Taiwan considers legalizing individual sex workers

Oct 14, 2010, 12:23 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan said Thursday it was considering granting individual licences to sex workers instead of setting up red-light districts as originally proposed.

A research committee had concluded that red-light districts would create criminal areas, and individual licences would give prostitutes more autonomy, Interior Minister Jiang Yi-huah told parliament.

He said the cabinet would consider in December the proposal to licence individuals and small brothels, for legislation that could come into force in November 2011 if approved by parliament.

'Instead of setting up large-scale, commercialised operations like those of red-light districts as considered earlier, scholars and panelists have come up with the conclusion that it would be better to permit small-scale or individual transactions,' he said.

The government decided late last year to partially legalize the sex trade and reform legislation from 1997 which makes prostitution a criminal offence, but not using their services. The law was widely criticized by rights groups for being unfair.

Under the suggested new legislation, sex workers would be licensed, but plying their trade would still be barred in residential, school, temple or church areas.

Since 2009, prostitutes have not been prosecuted. The island is thought to be home to upwards of 100 brothels.

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