Prostitution in Thailand is illegal [102672], but in practice it is tolerated and regulated.

Since the Vietnam War, Thailand has gained international notoriety among travelers from many countries as a sex tourism destination.

Position in society and extent of prostitution

Thai society has its own unique set of often contradictory sexual mores. A polygamist tradition of "mia noi" ("minor wives" or mistresses) persists amongst the wealthier elites, including the Thai royalty.

Consequently, visiting a prostitute or a paid mistress is not uncommon, though it is not necessarily acceptable behavior for men. Many Thai women, for example, believe the existence of such prostitution actively reduces the incidence of rape.

This cultural milieu combined with poverty and the lure of easy money have caused prostitution in general and sex tourism in particular to flourish in Thailand.

Estimates of the number of prostitutes vary widely and are subject to controversy. A 1980 study put the number of prostitutes in Thailand at 500,000 to 700,000. A 2004 estimate by Dr. Nitet Tinnakul from Chulalongkorn University gives a total of 2.8 million sex workers in Thailand, including 2 million women, 20,000 adult males and 800,000 minors under the age of 18. One estimate published in 2003 placed the trade at US$ 4.3 billion per year or about three percent of the Thai economy. It has been suggested for example that there may be as many as 10,000 prostitutes on Koh Samui alone, an island resort destination not usually associated with prostitution, and that at least 10% of tourist dollars may be spent on the sex trade.

Although centers such as Bangkok (Patpong, Nana Plaza, and Soi Cowboy), Pattaya, and Phuket (Patong) are often identified as primary tourist "prostitution" areas, with Hat Yai and other Malaysian border cities catering to Malaysians, prostitution takes place in nearly every major city and province in the country.

Chiang Mai, Koh Samui (Chaweng and Lamai) are also major centers. In Bangkok, many roads have saunas or massage parlors, with some as large and luxurious as four-star or five-star hotels, with comparable amenities, that front for sex. The so-called Ratchadapisek Entertainment District, for example, running along Ratchadapisek Road near the Huay Kwang intersection in Bangkok, features several large entertainment venues which include sexual massage. Even "concerts" or "karaoke" style bars in small provincial towns have their own versions, with scantily dressed women singing Traditional Thai music.

Many sex industry workers in Thailand – certainly those servicing foreigners or "farang" in the sex tourist trade – have origins in the impoverished Northern parts of the country, including for example, the Chiang Mai and Isaan regions.

Legal situation and history

Today prostitution is illegal in Thailand [102673], but this prohibition is generally not enforced.

Thailand has an ancient, continuous tradition of legal texts, generally described under the heading of Dhammasattha literature (Thai pron., tam-ma-sat), wherein prostitution is variously defined, and universally banned. The era of traditional legal texts came to an end in the early 20th century, and the significance of these earlier texts on both the writ and spirit of modern legislation cannot be overlooked.

Prostitution has been illegal in Thailand since 1960, when a law was passed under pressure from the United Nations. However, the prohibition is seldom enforced because many policeman are themselves corrupt and enjoy their companionship. Instead, the government has instituted a system of monitoring sex workers in order to prevent their mistreatment and to control the spread of sexually transmitted diseases.

It is not that Thailand lacks laws against prostitution, but that they are not implemented. Without a legal precedent, other police officers will rarely agree to arrest someone charged with prostitution.

The "Entertainment Places Act of 1966", still in effect today, makes it possible for Thais to render "special services". This is done, for example, by establishing such places as massage parlors where men come and look at women, who are sitting separated by a glass wall, and may choose whom they want. The women go to a room where they bathe and massage the customers, but in reality may do much more than that. It is left for the customer to decide what kind of "special service" he really wants, and because of this, such establishments are able to avoid being designated as illegal brothels.

This act was designed in order to allow brothels to operate under the guise of "massage parlours", "bars", "night-clubs", and "tea-houses". It was enacted at a time when the Thai Government thought to increase state revenue from the "rest and recreation" activities of the U.S. Armed Forces stationed in both Thailand and Vietnam.

The "Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act of 1996" outlawed the hiring of prostitutes under the age of 18, as well as people associating in prostitution establishments; this provision does not appear to be well enforced.

