But MP Sorapa Sriprat offered in the same Bangkok Post piece what all are thinking about his country, “Maintaining the current law means the country fails to accept reality and is a society built on hypocrisy.”
What’s really going on
While prostitution in Thailand is not technically illegal, public solicitation for it is prohibited. However, according to The International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW), Thailand supports one the largest population of sex workers; 250,000 as of May of this year.
As far back as the Vietnam War Thailand’s prostitution has been a significant presence. Due to the country’s high level of poverty, low education rates, and very few jobs available in the rural regions, a great number of young people flock in from, sex work becomes a viable way to make a living.
Prostitutes take to being employed in karaoke clubs, “soapy massage” establishments, and “beer bars,” (where customers can enjoy a drink while being serviced under the table they sit at) as much for safety as to pluck from regular clientele.
Then there are professional Broadway-like shows featuring the country’s infamous ladyboys, who are also available to tourists for a fee in clubs that feature them and other establishments in cities like Bangkok, and Pattaya.
Seeing as Thailand’s prostitution laws are so hard to define (and apply), Thai sex society is ripe for corruption, payoffs, bribes, and all other sorts of extortion by the county police, organized crime, and governmental officials.
