers. Every day, in addition to cope with a variety of meetings, visits, demonstrations, training and exchange activities, there must be two-week late also provides various initiatives Contact JJJ (ie sex workers).
in the early stage of development, Wisteria focus is streetwalkers. At first, Miss Yan Yuelian out nearly every week day to the streets frequented by sex workers go to visit them. that When she discovered that the road is basically stand no market for some of the more women, aged more than 30 years of age. She had seen one of the oldest of the sex workers, more than 60 years of age. They have no way to Kara OK, a nightclub. Because that kind of place are generally more beautiful, younger.
in Hong Kong do miss though is legal, but do miss the Hong Kong than in mainland China is even more difficult. And Hong Kong's sex industry, but also far from the extent of flooding. standing on the street to ask people to do service, or throwing a flirtatious, police found that it is illegal. In Ms. Yen view, such a provision to give the police too much power, they are likely to will use these laws to hurt those who do not understand the law streetwalkers.
Station Street with these women slowly got to know each after that Yan was from their mouth, the police infringement of the phenomenon in fact is a common occurrence. Later , Yan began to study law, hoping to help the young ladies through legal rights. But the more involved cases, the more she found that helping them to change the status quo, sometimes rely on the law, sometimes not. said the reform and opening up so many people in Hong Kong back to China to marry his wife. However, these women to Hong Kong, but each have their own destiny. For example, some are much older than their husbands, the children had died no big. Some in Hong Kong simply rogue, lie back, a gambler, a drug. these girls are married, have children, and finally divorce. they can rely on it? no industry in Hong Kong. They can not work, only with their bodies to make money. a lot of it is in bondage to bringing up the children.
Although the focus has changed, however, support the rights of Miss, Wisteria achieve organizational goals is still a major points here. At first, whether the police or civil society, regarded as Zi Teng's call a weak voice, not given much attention. But with the wisteria on the Hong Kong public social intervention, more and more frequently volunteers at more kinds of seminars, press conferences, communication publications related with sex workers, even to police violations directly meet the Legislative Council to explain their ideas, wisteria grown into an important force in civil society, on public social influence is growing.
many initiatives in the wisteria, the most notable was undoubtedly the question on the operation of police power.
2004 to 2005, Wisteria released outside the organization received 324 complaints against the police sex workers. Among them, the complaint undercover police operation in the service of complaints received masturbation, 27 and 23, respectively. and the police service receiving oral sex and sexual intercourse, with 14 and 8 respectively. Recently, wisteria once again released its January 2006 to 12 months statistics, claimed that the Council received a total of 364 sex workers complaints of police abuse of power, numbers more than doubled over last year.
2007 年 4 18, wisteria in the meeting with the Complaints Division of the But the situation is still not improved. So, Wisteria requirements, police officers. the Panel on Security CAPO prevent victims complaints against police officers, and has yet to explain the findings. thoroughly investigate the police shooting of sex workers using a mobile phone faces, and immediately explain the rationale behind it. Improving detention procedures, stop the police unreasonably searched. the police to take measures to prevent police abuses (especially to stop all work related to false accusations.) providing training to police officers, the elimination of discrimination and prejudice against sex workers. the establishment of an independent complaints mechanism to investigate police abuses . decriminalization of sex work, positive work is work. On this basis, Wisteria firmly grasp the public health, HIV prevention, community development, justice, rule of law, equality, human rights and public expenditure are generally concerned about the topic of the Hong Kong market to start, in order to convince the community to strive to obtain from the public and more support for the official.
want to miss our own organization, their
public, they have been in pursuit of a pluralistic society. However, the emergence of wisteria, the first of them did cause some people had disturbed.
1997, the Wisteria activities organized alternative regression;
1999, the first floor of a Big Sister organization met Wisteria Members;
2000, the Wisteria organizations JJJ are veiled woman for the first time took to the streets march against violence against women, holding terms of the situation of sex workers drive away, and in the appeal.
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when a series of public events act as the public's eyes out now, their minds may still be thinking about, Miss Hong Kong is not welcome, and Wisteria why so hard to speak for them .
Gengrang citizens staggering is that wisteria has also received a human trafficking organization. things like this, in general, people are concerned, is unthinkable.
in Hong Kong, as the law of tolerance, appear on a variety of community civic groups, these organizations distributed in all areas, members from doing the things that makes sense. But no organization such as wisteria, the public mood has been so complicated.
john is a Hong Kong university student, a junior. he entered the wisteria and became a part-time volunteers have been almost a year. At first, his parents do not agree with him doing this. and his own participation in a variety of wisteria activities, but also the work to be deeply understood by society, it is not easy. However, I very much agree with Wisteria he preached the concept of equal human rights. Therefore, even if not understood by the outside world, he's done this with ease unsalaried work.
According to him, has been established, work part-time volunteers into Wisteria have thousands of people, they have different professional backgrounds: doctors, lawyers, teachers, journalists into hh
10 years long-term, part of the public acceptance of Wisteria from resentment, exclusion to not support the no objection to the part of the approval and support. Now, almost every month a number of universities and organizations invited to attend their meetings wisteria or lectures. and wisteria in the community or Other activities carried out in the public domain, but also begun to attract the public's eyebrows and attention.
for volunteers is the best feeling, the police attitude to them no longer as bad as before the.
in many people's eyes , the Wisteria is a human rights organization, and its job is to talk to sex workers. In fact, in addition to helping sex workers rights, the public education and collaborative research agenda in the wisteria is also very important.
Wisteria's activities in the side room, stocked with a variety of closely related with books, equipment and other supplies. these are the resources that they carry out a variety of sex education.
10 years, Wisteria cooperation with the outside world published a large number of publications, such as Reading a variety of laws, sex education in the community available free Reader.
some scholars say, wisteria on the promotion of Hong Kong medical and health, health education and legal literacy and other aspects of the work has a contribution can not be ignored.
continent industries are prohibited by law, so wisteria and cooperation with the mainland has always been focused on health care, health education and research.
1996, the wisteria just registered in Hong Kong in November, she came to Shenzhen Academy of Social Sciences, understanding of the possible cooperation of .1998 August, to Beijing to attend the research; June to Beijing to attend a service for sex workers run by sharing; September, Hangzhou, was established to assist women's health hotline and training volunteers; October hosted exchange .2000 Korean women visiting in January, with the AMRC cooperation , held in Zhuhai, Sichuan, Yunnan, training outreach workers hh
recent years, the wisteria and the mainland's contact and cooperation on a more frequent. In the mainland, as long as the research work carried out over the bodies, most of them have had direct or with Wisteria indirect contact and cooperation. wisteria, the actual sex education has been to the mainland and research, provides a practical model.
provide support for research, whether or services, or independently carry out various public education activities planned for today wisteria, it is already very much at home thing.
Although not as the attitude of opposition, but did not show any support. The public recognition and support, is directly related to our future survival. In this sense, we still have a long walk back to. ; Wisteria volunteer says.
Miss Yan Yuelian mentioned in many occasions, Wisteria greatest hope is that lady to his own organization to fight for something they should have. This I believe, when not dead, but also can see. In fact the world, one after another there have been some trade unions, Miss, Miss Japan, recently established trade unions. I trust that this community would be such a big change, but take a long time, slowly accumulated. (end)
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