Legalization attempt

In 2003, the Ministry of Justice considered legalizing prostitution and held a public discussion on the topic. Legalization and regulation was proposed as a means to increase tax revenue, reduce corruption, and improve the situation of the workers. However, nothing further was done.

HIV/AIDS

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Thailand, and especially among sex workers, has been the subject of significant media and academic attention, and Thailand hosted the XV International AIDS Conference, 2004.

Mechai Viravaidya, known as "Mr. Condom", has campaigned tirelessly to increase the awareness of safe sex practices and use of condoms in Thailand. He served as minister for tourism and AIDS prevention from 1991 to 1992; he also founded the restaurant chain Cabbages and Condoms.

After the enactment of the Thai government's first five-year plan to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the country, including Mechai's "100% condom program", the use of condoms during commercial sex has jumped markedly, to 90%. The program instructs sex workers to refuse intercourse without condom, and monitors health clinic statistics in order to locate brothels that allow sex without condoms.

Thailand was praised for its efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDS during the late 1990s, but a study in 2005 found that the lack of public support in the previous several years had led to a resurgence of the disease.

Reasons for the existence of prostitution in Thailand

Although prostitution in Thailand is widely believed to exist because of the lack of employment opportunities for large numbers of uneducated rural women, particularly during the period of the Vietnam war, when a large number of US troops passed through Thailand; the truth is that widespread prostitution existed in this part of the world for thousands of years prior to the Vietnam War. It is noted that the Khmer emperors had as many as a thousand concubines at their disposal.

Another reason contributing to this issue is that ordinary Thais deem themselves tolerant of other people, especially those whom they perceive as downtrodden. This acceptance has allowed prostitution to flourish without much of the extreme social stigma found in other countries. According to a 1996 study, people in Thailand generally disapprove of prostitution, but the stigma for prostitutes is not lasting or severe, especially since many prostitutes support their parents through their work. Some men do not mind marrying former prostitutes.

However, the main reason that prostitution is a lasting industry in Thailand is that many Thai men of all levels of society, especially government officials, actively protect and promote the sex industry, the latter through entertainment-related media and activities.

Godfather of Prostitution exposes politicians

Chuwit Kamolvisit, owner of several massage parlors in Bangkok and considered by many "a godfather of prostitution" in Thailand, revealed in 2003 that some of his best clients were senior politicians and police officers, whom he also claimed to have paid, over a decade, more than £1.5m in bribes so that his business, the real business of selling sex, could thrive. “I used to buy whole trays of Rolex watches for police officers. I used to carry cash in black plastic bags for them (police)."

The Guardian of the UK has stated, "He's the godfather of the Thai sex industry – and what he knows about corruption could bring down the government." The Thai media was gripped by Chuwit's claims and the headlines ran: Top Cops Got Free Sex And Drinks.

Although Thailand's sex trade aimed at foreigners is overt and raucous, the enormous industry that caters exclusively to Thai men had never before been publicly scrutinised, let alone the sexual exploits of Thailand's unchallengeable officials.

Government Politicians and Prostitution

Support of prostitution is pervasive in political circles, as the BBC News reported in 2003 that "MPs from Thailand's ruling Thai Rak Thai Party are getting hot under the collar over plans by the party leadership to ban them from having mistresses or visiting brothels" … "One MP told The Nation newspaper that if the rules were enforced, the party would only be able to field around 30 candidates, compared to its more than 200 sitting MPs."

Attitudes towards women can be described by MP Thirachai Sirikhan, informing The Nation newspaper, "To have a mia noi (mistress) is an individual's right. There should be no problem as long as the politician causes no trouble to his family or society".

Having many wives was a common attribute of Thai culture in the past, but because prostitution is so pervasive, a common attitude among women is that they expect their husbands to cheat, and don't believe them if they deny it.

Both politicians and police have been supporting and indulging in the prostitution industry openly. Khun Tavich, a veteran politician at 76 years was under fire in 2005 for impregnating a 14 year old girl, who worked across the street from the congressional building. It is well-known, for example, that the father of a female member of Parliament is the owner of the Poseidon massage parlor on Ratchadapisek Road, a fairly deluxe establishment with several stories of jacuzzi-equipped rooms.

