In this file photo, two men riding on a
motorbike stop by a street prostitute to bargain on Nguyen Chi Thanh Street in
District 5.
Vietnam
has more than 100,000 sex workers, many of whom have to work more than 12 hours
a day, the Vietnamese chapter of the International Labor Organization (ILO)
said Friday, citing its statistics.
Of these
sex workers, some 72,000 are prostitutes, according to the ILO Vietnam figures,
released at a conference held by the social evils prevention department under
Vietnam’s Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs.
The social
affairs ministry admitted at the meeting that Vietnam has more than 160,000
establishments offering ‘sensitive services,’ with hundreds of thousands of
laborers who are forced to have sex with their customers.
The ILO
research was conducted via in-depth interviews with men, women and transgender
people who do prostitution, as well as owners of ‘sensitive services’ and local
authorities.
According
to the study, women working at establishments offering prostitution have to
‘serve’ six to ten customers a day on average, with the number reaching up to
30 on peak days.
In the
meantime, male prostitutes receive an average of three to ten customers a day.
Prostitutes
working on the street have a smaller amount of costumers a day, no more than
five.
Occupational
health and safety issues
Pham Thi
Thanh Huyen, national coordinator of ILO in Vietnam, said big financial burden
is the main motive behind prostitution.
“Many had
tried other jobs before deciding that prostitution is their best option at the
time,” she added.
Among 73
prostitutes interviewed, only one said she was cheated into do prostitution.
Many sex
workers have their travel controlled over, and their personal papers held by
their ‘employers,’ according to the study.
The study
also found that while most sex workers voluntarily take part in prostitution
activities, only a few of them are able to control occupational health and
safety issues.
The
‘workplace’ of those workers is mainly neat and dirty brothels in poor
conditions.
Prostitutes
often feel unsafe, and worry about the risks they may have to face including
being raided by police, thief and violence.
As a
result of unguaranteed working condition, hours-long working, slogging, and
violence, the job they are doing has left bad consequences on their health.
“Many
prostitutes stress and have metal problems as they feel uncomfortable with
working,” Huyen said.
“They
also suffer stomachache for heavily drinking alcohol, either because they are
forced or choose to do so on their own accord.”
Many sex
workers also have tremor as a result of having too much sex, or injures due to
gang rape, Huyen added.
“We need
to make sure that employers follow regulations to ensure safety, health and
rights of their labors,” Dr. Chang Lee Hee, director of ILO Vietnam said.
Dr. Chang
said the local labor and health inspectors play a very important role in
protecting sex workers.
“They
need to be trained regarding the issue and bring labors’ safety, health and
rights into their plans of inspection,” he explained.
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