143
# STATE REGULATION OF PROSTITUTION IN HONG KONG, 1857 TO 1941
R.J. MINERS
From its earliest days the male population of Hong Kong greatly outnumbered the females. Chinese men came to find work leaving their families in Kwangtung and the European community was also predominantly male because of the presence of the army garrison, the ships of the Royal Navy and the crews of merchant ships unloading their goods in the harbour. In 1872, when the first proper census was carried out, there were 3,264 European men compared to 669 European women, a ratio of practically 5:1, and the Chinese men outnumbered women by 78,484 to 22,837, a ratio of 7:2.1 This imbalance continued to exist, though to a diminishing extent, for the next 70 years: in 1931 Chinese men outnumbered women 4:3, but the European ratio was still only 7:2.2 Naturally, in order to satisfy the needs of this predominantly male community, prostitutes quickly moved in to ply their trade, numerous brothels were established and by the 1850s Hong Kong was already notorious for the prevalence of venereal disease.
In 1857, at the urgent request of the naval officer in command of the China station the Hong Kong government instituted a system for the registration and inspection of brothels, the compulsory medical examination of their inmates, the punishment of prostitutes who communicated venereal disease to their clients and their detention in the Lock Hospital until cured.3 This measure was approved by the Secretary of State primarily because it appeared that a system of licensed brothels and government inspection might provide a means of protecting the inmates from ill-treatment and virtual enslavement to their brothel-keepers.4 Ten years later the Hong Kong government was instructed by the Secretary of State to replace the ordinance of 1857 with a new one modelled on the Contagious Diseases Act which had just been passed by the British parliament. This had set up a system of controlled brothels and compulsory medical examination of prostitutes in twelve garrison towns in England. The new 1867 ordinance, though more comprehensive, made few changes in the system already in force, except that the police were given much
143
STATE REGULATION OF PROSTITUTION IN HONG KONG, 1857 TO 1941
R.J. MINERS
From its earliest days the male population of Hong Kong great- ly outnumbered the females. Chinese men came to find work leav- ing their families in Kwangtung and the European community was also predominantly male because of the presence of the army garrison, the ships of the Royal Navy and the crews of merchant ships unloading their goods in the harbour. In 1872, when the first proper census was carried out, there were 3,264 European men compared to 669 European women, a ratio of practically 5:1, and the Chinese men outnumbered women by 78,484 to 22,837, a ratio of 7:2.' This imbalance continued to exist, though to a dimin- ishing extent, for the next 70 years: in 1931 Chinese men outnum- bered women 4:3, but the European ratio was still only 7:2.2 Natu- rally, in order to satisfy the needs of this predominantly male community, prostitutes quickly moved in to ply their trade, nu- merous brothels were established and by the 1850s Hong Kong was already notorious for the prevalence of venereal disease.
In 1857, at the urgent request of the naval officer in command of the China station the Hong Kong government instituted a system for the registration and inspection of brothels, the compul- sory medical examination of their inmates, the punishment of prostitutes who communicated venereal disease to their clients and their detention in the Lock Hospital until cured.3 This mea- sure was approved by the Secretary of State primarily because it appeared that a system of licensed brothels and government in- spection might provide a means of protecting the inmates from illtreatment and virtual enslavement to their brothel-keepers.* Ten years later the Hong Kong government was instructed by the Secretary of State to replace the ordinance of 1857 with a new one modelled on the Contagious Diseases Act which had just been passed by the British parliament. This had set up a system of controlled brothels and compulsory medical examination of pros- titutes in twelve garrison towns in England. The new 1867 ordi- nance, though more comprehensive, made few changes in the system already in force, except that the police were given much
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