All police and judicial units would be advised to carefully consider the necessity of confiscating condoms and lubricants as evidence, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, following criticism over a raid on an alleged prostitution operation serving same-sex clients in Taichung.
The CDC said it respects the job of law enforcement in maintaining public order, as well as sex workers’ choice to provide condoms and lubricant to their clients to promote health consciousness.
However, it urged the police and prosecutors to consider whether the confiscation of condoms is necessary, as they aid in the important public health goal of preventing the spread of sexually transmitted infections (STIs).
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
The Taichung Police Department on Tuesday announced that it was investigating an operation that allegedly provides sex services to same-sex clients in Situn District (西屯).
As part of the investigation, it said it confiscated cellphones, as well as all condoms and lubricants at the scene.
The Lourdes Organization yesterday issued a statement saying the investigation was discriminatory and detrimental to public health.
The group cited the 2004 Nongan Street incident during which police also used condoms as evidence of criminal activity, which later prompted underground rings to refrain from providing protection for their clients, exposing the community to the spread of STIs.
Condoms are tools to prevent STIs and should not be considered “evidence” in crimes, it said.
Moreover, the alleged service provider complied with the law by providing clients with condoms and lubricants, the organization said.
To consider such acts criminal goes against government policy and is a regression in efforts to promote safe sex, it added.
The group also urged the media to stop using language that would blur the crux of the incident, adding that using such descriptions also smears minority groups and encourages moral judgement.
The Taiwan Gender Equity Education Association, the Taiwan Sex Industry & Workers' Rights Association and the Taiwan Tongzhi (LGBTQ+) Hotline Association in a separate statement on Tuesday lambasted media coverage of the incident, citing the use of police department statements as a breach of the non-disclosure principle for ongoing investigations.
The description in one report of how an undercover agent “sacrificed himself” even when “he biologically could not accept [such acts]” was discriminatory toward LGBTQ+ groups and also highlighted the judiciary’s lack of sensitivity toward gender and sexual identity, the joint statement said.
The groups called for law enforcement to face the issue and to teach sensitivity regarding such matters in an effort to reduce systemic discrimination against LGBTQ+ people.
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