Moves towards a new era for Thailand’s sex workers

[webfact]

 
Thai Tourist Police Corporal Kanjanawadee Pongkhunt known as 'Jinny' (L) patrols past Thai bar girls late 07 December 1999 in Bangkok's infamous red-light district of Patpong. Jinny, a 26-year-old computer science student equally fluent in English and Thai kick boxing, is part of the some 1,000 specially-trained Tourist Police dispatched around the country's tourist venues to provide help in case of problems involving foreign visitors. (ELECTRONIC IMAGE) AFP PHOTO/Emmanuel DUNAND (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP)

Although sex work in Thailand is a major economic sector for the country, since the 1960 law against prostitution, it is illegal and criminally prosecutable with prison sentences of up to 20 years. Sex workers have no legal protection and they are not granted labour rights. 

 

However, current political jostling to secure public victories before the national elections on 7 May could mark the beginning of a new era for the sex industry in Thailand.

 

In November the opposition Move Forward Party submitted a first draft proposal to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security asking for the legalisation of sex work to ensure higher standards of safety for those who work in the sector. 

 

The move stirred interest in the parliament and led the ministry to establish a drafting committee led by a legal team from Thammasat University. 

 

The legal team is now working on a comprehensive draft law to decriminalise sex work in Thailand, aimed at addressing concerns and objectives of opposition parties, women’s rights organisations, LGBTQ+ groups and sex worker organisations.

 

Non-profit organisation Empower Foundation, a leading group for the support and education of sex workers in Thailand, pioneered the advocacy movement.

 

“The majority of sex workers are women, mostly mothers who work hard to build the dreams of their families and to end generational poverty,” said Empower Foundation coordinator Thanta Laovilawayakul. “The removal of criminal punishments will open the space in society for sex workers to work safely, assert their rights and live with dignity.”

 

Thailand has long been a sex tourism hub, but because most of this market operates illegally and unregulated, a precise estimate of the real income from the sex work industry in Thailand is impossible to define. 

 

But with an estimate of 100,000 to 400,000 sex workers operating across the country, according to local and international news reports across in the past two decades, the approximate income from the industry could reach up to several billion US dollars.

 

By decriminalising the activity, such revenue will contribute to the national economy as with any other labour sector. Advocates of reform say that would allow the government to have a clearer grasp on the financial exchanges happening in the sex industry – as well as advancing the fights against corruption and human trafficking, which have been primary concerns about the industry for decades. 

 

The 1960 law that criminalised sex work was later replaced by the 1996 Prostitution Suppression Act. This attempted to steer workers out of the industry with the creation of rehabilitation institutions, where those convicted of prostitution would undergo mental and physical health check-ups and access occupational training and other programs. 

 

Thailand prohibits prostitution as well as the advertisement for the procurement of sex workers. Section 286 of the Thai Criminal Code punishes prostitution with a jail sentence of seven to 20 years, but the implementation of this section has been rarely applied in court given the well-known huge dimensions of the underground sex industry in Thailand. 

 

While technically these charges are rarely exercised, they still exist, hanging over the lives of those who work in the sector. 

 

While there remain laws that carry punishments for sex work and related activities, no legal framework addresses the health and social safety for these workers in Thailand.

 

Stigma and religious beliefs are some of the key factors behind violence and abuse against sex workers. This has detrimental effects on their mental and physical health as well as the high risks of falling into the trap of drug and alcohol abuse, according to a review article published by Biomedical Sciences and Clinical Medicine in 2022. 

 

Hopes are that by legalising the industry, sex workers could fight for their own rights and find protection in the law regardless of the deeply-rooted stigma against them.

 

With decriminalisation, sex work would remain illegal, but it would be punished only under civil or administrative laws rather than criminal law. On the other hand, legalisation means the removal of all penalties and the full regulation of the sex work market. Penalties might apply only when said regulations are violated. 

 

Discussions on the possibility of regulating sex work in Thailand have been ongoing since mid-2022. But while the original idea was to legalise sex work, the new draft aims at its decriminalisation instead.

