Thai Govt Recognizes Problem of Exp

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Subject: Thai Govt Recognizes Problem of Exploitation of Women

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Thai Govt Recognizes Problem of Exploitation of Women

               Inter Press Service
               08-FEB-99

               NEW YORK, (Feb. 5) IPS - Deep-rooted social attitudes in
               Thailand have made it difficult to implement appropriate
               measures to suppress prostitution and trafficking in
women,
               the Bangkok government admitted here. 

               Thai authorities also recognized that the sexual
exploitation
               of women was a "major human rights problem" in the
               country. 

               Thailand this week presented its second and third reports
to
               the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of
               Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), whose 23
               all-female members meet once a year to assess the
               implementation by states parties to the United Nations
               anti-discriminatory convention. 

               Thailand stated that, despite laws penalizing commercial
sex
               workers and those who profit from prostitution, the
               enforcement of the legislation was a "major problem." 

               Together with non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the
               Thai government has launched programs directed towards
               girls and women, offering them alternatives prostitution.
               Some of these programs are aimed at changing the attitude
               of parents and potential customers of sex workers,
explained
               Saisuree Chutikul, an adviser in the Thai prime
minister's
               office who introduced the government report here. 

               "There has been an increasing realization that these
               attitudes are not simply related to poverty, but that
social
               attitudes play an important part both in the demand for
               commercial sex services and the trafficking of women and
               exploitation which occurs within the industry," Chutikul
said. 

               In Thailand, a young man who admits he is a virgin is
               ridiculed by his peers, the report admitted. It is
considered
               normal for a man's first sexual contact to be with a

prostitute,
               usually accompanied by some friends. Moreover, visits to
               commercial sex workers are still considered as part of a
               group leisure behavior. 

               In 1989, the Thai Ministry of Public Health estimated
that 4.2
               million men visited commercial sex workers. According to
               other studies, 75 percent of Thai men have had sex with
               prostitutes at some time in their lives and 48 percent
               experienced their first sexual encounter with a
commercial
               sex worker. 

               Many women in Thailand believe that prostitution protects
               "good" women against rape, and wives prefer their
husbands
               visit commercial sex workers rather than take a minor
wife,
               which is perceived as a greater threat to family
stability, the
               report said. 

               Nevertheless, recent studies show a decline in the trend
               toward of using commercial sex workers, "partly in
response
               to the perceived threat of HIV/AIDS and partly due to
               perceptions that non-commercial intercourse is more
               possible now due to changes on social behavior," the
report
               explained. 

               This trend was made evident by research among vocational
               students in Bangkok and military conscripts in Chiang Rai
               but the report estimated that 20 to 30 percent of men
still
               regularly visited brothels in Thailand. 

               A new law to replace the 1960 Anti-Prostitution Act is
               introducing changes that would mean lighter penalties for
               commercial sex workers and an increase of penalties for
               brothel owners, pimps, procurers and traffickers. It also
               introduces penalties against parents who knowingly sell
their
               children into prostitution. 

               University and college female students become commercial
               sex workers on a part-time basis in order to get money
for a
               relatively lavish lifestyle, according to the report
presented to
               CEDAW. Also the promotion and growth of international
               tourism played also an important role in the
establishment of
               entertainment centers for tourists, which provide sex
               services. 

               "The origins of this sector of the commercial sex
industry in
               Thailand developed during the Vietnam War" the report
said.
               From 1964 to 1976, 50 000 foreign soldiers were based in
               Thailand, while about 700,000 annually visited the
kingdom
               on leave from the fighting in Vietnam. 

               After the war, the sex businesses converted into the
               international tourist trade. Thailand received 5.3
million
               people in 1991, a number, which is increasing every year
               since then and, a survey in 1990, found that 65 percent
of

               these visitors were unaccompanied males. 

               Although it is difficult to produce accurate numbers,
Thai
               authorities estimated there were 150,000 to 200,000
female
               commercial sex workers, of whom 15 to 20 percent were
               under age 18. 

               Women working in the entertainment business are not
               protected by the labor laws and there are no regulations
               concerning their hours or conditions of work. The basic
               salary usually was below the minimum wage and women had
               to depend on tips, drinks and customers for their pay,
the
               report said. 

               "Thailand is taking very seriously the fact that the
rights of
               women and children are part of overall human rights
               development," declared Thai government counsellor Apirath
               Vienravi. 

               While the U.N. Convention could not be used as a legal
               instrument within the kingdom, it had a "powerful
influence"
               on government action to end discrimination against women
               and ensure their human rights, he said. 

               CEDAW officials revealed that studies by NGOs estimated
               that 20,000 to 30,000 women and girls from Burma also
were
               working in the commercial sex industry in Thailand, with
10
               000 new entrants each year. It is the largest group of
foreign
               sex workers together with Chinese women and girls --
mainly
               from Yunnan province, which has linguistic and cultural
ties
               to Thailand. 

               Cambodian, Lao and Vietnamese women and girls also were
               involved in the Thai sex traffic but in smaller numbers
and
               most were illegal immigrants. 

               On the other side of the problem, there was a traffic in
Thai
               women in foreign countries for working in the sex
industry.
               Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, Germany and other developed
               nations not named in the report were reported to be the
main
               offenders. 

               In an attempt to prevent the traffic in women, the
government
               of Thailand, through its Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has
               adopted a strict policy of passport checking in order to
fight
               against forged passports both in the country and abroad. 

               It also monitors applicants believed to be in high-risk
               categories. But the report conceded Thailand still had a
long
               way to go as traffickers use a variety of techniques to
avoid
               these checks, in some cases simply smuggling the women
               from the country, in other case using bribery or false
               marriage.