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Tuesday, April 5, 2016

Sex workers used as 'baby factories'

PETALING JAYA - Sex workers are now used as "baby factories", with syndicates capitalising on the country's stringent adoption procedures to make a quick buck.

Tenaganita coordinator Aegile Fernandez told theSun that this trend has taken a turn for the worse in the last three years.

This is because the pregnant women, who have been coerced into becoming "surrogate mothers", must also continue to provide their normal sex services to clients while carrying their unborn baby.

The worry is that this can lead to problems like health issues or the baby becoming HIV-positive.

Another issue is that when, for whatever reason, the baby is rejected, it goes back to the syndicate to become a victim of child trafficking or brought up to be a future sex worker.

"The babies' fate thus hinges on uncertainty even though a 'booking fee' has been made by potential couples to adopt them," she said.

"At some places where we're involved such as Chow Kit, there are children being watched over by another sex worker. When the child is eight years old, they're sold for sex. This is a 'long-term investment' for the syndicates," she said.

The whole "adoption" process begins with a word within a community that a childless couple "wants a child". Often it means adopting one outside official procedures.

This is understandable because for some couples, waiting for the official adoption documentation after two years of trudging through paperwork, interviews, and being monitored by the Welfare Department can be agonising.

Specifics of a child include their gender, weight, health and sometimes skin colour.

For instance, a boy fetches a higher price of between RM12,000 and RM40,000, while a girl is priced no more than RM25,000.

The booking fee can be from RM5,000 to RM7,000.

Previously, a sex worker found to be pregnant would would be sent to the abortion clinic.

"Now the syndicates send her to a clinic for the baby's delivery, after which a doctor would provide a letter furnishing a different identity complementing the new parents," Fernandez said.

The document is then sent to the National Registration Department, after which a birth certificate is issued.

Fernandez said it is difficult to obtain hard evidence that an exchange has been made.

However, she applauds the government for making the adoption process simpler with the Adoption Act amendments, allowing prospective couples to bring home their adopted child immediately instead of having to wait for the completion of the entire process before being allowed to do so.

"(Nonetheless), there's a belief among some Malaysians that it is better to adopt the child as an infant because they would then be able to shape the infant's 'mentality', even their physical state, in a safe environment.

"This is as opposed to the other countries, where it's considered acceptable to adopt an older child," she said.

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