The Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act, B.E. 2539 (1996)[14] is the law that most directly deals with prostitution. According to the law, the definition of “prostitution” is “sexual intercourse or any other act or the commission of another act in order to satisfy the sexual desire of another person in a promiscuous manner in exchange for money or any other benefit, whether or not the person accepting the act and the person who committed it are of the same sex.” The term “promiscuity” is not clearly defined. [15] Sex work is practiced openly in the country, but it is illegal and can be punished by fines or, in rare cases, imprisonment. About 24,000 people were arrested, fined or prosecuted in 2019, according to the Royal Thai Police. Mos and many of the people we interviewed for this article requested that their full names not be used. In many parts of Thailand, the surname has been humiliated by its association with a stigmatized and illegal business, and individuals have been rejected by their families or ostracized by their communities. Bales also points out the fact that ten types of women in the Vinaya or rules for monks are described. In the rules, the first three categories are women who can be paid for their services. [83] In Thailand today, this is expressed in the tolerance of prostitution by married women. Sex with prostitutes is considered “empty sex” by wives, so women can allow their husbands to have meaningless sex with prostitutes instead of finding a new spouse.
For a more complete picture of the world`s countries and each of their legal positions on prostitution, see the table below. Like Thailand, France wants to eradicate prostitution, but the law does not consider sex workers criminals. Instead, it treats sex workers as victims of human trafficking who need social and financial support. In the twentieth century, various laws relating to the sex industry were passed, including the Contagious Diseases Prevention Act of 1908 and the Places of Entertainment Act of 1966. [53] In the 1950s, Thai Prime Minister Field Marshal Sarit Thanarat launched a morality campaign to criminalize prostitution by imposing fines and jail time. A system of medical examinations and “moral rehabilitation” was introduced, shifting attention from the public guilt of traffickers and pimps to the prostitutes themselves. [60] Prostitution itself was declared illegal in Thailand in 1960[26] when a law was passed under pressure from the United Nations. [61] The government has established a surveillance system for sex workers to prevent their abuse and control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. [23] The 1960 Act was repealed by the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act, B.E. 2539 (1996).
Under this law, prostitution as such is technically illegal. In 2003, the Ministry of Justice considered legalizing prostitution as an official profession with health services and taxable income and held a public debate on the issue. Legalization and regulation have been proposed to increase tax revenues, reduce corruption and improve the situation of workers. [2] However, no further action was taken. In 2020, Thai sex workers participated in a campaign for legalization. The Empower Foundation, which supports sex workers, is trying to collect 10,000 signatures to send a petition to Parliament. [39] Women`s and LGBT+ rights activists argue that the current law that made prostitution illegal in 1960 does little to protect sex workers, while repeated arrests and fines for sex work have pushed them further into poverty. Thanks to the hit Netflix biopic Gangubai Kathiawadi, the plight of Thai sex workers and their need for legal protection is once again in the spotlight. According to a 2003 Library of Congress study, “The Red-Light Districts of Thai Cities. Brothels, casinos, and entertainment establishments that function as both sources of income and centers of operations for human trafficking. [78]:44 It is estimated that organized crime groups have brought more than one million women from mainland China, Laos and Vietnam to Thailand.
[79] The organization 14K Triad dominates the trafficking of women from mainland China to Bangkok for prostitution. [80] Rob, a 59-year-old Australian retiree and regular at Soi 6 bars, who asked not to use his last name because of the illegality of the sex industry, says only about a quarter of the bars are open and a quarter of the women have returned to work.