My name is Coco. Originally, I didn't always work in this industry until I became a victim of my circumstances. I have no other choice because I don't have a diploma, nor any other educational qualifications. What else can I do? I can only work in this sex work industry. It makes our heart ache that doing this line of work also results in police officers constantly making noise and checking up on us. Sometimes, the clients that patronize us don't pay after the deed is done. When the police comes knocking at our door, we feel scared too. It's like that, heart breaking as it is. There's no choice. Age is catching up with me, there's no other job that I can do and I have a son in Singapore that I have to see him through his studies for. My son is 16 years old. This year I'm 48 years old. Truthfully speaking, before I started working in this industry, I had a surgery for my buttocks. For the surgery, I spent a lot of money and that was how I exhausted all of my money. That was how all of my savings were used up, on my surgery itself. Hence, I had no choice and chose sex work as my job. Comparatively, doing sex work gives me more income but people will look down on you. But there's no choice, this job isn't something that can be talked about in the open. Or at least in Singapore, this job isn't a job that can see the light of day. Even to us, this is a shameful profession and we can't let our children know of what we are doing. But that is what it is. This is an unspoken sorrow. For the sake of money and for three square meals a day, there are no other options. In Singapore, everything needs money and I have no educational qualifications, which makes it much harder to find other jobs in Singapore and I have plenty of responsibilities to handle. I have been in Singapore for 20 years and my previous job, was as a factory worker in Singapore. Although the amount of income isn't a lot and the working hours are long, I didn't have any children back now so it was okay. The difference is that now I have a child, a family and my responsibility becomes heavier than before. As I get older and older by the day, finding a job other than sex work becomes increasingly tough too. My one wish is for the police to give us a chance to work and make a living.
Interviewer notes: Coco is originally from China, and she works at a “happy ending” massage parlour in Singapore.
