SEX WORK AND THE LAW - HIV/AIDS Data Hub

According to the Empower Foundation, punitive police practices include intimidation,
entrapment, raids, rescues and crackdowns: 564
Intimidation
In order to prove the crime of prostitution police must either have an admission of
guilt or evidence that sexual services have been exchanged for something of value.
It is common for police to claim that simply being in an Entertainment Place or having
possession of condoms is valid evidence of prostitution. They use harsh language and
bullying tactics to intimidate sex workers into accepting guilt and either paying a
bribe or a fine according to the agenda and honesty of the police officer.
Entertainment Place owners and workers all must make regular payments to corrupt
authorities, including police. These payments do not provide protection against arrest
as such but promise assistance in times of trouble. However police still must produce
arrests to show they are doing their job. It’s not uncommon for them to request sex
workers to volunteer to be arrested and in some bars there is a roster of who will be
arrested when.
Sex workers working outside Entertainment Places are frequently targeted by police
using local or provincial regulations, e.g., arresting sex workers on the beach for
‘bothering tourists’.
Generally around 30,000 sex workers a year are charged under the Suppression and
Prevention of Prostitution Act in Thailand.
Entrapment
The other method authorities use to establish enough cause for arrest or extortion
is entrapment. Police will meet the sex worker as a customer. Police collects verbal
confirmation of the sale of sexual services and pays in advance with ‘marked’ money.
He then arrests the worker plus/minus support staff and they either pay a bribe or a fine
according to the agenda and honesty of the police officers. Sometimes entrapment
is carried out to collect enough cause to raid the premises to make multiple arrests
called a raid.
Raids
Raids occur whenever there is a change in the top administration officials, e.g., a new
Police Director, a new Governor, etc. Raids may also occur if an Entertainment Place
owner is not compliant with corrupt police. In addition a raid may occur in response
to suspected human trafficking.
A raid is a violent terrifying event where fifty or more armed police often accompanied
by media, arrive at an Entertainment Place around 11pm. Police seal off the doors, rush
in and proceed to apprehend all women on the premises. Support staff, managers
and rarely owners may also be apprehended. If the purpose of the raid is extortion
bribes will often be paid at the premises and workers released.
Otherwise the workers are taken to a local police station where they are investigated
and processed under various laws and policies. Most commonly workers with Thai
identity documents will be charged with associating for the purpose of prostitution,
564 Submission to UNDP, December 2011.
160