After a police raid on some Bangkok parlours where policemen had sex with prostitutes, "Acting Suthisan Police chief Colonel Varanvas Karunyathat defended the police action, saying that the (police) officers involved needed to have sex with the masseuses to gain evidence for the arrest." Apparently, this is standard practice as a separate police force did the same in Pattaya in May 2007.

Even more evidence of politicians supporting the prostitution industry and the sexual habits of elderly Thai men in general can be gleaned from the fact that Viagra is being given to elderly voters in exchange for their votes in an election drive.

Interview with a Thai human rights activist

Kritaya Archavanitkul, a Thai human rights activist, interviewed by UC Berkeley Institute of International Studies, said,

"This is sad to say, that the Thai social structure tends to accept this sort of abuse, and not only to accept – we have laws, we have bills that vitally support the existence of these sex establishments. That's one thing. And also, we have a Mafia that is also involved in the political parties, so this keeps the abuse going. The second reason is a cultural factor. I don't know about other countries, but in Thailand the sexual behavior of Thai men accepts prostitution. Every class of Thai men accept it, although not all Thai men practice it. So they don't see it as a problem. So when it comes to the policymakers, who are mostly men, of course, they don't see this as a problem. They know there are many women who are brought into prostitution in Thailand. They know that some are treated with brutal violence. But they don't think it's a terrible picture. They think it's just the unlucky cases. And, because of the profit, I think there are many people with an interest involved, so they try to turn a blind eye to this problem.

Organized Crime

The red-light districts of Thai cities are home to Chinese-owned brothels,casinos, and entertainment facilities that function both as sources of income and as operationscenters for trafficking in humans and narcotics and extortion. The Chinese organized crime groups engaging in human trafficking, called the “PigletGangs” by the Thai police.

Forms of prostitution

Prostitution in Thailand is available in a number of forms, mainly brothels, massage parlors, saunas, hostess bars and karaoke places, all of which cater mainly to local customers and other Asians. For the wealthy, private member clubs abound.

There are also various go-go bars and "beer bars" which usually cater to Western expatriates and tourists. Finally, there are large numbers of "freelancers", who can be found in hotel lobbies, discos, bars and even shopping malls or on the street.

While some are sex trade workers by any definition, others are less clearly so and may merely ask for or expect financial support from the men they sleep with.

Prostitution in Thailand comes specialised by ethnic background. Many places catering to Thais/Asians will not allow others to enter if not invited by a regular guests or without paying a prohibitive entrance fee. The same holds true for some places catering to Westerners, Japanese, Arabs or other ethnicities; most will refuse clientele with a different background at the door.

Body massage

Body massage (Ab ob nuat, washing and massage in Thai) in Thailand most often consists of either an oil massage, assisted bath and/or bodyslide treatment ("soapie") followed by sexual services. These latter may or may not be included in the price paid to the house. If not, they are negotiated with the masseuse.

Some of these establishments cater mainly to locals and Asians, but will accept Western customers also. In most, the masseuses wait behind a one-way glass window ("fish bowl"), usually watching television, as the men have a drink and choose a woman.

Such massage parlours can be found in all larger cities, and are often combined with hostess bars, karaoke bars and a restaurant. Chuwit Kamolvisit, then prominent owner of several up-scale massage parlours, created a commotion in 2003 when he publicly accused hundreds of police officers of having accepted bribes from him. He later ran for public office and eventually became a member of Parliament.

It should be noted that Thailand is also known for a non-sexual traditional style of massage, completely unrelated to the erotic body massage. Traditional, "ancient", or "therapeutic" Thai massage (Nuat Phaen Boran, ) is very relaxing and beneficial. The masseuse or masseur is well trained, often at temple academies such as Wat Pho in Bangkok.

Bars catering to foreigners

The most prevalent form of interaction with Westerners—though it is far less common than the Thai sex trade—is through the various forms of bars. Young women ("bar girls", or men in the case of gay bars, or transsexual "kathoeys") are employed by the bars either as dancers (in the case of go-go bars) or simply as hostesses who will encourage customers to buy them drinks.

The hostesses or dancers are often looking to find customers for sexual services, though this is not always the case. A bar usually employs one or more "mamasans" who will help match interested customers with companions, though usually their assistance is unnecessary.

