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Thailand Urges Crackdown on Sex Industry


rxpharm

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Here's an interesting article recently published by Newsweek:

Thailand's infamous sex industry is under fire, with the tourism minister pushing to rid the country of its ubiquitous brothels and a spate of police raids in recent weeks on some of the largest establishments providing sex services in Bangkok.



Those who work in the industry say curbs on commercial sex services would hurt a flagging economy that has struggled to recover after political turmoil took the country to the brink of recession in 2014.

Thailand is predominantly Buddhist and deeply conservative, but is home to an extensive sex industry, largely catering to Thai men. Hordes of tourists also flock to the bright lights of go-go bars and massage parlors in Bangkok and main tourist towns.

Thailand's beaches and temples have been the poster child for Asian tourism for decades, and the country expects a record number of arrivals in 2016.

Tourism Minister Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul played down the role of the sex industry in drawing visitors.

"Tourists don't come to Thailand for such a thing. They come here for our beautiful culture," Kobkarn told Reuters.
"We want Thailand to be about quality tourism. We want the sex industry gone," she said.


Prostitution is illegal in Thailand but the law is almost invariably ignored. Experts say it will be hard to rid Thailand of an industry that is so entrenched and that provides pay-offs to untold numbers of officials and policemen.

Those trying to promote the welfare of sex workers say Kobkarn's goal is unrealistic.

Her push comes amid an attempt by the country's tourism authorities to transform Thailand into a luxury destination to attract moneyed tourists.

The military government is in denial about the proliferation of prostitution and its contribution to the economy and tourism, said Panomporn Utaisri, country director of NightLight, a Christian nonprofit group that helps women in the sex trade to find alternative work.

"There's no denying this industry generates a lot of income," said Panomporn.

There are no government estimates of the value of Thailand's sex industry, or how much of the income from tourism comes from sex tourists.    

LURE OF MONEY


There are about 123,530 sex workers in Thailand, according to a 2014 UNAIDS report, compared with 37,000 sex workers in neighboring Cambodia.

Last month, police raided dozens of brothels in major cities in what they said was a routine operation.

Police said they were looking to prosecute venues employing underage and illegal migrant workers, but only one of the venues raided was shut down.

There was no link between the tourism minister's aim to rid Thailand of its sex tourism industry and the raids, a police spokesman said.

The tourism sector accounts for about 10 percent of gross domestic product and sex worker groups said the minister's vision of a prostitution-free Thailand would dent that.

"The police presence already drives off a number of clients who come to relax or drink at bars," said Surang Janyam, director of Service Workers in Group (SWING), which provides sex workers with free medical care and vocational training.

"Wiping out this industry is guaranteed to make Thailand lose visitors and income."

Many sex workers come from the impoverished northeast and see selling their bodies as a way out of poverty.

One former sex worker from the northeastern province of Maha Sarakham, who declined to be identified, told Reuters she entered Bangkok's sex trade at the age of 19 and earned up to 5,000 baht ($143.14) a night, nearly 20 times the minimum wage of 300 baht ($8.59) per day.

"No one wants to work in this business, but it's fast and easy money," she said.

NightLight and SWING said they would welcome the sex industry's closure if the government had a plan to ensure that sex workers could support themselves without falling back into the business.

"If they want to close the sex industry, they must first have jobs ready to support sex workers," said Surang.



We'll have to see how long this lasts.

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23 minutes ago, rxpharm said:

There are about 123,530 sex workers in Thailand

I'll take the "over" on this one. I think 123K would be the number for just Pattaya.

Quote

There are about 123,530 sex workers in Thailand, according to a 2014 UNAIDS report, compared with 37,000 sex workers in neighboring Cambodia.

If their point is that Thailand has lots of sex workers then that does't show it because using those nembers Cambodia has more per capita sex workers than Thailand.

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Head in the sand - the Tourism Minister says people don't come here for sex - but she does not have any details to back this up, as far as what percentage of tourists come for what reasons; only the flat statement that they come "...for our beautiful culture ..".

I enjoy living here, mostly, but there are many things that need sorting out if she wants "quality tourism". Immigration office rules and regulations, corruption, jockeys pulling up horses at the races,more corruption.  I've drifted off topic a bit, but really she and the government would need to do a huge amount of work to make her dream happen, and by then I will have gone to the big ladyboy massage salon in the sky.

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Those two are not mutually exclusive..i mean...i love beautiful culture of Siam...and if i can spend the night with a nice lb...better

comes to my mind an interview many years ago to Fidel Castro.....about prostitution in Cuba

 "One day when I was down in Brazil, an Argentinian asked me 'Is it true that 
                  some girls who are university graduates sometimes practice prostitution?"' 
                  Castro said in a rare public reference to a highly sensitive subject for Cuba's 
                  government.

                  "I replied instantly, without thinking, 'That proves prostitutes in Cuba have a 
                  university level,' " he added, laughing at the anecdote given during a lengthy 
                  speech to close a Cuban workers' congress in Havana.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Prostitution can only be reduced if the rich elite begin to pay tax so that the lesser educated can get a salary they can live on. My gf is a registered nurse with a masters degree, her monthly salary is a princely 18k baht. Minimum wage is ostensibly 300 baht per day, but no stipulation of the number of hours a day. Thailand is not so cheap, but some single parents are trying to live on 9k baht per month. So even women with an "honest occupation" are often open to suggestion, they have no choice. Where I live a litre of milk can be bought for as little as 20 baht, in seven eleven in Thailand it costs more than the double for a litre. Prostitution in various forms is in Thailand for many decades to come.

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