Few people know of the workings of this stigmatised industry in our squeaky clean country. Case in point: whenever I brought up the topic with well-meaning family and friends, their voices immediately lowered decibels and they asked me to do the same. With the hope of vocalising and raising awareness through open conversations, I sat down to talk to Amelia and Sherry, two sex workers from Project X who are in different phases of their lives in Singapore.
Founded in , Project X is the only NGO in the city that fights for the welfare of sex workers and campaigns against exploitation. I enter their office to meet Sherry, who holds the position of human rights defender at the NGO. During my chat with Amelia, I was immediately put at ease because of how much she resembled my peers in university.
Due to a lack of support from her family, her desire to be free of student debt is her primary reason for taking up the profession. As I conversed with them both, I had my eyes opened to the reality of being a sex worker in Singapore.
She explains how there are regulated brothels at Geylang and Little India monitored by the anti-vice department. Sherry tells me sex workers come from four countries other than Singapore: Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and China.
Sherry details the reality exposed by the pandemic for anyone without any legal and financial support. She beams, explaining how Project X stepped up to help. She also gives me a sneak peek into her own experience and how she treads the line between work and her personal life. She previously quit her job as a sex worker for 3.