A customer will pay a bar fine in order for his or her choice to leave the bar early, and will need to negotiate with him/her the cost of service itself (however, sometimes it is fixed and 'bundled' into bar fine), as well as the length and type of sexual services. Typically, "short time" (at most a few hours) and "long time" (overnight and in most cases the following day) services are available.

The payment paid to the employee him/herself is not fixed (if not bundled), but is almost universally 1,500 baht for a short time and 3000 baht for a long time (in Bangkok). Actual sum, however, depends entirely on the bar employee, and may sometimes be even zero, if an employee is interested in something else (possible long-term relationship, for example). The bar fine is typically between 300 and 1000 baht (or more in case of "all inclusive" bar fine), and a small percentage (approximately 100 baht) may be credited to the "offed" worker.

Some larger bars have "short time rooms" available on site. Instead of paying a bar fine, the customer will pay for the use of the room and services will be performed on-site. Pattaya, on the east coast of Thailand, is home to many such bars—known as beer bars—and according to some estimates has about 40 000 to 50 000 bar girls who cater to Western men.

Many girls in the Pattaya bars have a child from a previous or current relationship with a Thai man which may be kept secret from clients.Go-go bars are distinguished by having dancing on stage similar to a strip club in Western countries, although in general as of 2004 following the "social order" crackdown, dancers will more likely be topless or in a bikini or similar revealing costume rather than fully nude. Even topless dancing is technically illegal, though fairly common in "The Walking Street" Go-go Bars.

Beer bars and hostess bars are similar. Beer bars are outdoors, fairly small, and often clustered together with other beer bars; hostess bars are generally indoors. Besides that, there is a very great range in size and amenities. There are also bars which blur the line with a brothel, such as the notorious "blowjob bars" or short-time establishments.

Beer bars and gogo bars operate similarly. The staff receive a monthly salary, from about 5,000 baht in some beer bars to 15,000 baht in better gogo bars (as of 2009). They receive a commission of approximately 40 baht on any drink that is bought for them. The bar also often prescribes a minimum number of bar fines the individual staff members need to generate per month (typically about five to six); falling below results in a pay reduction.

The workers receive only two or three days off per month; they are charged a bar fine for any additional day of work they miss, in addition to the loss of pay. Many go-go bars require the women to undergo regular health checks, enforced by financial penalties. In Soi Cowboy one popular bar requires their girls to have a health check every month and if they fail to do so, their salary will be cut by 1,000 baht.

Private Member Clubs serve the wealthy. These clubs are staffed by more sophisticated Thais who are fluent in English, or for venues targeting other nationalities, in the client's mother tongue. They entertain the client at the club. If the girl likes a client, typically she will leave the club with him. Most clubs usually have live music and a relaxed atmosphere. Some employ kathoey ("ladyboys") exclusively. Many of the bars are owned and operated by Westerners.

Technically, foreigners are not allowed to own more than 49% of a bar or nightclub ( or any business for that matter), so the Westerners either partner with a Thai or lease the bar from a Thai owner. Some entrepreneurs also create a number of bars with the chief purpose of selling or leasing them to poorly informed Westerners.

Apart from these sorts of bar, there are a number of other venues for the sex trade; some bars, while not employing staff as sex workers, will allow freelancers to solicit clients. This is also true of some coffee shops near night-time entertainment districts, and many of the foreign-oriented nightclubs.

Many Thai prostitutes have the ultimate goal of meeting a rich Westerner as husband or boyfriend. Some have numerous foreign boyfriends (referred to as sponsors) sending money, and therefore they have friends, family and a good level of income. Many foreigners are unaware that they are just one of many sponsors sending money to the same woman.

The Bangkok nightlife was the topic of a columnist, "Nite Owl" for almost forty years in the Bangkok Post; the column was dropped in 2003.

Male prostitution

Many male sex workers service gay or bisexual male clients. (Thailand's male sex workers are mostly from the poorest areas of Thailand and are often the sole support of their rice farmer birth families.) The market which until recently had almost exclusively focused on a gay clientele, has become increasingly popular with women.

