Nayara Batschke and Nicharee Sarikapooti
Bangkok (EFE).- “Everyone knows it. All the people see it. Nobody talks about it.” This is how activist and lawyer Chatchalawan Muangjan defines the situation of sex workers in Thailand, a country often seen as a playful destination to explore carnal pleasures, but where prostitution is illegal.
Paid sexual activities are no secret in Thailand, and the sex industry generates billions of dollars in revenue each year, according to estimates by various human rights organizations.
The country is also known worldwide for its exoticism and erotic practices, such as the famous massages with a “happy ending”, which are part of the popular imagination inside and outside the Asian nation.
While in practice prostitution is part of everyday life, the activity is illegal and, today, tens of thousands of sex workers find themselves unprotected from abuse, although a proposed law that seeks to regularize the sector could change the landscape
300,000 people offer sex for money in Thailand
Official statistics suggest that some 300,000 people offer sex for money in Thailand today, although activist organizations say the figures are outdated and the real number “is much higher.”
“We all see that the industry is there and generates a million-dollar amount of money, but there is the issue of corruption and, to a lesser degree, society’s perception that prostitution is immoral,” he says in an interview with EFE Chatchalawan, a lawyer who has worked for the rights of sex workers at the NGO Empower for 16 years.
Prostitution was banned in 1996 by the Thai government in an attempt to put an end to this ancient practice in the country, which intensified as a result of the Vietnam War and the presence of the US Army, which eventually displaced more than a million soldiers to their rear in the Asian nation.
To this must be added some intrinsic cultural components of Thai society, where about 95% of the population professes Buddhism and whose philosophy is traditionally more tolerant of worldly activities.
“Thai society is conservative, but as long as you don’t talk about things, it’s like they don’t exist,” explains Chatchalawan.
Law proposal
Now, Empower and other organizations for the rights of sex workers are moving pieces to promote the approval of a law to legalize and regulate the profession, a proposal that could materialize in view of the formation of the new Government after the general elections last May. .
“The bill aims to protect sex workers and include them as part of the workforce. It also proposes regulating entertainment venues and customers,” says the lawyer.
One of the key points of the initiative is to establish a minimum age for professionals who sell sex, in order to prevent “clients and pimps from exploiting or coercing sex workers under 18 years of age.”
It also seeks to put an end to, or at least minimize, the abuses to which they are repeatedly subjected.
“I have had many bad experiences. Working in this industry you have to deal directly with men. And mostly the men who come are drunk, with different kinds of emotions. And it’s up to me to respond to their sexual needs,” Manow, who has worked for more than a decade as a sex professional, told EFE.
“I have met all kinds of clients; some were sadistic, others did not want to pay or did not want to use condoms. Others would also rape me until they reached orgasm ”, he recounts.
The hardness of the streets is a constant. For this reason, Manow believes that the law could mitigate the violence.
“The law would bring many positive changes and would protect sex workers. With it we can work without worries. If there is a problem, we can report it to the police. Things will be much better, ”she qualifies.
“Invisible visibility”
Every night, the exotic dancer Guest goes to the lively Soi Cowboy, a small street about 150 meters long and where there are fifty bars, karaoke bars, discos and massage spaces, in the heart of Bangkok, to kick off at your work.
Although the girl often offers “additional services” to her exotic dances, she does not consider herself a prostitute – a definition that can have different perceptions in the West and East.
“I am not a prostitute. Sometimes I market sex, but I choose who I do it with,” says Guest, who also works as a barista in a coffee shop during the day.
Regardless of the labels, Guest is enthusiastic about the possible new law, which would guarantee minimum rights to a working class that remains “invisible despite all its visibility.”
“Negotiating sex is a business like any other and workers in that industry should have their rights and guarantees guaranteed,” he concludes.