China's high-profile crackdowns on prostitution have made sex workers more vulnerable to abuse by police and clients while failing to curb the trade, a new report says.
Women described being assaulted by police and other security officials until they admitted to being sex workers, leading to them being fined or detained for up to two years without trial. One told Human Rights Watch: "I was beaten until I turned black and blue, because I wouldn't admit to prostitution." Another told the group: "They attached us to trees, threw freezing cold water on us, and then proceeded to beat us."