Chinese prostitution in Singapore: Recruitment and brothel organisation

This chapter concentrates on the Chinese prostitutes in Singapore over a relatively short span of time, 60 years. It describes and analyses aspects of the lives of the women themselves and places brothel prostitution and the traffic in women and children in a broader context. First it emphasises the macro-social forces and cultural values which shaped the character of prostitution. It examines the patriarchal system of society and government responsible for the selling of women and young girls abroad. The record of prostitution in Singapore is part of the history of international trafficking and procuring in China where women were oppressed by the dual yoke of sex and class. Second, the social hierarchy within the profession, as well as the exploitation and the economic factors are considered as part of a new interpretive framework