The population of male sex workers is estimated to be fairly evenly split between young men who identify as gay and young men who identify as heterosexual, but still perform sexual services with men.

According to a 2002 study by Associate Professor of Sociology Nither Tinnakul of Chulalongkorn University, some elite Thai women were paying upwards of 10,000 baht (243 US dollars) per night for the services of black male prostitutes imported from Africa and Jamaica who are considered “fiercer,” more “thrilling” in bed than their Thai peers and “well built.” But the vast majority of places cater to the homosexual market.

A 2005 study of twelve underage male prostitutes in Pattaya found that they were content with their work that allowed them a comfortable living. The younger ones were dependent on pimps. Most of them suffered from emotional problems and some were lured into the trade.

Child prostitution, trafficking, and sex slavery

The exact extent of child prostitution, sex trafficking, and sex slavery in Thailand is not known today.

Thailand is listed by the UNODC as both a top destination for victims of human trafficking and a major source of trafficked persons.

In 2007 the government, university researchers, and NGOs estimated that there were as many as 60,000 prostitutes under age 18 . Sometimes, families knowingly sell their own children to the sex industry simply because the alternative is dying of hunger. Children are exploited in sex establishments and are also approached directly in the street by tourists seeking sexual contact .

The reasons why and how children are commercially sexually exploited include :

• Poverty: a high proportion of the population lives in poverty.
• Ethnic hill tribe children: these children live in the border region of northern Thailand. They suffer from disproportionate levels of poverty in relation to the general population and most of them lack citizenship cards. This means that they do not have access to health care or primary school, which limits their further education or employment opportunities.
• Trafficked children: Many children are trafficked into or within the country through criminal networks, acquaintances, former trafficking victims and border police and immigration officials who transport them to brothels across Thailand.
• Sense of duty: According to traditional customs the first duty of a girl is to support her family in any way she can. Due to this sense of duty and to pay off family debts, many girls have been forced into prostitution and some have even ‘married’ their abusers.
• Wealthy tourists: Child sex tourism is a serious problem, numerous tourists from the Western World travel to Thailand to have sex with childen.
• Foreign child sex offenders: Some foreign sex offenders residing in Thailand have taken up professions with access to children or are involved in trafficking children and organising sex tours for others.

A proportion of prostitutes over the age of 18, including foreign nationals from Asia and Europe, are also in a state of forced sexual servitude and slavery.

There are reports of bribe taking by some low- or mid-level police officers facilitating the most severe forms of trafficking in persons .

Ethnic minorities such as northern hill tribe peoples, many of whom do not have legal status in the country, are at a disproportionately high risk for trafficking internally and abroad. Within the country women are trafficked from the impoverished northeast and the north to Bangkok for sexual exploitation.

According to the 2003 documentary Trading Women, most women trafficked into Thailand come from Myanmar; others come from Cambodia, Laos and China. These women do not normally end up in establishments serving Western customers. The film cites as root causes of the trafficking problem the economic and political situation in Myanmar, the destruction of the traditional economy in Thai hill tribe regions resulting from development and opium suppression programs, the inability of many members of Thai hill tribes to obtain proper papers and participate in society, and the rampant corruption among police and border guards.

It is common that Thai women are lured to Japan and sold to Yakuza-controlled brothels where they are forced to work off their price. The reason why it is so easy to lure these women from neighboring countries is because Thailand has 56 unofficial crossover points and 300 checkpoints where people can simply cross over the borders without the need for any paperwork. This makes it easier for exploiters to get by without a hitch. Most legal entry points into Thailand demand some i.d.--either a passport or an identity card, but the problem of people who cross borders to work every day (like the USA/Mexican border) makes lax the rules due to familarity of officers and frequent travelers.

In a landmark case in 2006, one such woman filed a civil suit in Thailand against the Thai perpetrators, who had previously been convicted in criminal court. The woman had managed to escape from the Yakuza-controlled prostitution ring by killing the female Thai mama-san and had spent five years in a Japanese prison.

Prostitution and crime in Thailand

Petty theft and druggings of patrons of prostitutes, as well as numerous murders of those who visit prostitutes have occurred in Thailand. One high profile example is that of Toby Charnaud, 41, whose former prostitute wife clubbed him to death with an iron bar and wooden staves. This incident, like many other murders by former prostitutes of foreigners, are fueled by the Thai government's ban on foreign ownership of property, and the corruption and temptation of large amounts of cash that comes with it.

