Bodies and Chains in the Red Light District: When the Justice System Institutionalizes Violence Against Sex Work

Abstract

The Philippine justice system is meant to correct and redress forms of injustices against the most vulnerable groups in the country. However, with the legalization of acts penalizing sex workers, the justice system takes part in normalizing police harassment through brutal raid and rescue operations, intimate searches, and incarceration. Such an act is already in full swing amid the intensifying state militarism in the Philippines, wherein billions of money are allocated for the defense budget annually while other sectors meant to promote the welfare of people are underfunded. Under the scope of this qualitative analysis, a sociological neo-institutionalism perspective would be utilized in the analysis of the existing laws and policies regarding sex work. It will also be valuable in determining its consequences to key stakeholders. Instead of focusing on the normative client-seller relationship, the researcher is to explore the influence of the criminal justice system on the stigmatization of sex work and the prevailing violence against them. Using sociological institutionalism would then allow the researchers to see not only the rules and procedures of the institutions responsible for the creation and implementation of policies regarding sex workers but also the institution’s identity and motivation. And in doing so, it also determines how the meanings dispensed by those institutions influence individuals. However, in order to make the analysis viable, the research proposed to devise a data collection tool that is transparent, non-exploitative, and participatory. Two methods will be used to triangulate the data gathered: (1) A semi-structured interview with NGOs, CSOs, and community leaders who are handling sex work-related cases; and (2) Analysis of existing laws and policies on sex work using a policy toolkit which is developed by the researchers. Moreover, purposeful sampling was employed to select 5 participants from the NGOs to form the research sample. In the end, this qualitative study aims to provide a list of policy recommendations or a policy brief to government agencies and NGOs, which shall address the demands of sex workers. Research findings, then, will be instrumental in determining the content of the policies.