Sex Work and Money Worship
By Cassie
"See all the branded items that she has! She must be doing compensated dating again!" "All she knows is pretending to be sweet and making money from men! She’s simply greedy." -- There are all sorts of bias and prejudices against sex workers, among which we often hear of "money worship" and "greed for money".
From the
talk with the fellow sisters, I have learnt that they rely on the money they earned to support the family and the children's education, hoping to provide a better life for their families. Is this the same kind of "greed for money" that you may have in mind? Is the reason why they work "lower" than
the reason why you and I go to work? Sometimes people may make fun of themselves, saying that
they are "selling their souls and dignity to the boss." Has the society accused these people of working because they need money?
Why can some people use money
that they earn from hard work to buy an iPhone 12 as a self reward,
while sex workers can't use the money they earn to buy branded items for themselves?
What sex workers provide their clients is a fair deal of buying and selling, and this is not a problem. However, they are all oppressed in society in different ways, such as being stigmatised, not receiving legal protection, being bullied and unjustly treated by law enforcement officers, threats of violence by clients, etc. Sometimes they do not even dare to report to the police when beaten or robbed by clients. They undoubtedly are from a disadvantaged group in the society.
The society has not made every effort to ensure that members of this disadvantaged group receive basic human rights protection. Instead, they continue to impose stigma on them, making them suffer even more. I hope that the general public is willing to learn more about sex workers, eliminate prejudice, and let sex workers enjoy basic respect and human rights protection.
Mailing Address: P.O.Box 98108, Tsim Sha Tsui Post Office, Kowloon
(852)27701201 