Many foreigners in Thailand are highly suspicious of police collusion with prostitutes. According to The Guardian, Thailand has the highest death rate of any nation for Britons on holiday, some 224 Britons died in Thailand between April 2005 and March 2006, although most of those were long-term elderly British residents..

Organizations

Several support organizations for sex workers exist in Thailand. Most of them attempt to discourage women from taking up or continuing the trade.

EMPOWER is a Thai NGO that takes a neutral stance towards sex work and offers educational and counseling services to female sex workers. It has been operating since 1985 and has offices in Patpong (Bangkok), Chiang Mai, Mae Sai and Patong Beach.

SWIG (Sex Workers in Group) is a recent offshoot of EMPOWER, offering support to male and female sex workers in Patpong and Pattaya.It offers English classes, teaches safe sex, distributes condoms, and promotes health and safety with their gym and discounted medical examinations. The newly formed organization SISTERS works with transgender sex workers in Bangkok and Pattaya.

FACE is an organization that focuses on child prostitution and trafficking and is the main partner of the UN in the country. DEPDC is an organization that battles trafficking of women and children.

The Population and Community Development Association (PDA), headed by Mechai Viravaidya, pioneered family planning and safe sex strategies in Thailand over thirty years ago. The organization no longer focuses expressly on safe sex issues, but continues to provide information, condoms, and prevention programs around the country.

International Justice Mission is a U.S.-based Christian human rights organization which operates in Thailand to rescue brothel workers held in sexual slavery.

Books and documentaries

• Jordan Clark's 2005 documentary Falang: Behind Bangkok's Smile takes a rather critical view of sex tourism in Thailand.
• David A. Feingold's 2003 documentary Trading Women explores the phenomenon of women from the surrounding countries being trafficked into Thailand.
• Travels in the Skin Trade: Tourism and the Sex Industry (1996, ISBN 0745311156) by Jeremy Seabrook describes the Thai sex industry and includes interviews with prostitutes and customers.
• Cleo Odzer received her Ph.D. in anthropology with a thesis about prostitution in Thailand; her experiences during her three years of field research resulted in the 1994 book Patpong Sisters: An American Woman's View of the Bangkok Sex World (ISBN 1559702818). In the book she describes the Thai prostitutes she got to know as quick-witted entrepreneurs rather than exploited victims.
• Hello My Big Big Honey!: Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing Interviews by Dave Walker and Richard S. Ehrlich (2000, ISBN 0867194731) is a compilation of love letters from Westerners to Thai prostitutes, and interviews with the latter.
• For an informative caricature of historical and contemporary sexual norms and mores of Thailand versus the West see the fiction novels of John Burdett including Bangkok 8 for the comparative anthropology of his half Thai-Western protagonist detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep.
• Dennis Jon's 2005 documentary travelogue The Butterfly Trap provides a realistic and non-judgmental first person viewpoint of sex tourism in Thailand.

References

Further reading

• A modern form of slavery: Trafficking of Burmese Women and Girls into Brothels in Thailand, 1993 report.
• Asia's sex trade is 'slavery' - BBC
• Prostitution in Thailand and Southeast Asia, by Justin Hall, 2004. Extensively referenced paper.
• Fight Against Child Exploitation (FACE) "The Coalition to Fight Against Child Exploitation (FACE) was founded in 1995 to monitor the legal/justice mechanism in Thailand."
• Patpong Sisters. Urban Desires, Volume 1, Issue 1, December 1994. Excerpts from the 1994 book Patpong Sisters (ISBN 1559702818) by anthropologist Cleo Odzer.
• Sexuality in Thailand, in The International Encyclopedia of Sexuality, 1997–2001
• "The brothel king's revenge" Guardian UK
• UC Berkeley Institute of International Studies, Interview with Thai Human Rights Activist Kritaya Archavanitkul
• The Diplomat: Sex, Lies, and Visa
• "Paradise Revealed": British Girl Raped and Murdered in Koh Samui Taipei Times
• Child protection in Thailand TAT article