Silhouettes du monde prostitutionnel : les prostituées au Tonkin colonial

• Main Author: Isabelle Tracol-Huynh
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Université de Provence 2017-05-01
• Series: Moussons
• Subjects: prostitution; colonization; Vietnam; Southeast Asia; mobility
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/moussons/3777

Mobility is a distinctive feature of the world of prostitution since prostitutes often come from various areas to work in one city. In colonial Tonkin, the Northern part of Vietnam, there were Vietnamese, Chinese and even Japanese and European prostitutes. And, on the other hand, China was an important destination for Vietnamese prostitutes. This mobility, whether internal or external, was a challenge for the French colonial authorities who intended to fight against human trafficking. Focusing on the mobility of prostitutes to and from colonial Tonkin, this article puts back Vietnam within the more general context of prostitution in Southeast Asia.