Thailand, formerly known as Siam, is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is known for its beautiful tourist spots, malls, museums, temples and of course, Mario Maurer. Bangkok, the capital is Thailand's political, commercial, industrial and cultural hub and also the largest city. And who will forget the world class resorts of Pattaya?
Yet, behind these superb façade lies a not-so hidden trade that Thais are well-known, it’s frenzied sex industry. The Thai government might be making means to kerb up prostitution in their country, it seems like the ordeal is impossible to happen.
Many insinuations are spreading that the sex trade in Thailand, especially in Bangkok may like to be declining. Maybe because to this date, Thailand is improving economically since it now claims to be a newly industrialized country and is now a major exporter, as well as its tourism industry. Though, many Thai women think that there isn’t any substitute jobs that wait for them once they give up prostitution. For them, there isn’t economic alternative to an industry that played an invisible yet vital role at the very extremity of Thai society.
Each night in Bangkok, behind the sound of bustling city traffic and colourful lights, thousands of women walk to work in the cities not so invisible sex dens and night clubs. Though, many claim that Bangkok isn’t the sex capital of the world, certainly in Asia, it is.
By estimates, as of July 2013, there are about 400000 sex workers in Thailand. These numbers include Thai women who work on a casual and freelance basis, male gigolos, and homosexuals. For decades Bangkok has been a well-known sex tourist destination for millions of men. Today, this includes younger men from western countries and increasingly men from other Asian countries in particular India.
Canadian photographer Gerry Yaum has made a documentary with regards to Thailand’s sex industry. He has been visiting Thailand many times with the intent of raising awareness about the situations by documenting the sex workers and sharing their stories to the world.
According to Yaum, many Thais seeks saw that being a sex workers is their only means of supporting their respective families. As all of them are poverty-stricken, they drawn to become a sex worker because technically it is more profitable than any other works, aside from the fact that you don’t need to become a degree holder to become one.
As prostitution is not strictly illegal in Thailand, solicitation and public nuisance laws are in effect. In practice it is tolerated and partly regulated. Prostitution operates clandestinely in many parts of the country. Local officials with commercial interests in prostitution often protect the practice. The precise number of prostitutes is difficult to assess; estimates vary widely and are subject to national and international controversy.
Cases of human trafficking, sexual exploitation and, of course child prostitution have also increased. Child prostitution in Thailand has become a major problem, and continues to thrive despite being illegal in the country for a variety of reasons. A key difference between adult prostitution and child prostitution is the concept of forced labor. Although many prostitutes are coerced or forced into the sex sector, there is still a degree of freedom or choice when working as one. Children, however, do not have this degree of choice. Thus, in the case of adults, prostitution could be considered an occupation or a form of work, but in the case of children it is a totally unacceptable form of forced labour.” At the same time, a child is far more influenced by their surrounding environment than an adult is. Young girls in Thailand, who make up more than 90% of the child prostitution in the country, are completely at the mercy of their environment. Their culture, religion, economic status, and other factors all contribute to their constant entrance into the sex sector. While not all are necessarily forced into prostitution, the majority reason is likely socio-economic pressure.
Our society isn’t perfect. It has full of flaws and we people are the ones to be blamed for we shape the society. Slavery once ruled in the ancient times, today, much the less, its prostitution. As Victor Hugo once said, “We say that slavery has vanished from European civilization, but this is not true. Slavery still exists, but now it applies only to women and its name is prostitution
References:
Sexwork Cyber Center
By Dave in Phoenix dave@davephx.com
PO Box 55045, Phoenix AZ 85078-5045
Promoting Intimacy and Other-Centered Sexuality
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prostitution_in_Thailand
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_prostitution_in_Thailand
www.thailovelines.com/Frontinfo/thai-prostitute.php
www.notable-quotes.com/p/prostitution_quotes.html