On 16 July 2025, a Shin Min reporter went undercover and filmed women without their consent, and without disclosing his identity as a reporter. His non-consensual photographs of the women were published, and his reports accuse the women of being sex workers. Multiple media outlets republished the report.
Shin Min’s article used dehumanising terms “流莺” (liú yīng) (migrating wild birds) and “艳女” (yàn nǚ) (seductive woman) to refer to the women photographed. It portrayed sex workers as tarnishing Singapore’s image for tourists. And (incorrectly) singled out Vietnamese women. The article did not attempt to understand the women’s circumstances or include their perspectives. It critiques their clothing, describing it as 暴露 (bào lù) (revealing), assuming that anyone who dresses a certain way is a sex worker.
Shin Min’s article was then indiscriminately republished without due diligence by Zaobao, Mothership, AsiaOne, The New Paper, Stomp, Goody Feed SG, MustShareNews, and others across Instagram, Facebook, Telegram, and TikTok.
This fueled an avalanche of unchecked xenophobia, misogyny, and hate speech. One photo, one article, and now hundreds of hateful comments. “Beasts”, “visa-free trash”, “blame the foreigners”. This is how stigma spreads. This is how harm happens.
We are deeply concerned about the normalisation of non-consensual photographing of women. We are horrified at how hate speech in the comments sections is left unchecked and left to proliferate. In an environment where we as a society are battling the rise in technology facilitated sexual violence, media should refrain from participating in and endorsing such forms of violence.
Some sex workers view sex work as the best way they have to earn a living, while others are coerced or deceived into providing sexual services for money. Out of the 400 sex workers Project X interviewed in 2024, 90 of them reported being physically hurt, hit, choked or; threatened with a weapon to have sex, and/or; being tricked/deceived/threatened into having sex. Crimes against sex workers are notoriously underreported as workers fear going to the authorities due to fear of being outed, arrested, or deported. Media coverage like this makes it even harder for workers to seek help and enables abusers. The impunity that abusers enjoy is the real threat to public safety in Singapore.
It goes without sayingsex workers are mothers, daughters, wives, friends. They are human beings too. Sharing non-consensual photographs and forcefully outing sex workers, or portraying non-sex workers as sex workers, puts them and their families at risk. It fuels stigma and empowers abusers. Stop the harm.
While we recognize the importance of public discourse on issues affecting our shared spaces, we are disheartened by the dehumanising way in which such discourse is being conducted. Such reporting perpetuates harmful stereotypes, incites sexism & xenophobia, and deepens social divides.
The media must do better. We wrote to Shin Min, Zaobao, and Mothership. Shin Min and Mothership removed the photograph(s), but we have not received a response from Zaobao. This is not journalism. This is public shaming. The public is none the wiser about the broader social and economic factors of the sex industry; and the women once again are scapegoated for policy inadequacies.
Ethical journalism is possible. We call on media outlets to adopt a more ethical and human-centered approach to journalism—one that informs without inflaming, and that seeks to understand rather than to judge. We also urge the public to approach this issue with empathy and to consider the broader social and economic factors at play.
What can you do? Call out platforms for unethical reporting. Speak up when you see hate in the comments. Share our Instagram post. Challenge the stigma. Remember that sex workers are people. They deserve dignity, safety, & rights, not to be humiliated for clicks.
