Calls to legalise migrant prostitution amid concerns
Researchers are calling for migrant prostitution to be legalised after finding some sex workers were raped, not paid or had their passports withheld.
A University of Otago, Christchurch, study released yesterday found the majority of migrant sex workers interviewed were ‘‘in safe employment situations’’. They chose the job to fund study or travel, ‘‘rather than being desperate, exploited or trafficked’’.
But those who did not work in reputable brothels were found to be more vulnerable, with at least one having been raped at a motel by a man alleged to have known prostitutes had previously worked from that room.
‘‘In the morning the motel cleaner found the girl crying [and] told the motel manager, who then called the police as well as NZPC [the New Zealand Prostitutes’ Collective],’’ the report says.
‘‘The police and NZPC came to the motel but the worker was scared of Immigration and being deported, so said that nothing happened and denied being a ‘working girl’.’’
The report was conducted by Otago associate professor Gillian Abel and Dr Michael Roguski of Kaitiaki Research and Evaluation. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment commissioned the study.
Abel said lawmakers should consider repealing section 19 of the Prostitution Reform Act, which prohibits temporary migrants working as prostitutes. Sex work is legal for New Zealand citizens and permanent residents, as well as migrant workers, aged 18 and over.
NZPC’s Catherine Healy said the organisation hoped to have ‘‘a formal political discussion’’ about repealing or amending section 19, especially following a June recommendation from a United Nations committee to do so.
‘‘It’s untenable to have explicit discriminatory legislation against a group of migrants.’’
Although small in scope, the Otago University study reflected the experiences relayed to NZPC, Healy said: ‘‘We’re in touch with thousands of [migrant] people each year. We haven’t come across that sex worker who says, ‘help me get out of here’.’’
Eleven migrant sex workers were surveyed in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch, along with nine others with close associations to the sex industry, including advocates and sexual health workers.
Abel said women with poor English and who ‘‘are obviously from another ethnic group’’ were more likely to be exploited and unlikely to report any maltreatment. ‘‘If you can fit in you get jobs in reputable brothels and are not exploited. Those who stand out wouldn’t be able to.’’
Those women were more likely to be forced to work long shifts, pay fines and bonds, have their passports withheld, be forced to offer unprotected sex, and be subjected to sexual violence by clients or management.