The murder of prostituted woman, Jingai Zhang, in Launceston on Boxing Day 2020 should be a wake-up call for those regulating the sex industry in Tasmania.
‘We have been reliably informed that activities in the sexual services business in which Jingai Zhang was engaged were in contravention of the Tasmanian Sex Industry Offences Act 2005’, said Women Speak Tasmania spokesperson, Isla MacGregor.
‘Clearly, there is an urgent need for review of the Act to ensure women in the sex industry are being adequately protected by its provisions against causing harm and unprotected sex’.
‘The police and those responsible for administering the Act should be regularly and thoroughly investigating operations that offer sexual services on a commercial basis while remaining within the letter, but not the spirit, of the law’.
‘There are loopholes in the Act that need to be addressed by government so women in prostitution can be assured of safety. Ideally, a dedicated Police Liaison Service, staffed by female officers, should be established to provide direct, accessible support for prostituted women in Tasmania’.
‘The COVID pandemic has forced some women into prostitution in order to survive. Exit programs, housing, and childcare and employment support are vital to keep women out of what is an increasingly dangerous trade’.
‘The murder of a prostituted woman should not be dismissed as a random crime. Jingai Zhang must be a catalyst for reform of everything to do with the sex trade in our state’ said Isla MacGregor.
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