China axes 'custody and education' system which subjected sex workers to forced labour

'A system that has subjected hundreds of thousands of sex workers to horrendous abuse,' says researcher

The so-called 'custody and education' system saw those detained forced into working – purportedly having to construct toys and household items (Getty)

China has axed its practice of placing sex workers and their clients in custody for up to two years at “education centres”.

The so-called “custody and education” system saw those detained made to carry out forced labour – purportedly having to construct toys and household items.

China’s official news agency Xinhua said such measures will end on 29 December and all detainees will be freed.

Sex work nevertheless remains illegal in China and is punishable by up to 15 days in detention and offenders can be hit with fines of up to 5,000 yuan (£546).

Human Rights Watch previously urged China to do away with the detainment of sex workers and other formal and unofficial types of arbitrary detention.

“It is encouraging to see that the call for abolishing 'Custody and Education' is now coming from within the Chinese government,” Yaqiu Wang, the human rights organisation’s China researcher, said earlier in the year.

“China’s legislators should listen to their own experts and end a system that has subjected hundreds of thousands of sex workers to horrendous abuse.”

Ms Wang called for China to fully decriminalise all forms of sex work.

Human Rights Watch said the so-called “custody and education” system resulted in “forced labour, physical and sexual violence, and psychological abuse.”

A 2013 report by the human rights organisation alleged sex workers were “beaten, blackmailed, and harassed” in a 2010 clampdown.

Transgender sex workers are one of the most marginalised groups in China and are forced to endure severe ostracisation, a study by Asia Catalyst from 2015 found.