Glowing neon lights signal the brothels that line the street. When the doors swing open, glimpses of women can be seen inside sitting on massage chairs, waiting. On the street a mix of dialects and languages fill the cigarette polluted air; from Hokkien and Mandarin to Vietnamese and English. A colourful array of sex enhancement drugs is sold on styrofoam boxes along the bumpy footpath. An eager customer approaches a seller.
This is Geylang. The initial lockdown measures eased in June of that year. However, the Singaporean government implemented two further lockdowns in Although brothels are now re-opening for business, online sex work has become more prominent. Whilst the industry has been shaped by the pandemic, conservative attitudes and ambiguous laws continue to affect sex workers in Singapore.
Prostitution is legal under the regulation of the government; however, most sex workers operate illegally. In a society where the topic of sex remains largely taboo, sex workers face a range of significant issues. To be registered you must be from one of five nationalities: Singaporean, Malaysian, Chinese, Vietnamese, or Thai. You must also be between the ages of 21 to Migrant sex workers will face a life-time travel ban when their two-year visa expires.
While sex work is legal, there are many laws criminalising the actual activity. Project X claims there are roughly 10, sex workers in Singapore. However, less than 10 per cent are legally registered. She says unregistered sex workers are at higher risk of abuse. They live with it in fear of making a report, because if they do, they might have to disclose where they got their clients from and how it happened.
This would risk them being sent back to their country. Dr Rayner Tan agrees. A socio-behavioural researcher at the National University of Singapore, he works closely with unregistered sex workers to address the social and health issues that make this group vulnerable. Tan believes the pandemic has amplified the health issues within this group. After talking to sex workers, he learnt many were having sex in riskier places such as outdoors or in cars.
