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But advocates within the industry are calling for the government to decriminalise their work instead By Caleb Quinley. Brothels are a common sight throughout the country, often hidden behind the doors of bath houses, karaoke bars, massage parlours or boutique nightclubs.
Other establishments are more obvious ā pulsing neon-lit gogo bars, blatant escort services, strip clubs that beam out into the night. But despite its prominence, prostitution is still illegal under Thai law. And after years of turning a blind eye, the police are on the warpath. Lately, Thai authorities have tried to clean up the streets in order to paint a more wholesome picture of the country. Although the sex trade is undeniably huge in Thailand, the precise number of sex workers in the nation is difficult to calcuate.
Because according to the sex workers who choose to carve out a living this way, this heightened wave of legal suppression comes at a high cost. For those who have entered the sex trade voluntarily, the work is simply an honest way to get by. A Thai karaoke hostess entertains customers in a Bangkok bar. At just 15 years old, she realised that she needed to start working in order to help provide for her family. But finding a job that would actually allow her to support her family was no easy task ā the wages were so low that they made it difficult to put her younger brother through school and help take care of her parents at the same time.
So when she turned 23, she decided to make a serious change ā one that to her, has made all the difference. Understandably, there needs to be strong policies that combat human trafficking and exploitation, but they say that decriminalising the work would mean a more regulated trade that would result in systems that could better protect sex workers and keep dangerous traffickers at bay.
