Listen to this story |
This year’s Pride Month Parade in Bangkok is full of boisterous celebration – as it should, with Thailand’s Marriage Equality Bill set to become the first in Southeast Asia to legalise same-sex marriage.
With this bill, Thailand indeed has a lot to celebrate. But as Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin and Pheu Thai Party Leader Paetongtarn Shinawatra have acknowledged at the beginning of the parade, the struggle does not end with equal marriage rights. While it is a promising start, one civil right is not a panacea for all the hardships the LGBTQIA+ community have faced and continue to endure.
Amidst the loud and proud voices of support to the LGBTQIA+ community and praise to drag queens walking in the parade, one voice that cannot be forgotten is that of the transgender sex wokers that have been the face of Thailand’s infamous sex industry.
Like it or not, one unique charm of Thailand that draws in so many tourists every year is its sex industry. With an estimated annual revenue of USD 6.4 billion in 2015 according to Havoscope, Thailand is the largest destination for sex tourism in the region. Specifically, the transgender sex industry is the highlight for many. Thailand’s red light districts are teeming with “kratoeys”, known as ladyboys to foreigners.
And this is not something we should be ashamed of; the numbers clearly show that shame will not do away with demand. The sex industry should not be quietly tolerated, but properly regulated.
And one cannot do so when prostitution remains criminalised. The Thai Criminal Code and the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act criminalises the act of prostitution. This leaves sex workers, who are already in a high-risk industry, even more vulnerable and marginalised as they are unable to report abusive clients or from corrupt police that they have to bribe. Due to criminalisation, sex workers are not protected under the Labour Protection Act; they are not eligible for welfare or support from the government. They do not have sufficient access to the medical services they desperately need to care for their sexual health and prevent the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. As the COVID-19 pandemic exposed, they were among groups most affected in times of crisis.
According to Tawanda Mutasah, Amnesty International’s Senior Director for Law and Policy, “Sex workers are at heightened risk of a whole host of human rights abuses including rape, violence, extortion and discrimination.” Yet they do not receive legal protection. This is why Amnesty International recommends the decriminalization of consensual sex work after extensive global consultations and global research. Rather than criminalising prostitution, laws should instead focus on preventing sex workers from exploitation.
Paethongtarn has said that the issue of legalising sex workers deserves careful consideration, and that a committee will be set up to do so–rightly so, given that this is a complex issue. Indeed, the issue of sex trafficking is fraught in Thailand; despite the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act 2008, Thailand was still stuck on the watch list of the US Trafficking in Persions Report. But one cannot let this issue deter decriminalisation for better protection of sex workers’ rights; rather, policies for decriminalisation and regulation should be coordinated to reduce sex trafficking and exploitation whilst protecting the rights of consensual sex workers.
Despite Thailand’s talk of gender equality on the streets, we have yet to fully walk this talk in our parliament. Srettha and Paetongtarn have recognised this, promising to advance the rights of sex workers during the parade. Last year, a bill was proposed to legalise prostitution, but it has yet to pass into law.
The government must continue to push for its passage. Admist the difficulties that transgender sex workers continue to face, many exploit Thailand’s image as a LGBTQIA+ safe haven for economic benefit without properly addressing the elephant in the room that is its LGBTQIA+ sex industry. Thailand’s private sector put up rainbow flags and participated in pride events to draw in customers; government spokesman Chai Wacharonke stated the government’s intention to draw in LGBTQIA+ tourists; Srettha event declared Thailand’s intention to host World Pride 2030. But we cannot reap the benefits that sex tourism brings to the Thai economy without providing protection to those who are on the brutal frontline–many who simply want to provide for themselves and their families.
True gender equality means leaving no one behind–including the vulnerable people who dare to do what they do despite its dangers and difficulties, who still express themselves despite persisting discrimination, and who, above all, deserve to be treated with dignity. For these people, Thailand still has some way to go.