Recorded presentation

Hongyun Fu, Clare Houseman, PhD, RN, CS, and Stacey B. Plichta, ScD. College of Health Sciences, Old Dominion University, 203 Spong Hall, Norfolk, VA 23529, 757-683-5137, hxfu@odu.edu

Community Level Correlates of Commercial Sex in China

Hongyun Fu, Clare Houseman, Stacey Plictha

Background: Commercial sex resurfaced in China in the 1980s after three decades of limited activity. Currently, it is mushrooming in the society, arousing serious public concerns. This study explores the social and economic correlates of commercial sex in China and discusses the feasible interventions to control this social phenomenon.

Methods: Data were collected between the end of 2000 and the beginning of 2001 through a community-level survey conducted by the Provincial Statistics Bureau in a province in the Southwest China. The survey covered 132 counties/cities and contained aggregate information on SES indicators as well as on detained drug abusers and sex workers from 1996 to 2000.

Results: At the city/county level, commercial sex is positively correlated with population size, average income, temporary in-migration, crime rate, and entertainment establishments. Though not consistent, divorce rate is also positively correlated with commercial sex. There is a negative relationship between poverty level, educational attainment and the prevalence of commercial sex in China.

Conclusions: Commercial sex in China is the byproduct of the social, economic and political transition. The rapid growth of population, the increasing disparity between the urban and rural China, the surge of temporary rural to urban migration all contribute to its resurgence. Interventions that focus on increasing women’s education level and ability to earn a living wage through conventional employment are needed.

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