Women’s rights activists accused the government yesterday of failing to make its position clear with regard to its sex industry policy and of making rushed decisions without public consensus.
“We’re not sure about the government’s position on the sex industry — does it have an open attitude on adult sex transactions or does it intend to prohibit such activities?” Taiwan Women’s Link secretary-general Tsai Wan-fen (蔡宛芬) asked at a press conference organized by the Anti-Sexual Exploitation Alliance, a league of more than a dozen human rights non-governmental organizations.
Photo: PATRICK LIN, AFP
The alliance voiced its opinion two days after Minister of the Interior Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) said his ministry would not approve the establishment of red-light districts anywhere in the country, although he felt adult sex transactions should be decriminalized.
The Ministry of the Interior will start formulating its final policy and submit its recommendations to the Executive Yuan before the end of the year, Jiang was quoted as saying.
Tsai said the alliance is firmly opposed to the legalization of adult sex transactions, adding that the government should crack down on the sex industry and penalize those caught running prostitution rings.
The ministry “acted on its own discretion,” with only four public hearings held on the controversial issue. The majority of the six academics who spoke at those -hearings appear to favor legalization of prostitution, Tsai said.
According to a public opinion poll conducted by the ministry last year, 83 percent of the respondents said they favored the establishment of red light districts, while more than 90 percent said they disagreed with legalization of adult sex transactions in private homes, said Cheng Kai-jung (鄭凱榕), secretary-general of the Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women’s Rights.
The results of the survey show that there is no public consensus on the controversial issue and that more dialogue is needed before finalizing a national policy, Cheng said.
Legalization of the sex trade could lead to serious threats to social order and increased human -trafficking -because of the potential involvement of organized crime, Justine Wang of the Taipei Women’s Rescue Foundation said.
Until a final consensus is reached, Wang said, the -government should not set a timetable for the issue. If it does decide to legalize prostitution, she said, it should also consider levying “a social tax on whoremasters,” since their behavior brings extra costs and threats to society.
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