Sex workers should be treated the same as those in any other career, particularly in terms of safety and access to public services, says a researcher.
The sex trade cannot be eradicated, so a more open-minded approach is needed, says Chalidaporn Songsamphan, a researcher at Thammasat University's faculty of political sciences."Both governmental and public sectors should learn to live with it without illusion or self-deception," she said in a study.
The research, which looked at news reports and public and government agendas from 1978 until the present, together with interviews with people in the industry, was published yesterday by Mahidol University's Institute for Population and Social Research and Healthy Sexuality Programme.
"Problems within the sexual services industry should be addressed by the government providing the same level of access to safety and public services to sex workers as they do to other citizens," Ms Chalidaporn suggested.
"Anti-human trafficking laws should be seriously implemented, as many sex workers fall victim to this," she added.
The research found public opinion about how to address prostitution is divided into three main groups - those who wish to see it abolished, those who wish for it to be strictly regulated, and those who wish to see it legalised.
Rak Thailand Party leader Chuvit Kamolvisit, who is known for his prior experience running massage parlours which also offer sexual services, said most people who entered this kind of work were desperate for money.
The sex trade cannot be eradicated, so a more open-minded approach is needed, says Chalidaporn Songsamphan, a researcher at Thammasat University's faculty of political sciences."Both governmental and public sectors should learn to live with it without illusion or self-deception," she said in a study.
The research, which looked at news reports and public and government agendas from 1978 until the present, together with interviews with people in the industry, was published yesterday by Mahidol University's Institute for Population and Social Research and Healthy Sexuality Programme.
"Problems within the sexual services industry should be addressed by the government providing the same level of access to safety and public services to sex workers as they do to other citizens," Ms Chalidaporn suggested.
"Anti-human trafficking laws should be seriously implemented, as many sex workers fall victim to this," she added.
The research found public opinion about how to address prostitution is divided into three main groups - those who wish to see it abolished, those who wish for it to be strictly regulated, and those who wish to see it legalised.
Rak Thailand Party leader Chuvit Kamolvisit, who is known for his prior experience running massage parlours which also offer sexual services, said most people who entered this kind of work were desperate for money.
"They can earn at least 8,000 baht a day [as sex workers] and most of them come from poor families," he said.
Mr Chuvit said the 2003 Entertainment Places Act offered loopholes for state officials to exploit sex workers while allowing the illegal businesses to continue operating.
The zoning of entertainment zones, for example on Ratchadaphisek, Patpong and New Phetchaburi roads, further facilitates such corrupt practices, he said.
The study also looked into unwanted pregnancies and illegal abortions.
"The unwanted pregnancy problem continues despite birth-control methods being effective, convenient and uncomplicated," said Ms Chalidaporn.
The Guttmacher Institute, a sexual health organisation, has found 80,000 women die worldwide due to unsafe abortions each year.
"To solve unplanned pregnancies, first we must accept sex as a natural part of human behaviour," she said.
The association of sex with shame meant some people were too embarrassed to buy contraceptive aids or to seek medical advice about pregnancy and other sexual-related concerns, her study said.
Nattaya Boonpakdee, a manager of the Thai Healthy Sexuality Programme, said women with unwanted pregnancies often feel they must face the problem alone.
"It is obvious that the anti-abortion law fails to prevent abortion, and [carrying out abortions illegally] can lead to the unnecessary death or imprisonment of pregnant women and the criminalisation of abortion service providers," she said.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/health/260290/equality-for-sex-workers-urged
Mr Chuvit said the 2003 Entertainment Places Act offered loopholes for state officials to exploit sex workers while allowing the illegal businesses to continue operating.
The zoning of entertainment zones, for example on Ratchadaphisek, Patpong and New Phetchaburi roads, further facilitates such corrupt practices, he said.
The study also looked into unwanted pregnancies and illegal abortions.
"The unwanted pregnancy problem continues despite birth-control methods being effective, convenient and uncomplicated," said Ms Chalidaporn.
The Guttmacher Institute, a sexual health organisation, has found 80,000 women die worldwide due to unsafe abortions each year.
"To solve unplanned pregnancies, first we must accept sex as a natural part of human behaviour," she said.
The association of sex with shame meant some people were too embarrassed to buy contraceptive aids or to seek medical advice about pregnancy and other sexual-related concerns, her study said.
Nattaya Boonpakdee, a manager of the Thai Healthy Sexuality Programme, said women with unwanted pregnancies often feel they must face the problem alone.
"It is obvious that the anti-abortion law fails to prevent abortion, and [carrying out abortions illegally] can lead to the unnecessary death or imprisonment of pregnant women and the criminalisation of abortion service providers," she said.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/health/260290/equality-for-sex-workers-urged
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