Prostitution in China
Prostitution is a global social phenomenon with a long history, and most countries today perceive prostitution to be a deviant social behavior and aim to minimize the extent of it. Prostitution is defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as “a dynamic and adaptive process that involves a transaction between the seller and buyer of a sexual service”. In legal frameworks prostitution is commonly defined as a public order crime, an act of delinquency or a misdemeanor, and is usually not regarded as a serious criminal offence. 
The number of prostitutes in China was estimated to be 4 million in an official Chinese report from 1997. A less conservative, but perhaps more realistic number of prostitutes in China is estimated to be roughly 20 million.
There are many opinions and views on how to deal with prostitution, and the dominant regulation of prostitution distinguish between three legal frameworks; Prohibition, legalization and decriminalization. Prohibition is where all prostitution is illegal. The definition of legalization and decriminalization varies in empirical data, but in this article legalization is defined as state regulation, e.g. licensing, registration, compulsory health checks, where prostitutes not granted permits are still subjected to criminal penalties. Decriminalization aims to normalize prostitution by removing social exclusion which makes prostitutes vulnerable to exploitation.
As prostitution is illegal in China the discrepancy in official numbers and unofficial estimates is very large, as the Chinese government remains conservative in estimating numbers. This is also reflected in empirical data where numbers varies substantially. In addition it is difficult to estimate numbers in gray areas such as prostitution. Nevertheless the numbers of prostitutes in China has increased significantly during the last 28 years.
The main reasons for the huge increase in prostitution the last decades in China have economic, social, cultural and demographic reasons. In the coming months, a small series of articles about prostitution in China will look into these factors that influence prostitutes in China.
Causes of the increase in prostitution
The main reasons for the huge increase in prostitution the last decades in China have economic, social, cultural and demographic reasons.
After the establishment of the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) the sex industry started to increase as Chinas involvement in the global economy grew bigger. In addition an inflow of foreign and domestic human -and financial capital gathered in the SEZ.
Between 1978 and 1993 almost 112 million people moved from the rural into the urban areas of the Chinese east coast. This has caused higher levels of unemployment, especially among women. For girls moving to the city, looking for low skilled work, prostitution can sometimes be the only, or at least one of the most profitable occupations on presented in the city. Another reason for the high level of unemployment is the decrease in state owned enterprises. In 1997, 12 million state workers were laid off from1998 to 1999 and 800 000 government employers lost their jobs. A majority of the laid off workers the recent years have been women.
Along with the economic changes in the Chinese society governments control over the masses has weakened and the attitudes in society have become more tolerant in general. Since 1978, the neighborhood watch, which helped to successfully eradicated prostitution in the 1950s has been eroding along with the government loss of power to spread the values of the party to the people.
Another important factor is the cultural “sexual revolution” which has taken place in China since the Mao era. People in their twenties and thirties today have more sex earlier in life. In addition, premarital sex has increased and male usage of commercial sex is on the rise.
The interrelation between the sexes has also changed since the Communist period, leading to a gender inequality because of the increasing sex-ratio imbalance in the Chinese population.
These factors are all contributing to the rapid growth of prostitution but problems of organized crime and corruption is also more serious today than before and should be taken into account.
The Chinese prostitute
Chinese officials used to believe that the causes of prostitution consisted of socio-economic factors, especially in the family of prostitutes, and their policies targets was therefore to eliminate the economic causes of prostitution. In later years prostitution is blamed much on Western influence and decline in values due to capital evils. The official view on prostitutes is that they are ill-educated with low mental health. The primary motivation to engage in prostitution is money, but this does not mean that prostitutes in China necessarily come from poor or unstable homes.
In the Jiading district in Shanghai alone, there are over hundred brothels, which is approximately one brothel per thousand inhabitants. According to a survey from a case study on brothel prostitution in the Jiading district in Shanghai, most of the girls in the brothels are around twenty years old. These women state that they engage in prostitution because they cannot find other jobs. Those who find available jobs consider the wage level to be too low and working hours too long. A few prostitutes have other jobs and consider prostitution as a part time job where they can make some extra money. Most of the women in this survey do not have children, a husband or a boyfriend, and drug use is not common.
Income
The monthly income of prostitutes varies much in China. The higher tier prostitutes like escort girls earn much more than the low tier prostitutes on the street. Price also varies depending on which services the customer demands, the nature of the sex and length of time also influences the price. 
A brothel brings in about 4000 Renminbi (RMB) per prostitute every month. Half of this amount is kept by the owner of the brothel. This amount is supposed to cover expenses provided for the prostitutes and the rest is kept by the owner as profit. The monthly wage for a brothel prostitute after “taxes” in China is approximately 2000 RMB. This amount can be considered as the disposable income for a brothel prostitute.
Various other factors have a significant impact on prostitutes and their numbers in China, next article will take a look at the legislative framework.
These articles are build on the research conducted by ASP students Sigrid Opheim-Yndestad, Jonas Dreyer, Lea Remien, Andreas Gram, Johan Henriksson and the author of the article in 2008.
