Ever since the Central Epidemic Command Center on May 12 announced the first two COVID-19 cases linked to hostess “teahouses” in Taipei’s Wanhua District (萬華), it seems as though everyone has an opinion or joke to share about “person-to-person contact.” Yet as Wanhua emerges as the epicenter of the outbreak, it shows how the complicated industry is far from a joke.
At the teahouses in question, known as A-gong diam (阿公店) in Hoklo (commonly known as Taiwanese), hostesses, older than 40 on average, accompany predominantly male patrons in drinking, singing karaoke and chatting, and they sometimes also offer sexual services.
These establishments are a loosely kept secret, one of the few vestiges of the sex industry after then-Taipei mayor Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) ended legal prostitution in the capital in 1997. Most of the teahouses are registered as restaurants despite their true purpose, while law enforcement has long looked the other way.
Despite its legal status, Wanhua is well-known for its “red light district,” with more than 100 teahouses concentrated within just a few blocks. The two COVID-19 cases announced on May 12 — women in their 50s and 60s — work at different establishments a mere 300m apart.
While an outbreak could have started anywhere, it is no coincidence that these businesses have emerged as a hotbed of COVID-19 cases. The stigmatization associated with sex work has stopped clients from honestly reporting their whereabouts during the critical early stages of an outbreak, while it is difficult to keep social distance when engaging in “person-to-
person contact,” as Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) tactfully phrased it to reporters.
Sensationalist media have of course been quick with salacious reports about the sex trade, while comments online blame and make fun of everyone involved. It has also sparked a debate about the sex industry itself, distastefully represented by former Taipei city councilor Tung Chung-yen (童仲彥) calling for its legalization while sharing an explicit video of what goes on behind closed teahouse doors. On Friday, the Control Yuan called for an investigation into the establishments, accusing authorities of being negligent in addressing the underground sex trade.
Instead of playing the blame game and making victims or criminals out of sex workers and their clients, it is crucial to understand what exactly is happening and why. Many of the older female workers in teahouses have few employment alternatives, putting them in a dangerous position in which they must expose themselves to risk and marginalization, only made worse by the pandemic. The positioning of migrants working illegally is even more tenuous, with many fleeing after the outbreak surfaced.
Across the world, sex workers have been left out of relief programs, despite being among those most affected by the pandemic, forcing them to continue working and presenting a massive loophole in disease prevention efforts.
Most of their clients are underprivileged themselves, drawn to the teahouses for their cheap prices of about NT$300 for three hours at a table. These older clients often go in search of much-needed social interaction, not always for sex-related services, as the Collective of Sex Workers and Supporters said last week.
Since the industry is not going away any time soon, the next-best thing is to destigmatize it through honest discussion and legalization. This would enable the authorities to not only track and regulate such establishments, but also protect those involved to ensure that no one is forced into a dangerous situation during a pandemic or otherwise.
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