 

Data provided by Empower Foundation show that 80% of sex workers in Thailand are single mothers who support other adults in the family. The average age of women is 26 years old, and the majority of them have been living in poverty for most of their lives.

 

“Thai society is more worried by the levels of corruption and the human rights of sex workers rather than outdated ideas of morality,” Thanta said. “Accepting decriminalisation of sex work does not mean accepting sex work, yet it doesn’t have to be punished with criminal charges.“

 

As the drafting team is working on a unified definition of sex work, Tunyawaj reported that one of their objectives is to delineate safe spaces for sex work activities and related advertisements to protect children from being unintentionally exposed to inappropriate content on the internet, television or in public areas. He mentioned the premises of selected entertainment spots such as clubs and discotheques as potential spaces to run sex work activities freely and safely. 

 

But regulations might not be the most suitable solution for all sex workers, the legal determination of selected sex-work locations would mean a huge decrease in work opportunities.

 

Source: https://royalcoastreview.com/2023/03/moves-towards-a-new-era-for-thailands-sex-workers/

 

-- © Copyright Royal Coast Review 2023-03-20

 

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[hotchilli]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

Although sex work in Thailand is a major economic sector for the country, since the 1960 law against prostitution, it is illegal and criminally prosecutable with prison sentences of up to 20 years. Sex workers have no legal protection and they are not granted labour rights.

Shows how crazy Thailand is.

[ikke1959]

If the legalization takes as long as the Gay Marriage, Civil Union Bill it will take another decade before these people are protected.... 

Besides as we can read many times.. There are no sex workers in THailand. A few weeks back in Pattaya, the RTP did not find any

[BritScot]

Can't read this dribble! First off sex tourism is about 10% of prostitution which is basically the dregs, the cream is in the Thai only clubs etc. Then really how many girls who are looking to hook the gullible with "honest, I only started today or I'm a cashier" will register to be recorded to have been working for 5+ years at the oldest job in town.

[Tarteso]

Nice sentence..Simple like that????

 

[redwood1]

1 hour ago, ikke1959 said:

If the legalization takes as long as the Gay Marriage, Civil Union Bill it will take another decade before these people are protected.... 

Besides as we can read many times.. There are no sex workers in THailand. A few weeks back in Pattaya, the RTP did not find any

They have been seaching Walking Street for decades and still cant find any prositution at all.....ZERO.......They have said many times there is absolutly no prostitution to be found there....

[jacko45k]

1 minute ago, Tarteso said:

Nice sentence..Simple like that

Who is it targeting, the customers?

[Elkski]

I can't imagine these gals reporting their income very accurately. 

[Tarteso]

8 minutes ago, jacko45k said:

Who is it targeting, the customers?

I don't think so, Do not see the price on the banner.

[Tropicalevo]

5 hours ago, webfact said:

With decriminalisation, sex work would remain illegal, but it would be punished only under civil or administrative laws rather than criminal law.

On the other hand, legalisation means the removal of all penalties

A good description of the difference between decriminalise and legalise.

Same as with Cannabis.

It has been decriminalised but is still not legal except for medicinal cannabis.

[RobU]

a typical 'Control Law' placed on the statute books but only enforced by authorities when a political statement needs to be made and used as a control method by corrupt police to extort from the people it applies to. 

[asf6]

"Thai Tourist Police Corporal Kanjanawadee Pongkhunt known as 'Jinny' (L) patrols past Thai bar girls late 07 December 1999 in Bangkok's infamous red-light district of Patpong. Jinny, a 26-year-old computer science student equally fluent in English and Thai kick boxing, is part of the some 1,000 specially-trained Tourist Police dispatched around the country's tourist venues "

 

If Jinny is 26 years old, she looks might old and grown up for a 3 year old in December 1999. 

[fusion58]

There they go, once again, talking about that industry which “doesn’t exist” in Thailand but without which Thailand’s economy would probably be on life support.