Carole J. Petersen

Bureaucratic Justice The Incarceration of Mainland Chinese Women Working in Hong Kong’s Sex Industry

Since Hong Kong’s return to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) there has been a significant rise in the number of Chinese visitors to Hong Kong, including women crossing the border to engage in sex work. Sex work itself is not a crime in Hong Kong, but related activities, like soliciting, are prohibited. Sex work is treated as work for immigration purposes, and visitors who engage in work without an employment visa are breaching their conditions of stay. More than 10,000 mainland Chinese women have been arrested, prosecuted, and sentenced in recent years, causing the correctional population to expand beyond capacity. The authors examine the experiences of 58 incarcerated women in their encounters with the Hong Kong criminal justice system and find that women are processed in a highly routinized bureaucratic manner. They consider the purpose served by the largely bureaucratic form of justice that has emerged in response to migrant sex workers in Hong Kong.

TRAFFICKING OF MAINLAND CHINESE WOMEN INTO HONG KONG'S SEX INDUSTRY: PROBLEMS OF IDENTIFICATION AND RESPONSE

The article discusses the trafficking of women from mainland China to Hong Kong, China to be involved in the sex industry. The authors opinions regarding the lack of enforcement of regulations regarding the sex industry in Hong Kong are discussed. Increases which have occurred regarding the number of Chinese women involved in the sex industry in Hong Kong are mentioned. The role in which Asian governments are required to play in protecting women from becoming victims in the sex industry are discussed. Reasons for the increase which has been seen in the number of sex workers in Hong Kong are mentioned. Keywords: Human trafficking

Population Policy and Eugenic Theory: Implications of China's Ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) is the first new human rights treaty of the 21st century. China was an early supporter of the CRPD and became East Asias first State Party in 2008. This article discusses how the CRPD protects the rights of persons with disabilities to life, marriage and procreation, and analyses Chinas population policy, which continues to reflect eugenic theories. As China did not file any reservations, it is now obligated to reform laws and policies that conflict with the CRPD.

Embracing Universal Standards

In this chapter, I analyze the extent to which international human rights treaties, and interpretative materials that inform and update our understanding of those treaties, are considered and relied on by the Hong Kong judiciary. I adopt a fairly broad definition of “interpretative materials” to include not only international and foreign judgments but also commentary by international treaty monitoring bodies, periodic reports submitted by the Hong Kong government regarding its implementation of the treaties, and other nonjudicial commentary.

Sex Work, Migration, and the United States Trafficking in Persons Report: Promoting Rights or Missing Opportunities for Advocacy?

While the feminist debate on commercial sex reflects strong theoretical differences, all sides acknowledge the importance of studying women’s experiences in particular situations.1 Post-colonial feminist theory has sharpened the analysis of sex work by demonstrating the dangers of assuming a single narrative of victimization.2 Women’s accounts of sex work are affected by a multitude of factors, including economic inequality; the presence or absence of legal rights; and gender, ethnic, and class discrimination.3 The state plays an important role as it largely determines whether sex workers (both migrant and domestic) are viewed as victims, criminals, or working persons.4 In addition to domestic politics, the treatment of sex work is also increasingly affected by the global anti-trafficking movement and

Negotiating Respect: Sexual Harassment and the Law in Hong Kong

This article critiques the sexual harassment provisions of Hong Kongs Sex Discrimination Ordinance , as well as the enforcement model. Although the judiciary has had some opportunity to interpret the Ordinance, most complaints never reach the courts because the Equal Opportunities Commission has a statutory duty to attempt to conciliate a complaint before granting legal assistance. When the Ordinance was enacted it was widely assumed that Chinese women would prefer confidential conciliation to a public hearing. However, interviews with past complainants and representatives of womens organizations reveal that many complainants find conciliation conferences to be extremely stressful. They also feel demeaned and disempowered by what is effectively an obligation to negotiate with the respondent. The author concludes that the current model exacerbates the power imbalance between complainants and respondents and limits the systemic impact of the law. She argues that an informal and inexpensive Equal Opportunities Tribunal should be created. This would allow those complainants who are willing to try their complaints to proceed directly to a hearing, without any obligation to first participate in conciliation.