Asian sex workers in Sydney brothels hide their job from friends and family, survey finds. Asian women in "lower-end brothels" in Sydney work in secret due to fears of the stigma of sex work, a new survey has found, leaving researchers concerned they are not reporting violence or assault. A strong majority of respondents β 80 per cent β come from Chinese-speaking countries and more than half have experienced domestic violence in the past, with some still seeking basic financial stability after fleeing abusive relationships.
It also revealed three in four sex workers believed "Australian society has an ingrained view of the [sex] industry".
Only 5 per cent would be comfortable to disclose their occupation to family or friends, despite the fact that sex work has been legal in NSW for decades. Only 2 per cent believed their family would support them. One in four workers said they are never able to choose their clients, while 42 per cent reported having encountered violent or difficult clients.
At the same time, 50 per cent of the women said they sometimes felt safe at work; 36 per cent of sex workers surveyed always felt safe. About one in four workers were provided condoms by employers, despite it being a WorkCover requirement, while only two thirds used condoms with clients all the time. Jade β who also wanted her identity kept from her ex-partner β also had to pay for her own condoms during the year she worked in a brothel.
I said: 'If you not use condom, I don't do! A survey published in by the Australian Institute of Criminology, in consultation with the national peak body, Scarlet Alliance, found more than half of female sex workers had to pay for their own condoms.
