SEX WORK AND THE LAW - HIV/AIDS Data Hub

a bar in Chiang Mai that provides sex workers with working conditions that comply with
the minimum standards under the Labour Protection Act. Workers at the bar are entitled to
social security benefits through enrolment with the Social Security Fund, and occupational
health and safety standards are enforced. The Empower Foundation has reported on the
human rights violations that adult sex workers in Chiang Mai were subjected to when
‘rescued’ by anti-trafficking NGOs. 574 The Empower Foundation argues for protective laws
to be applied to sex workers:
Thailand
Several Thai laws could easily be extended to provide protection to sex workers. These
include the Labour Act; Occupational Health and Safety Act; Social Security Act; Cabinet
Resolution on Approved Occupations for Migrant Workers. In addition, the enforcement
of basic human rights protected under international treaties and the Thai Constitution
such as access to education and right to health should be implemented for all people
in Thailand. 575
The Empower Foundation seeks the same protections, permissions and benefits for
migrant sex workers as other migrant workers, without having to be identified as sex
workers.
SWING works with male and transgender sex workers at the community level. SWING
involves sex workers in peer education and advocacy and seeks the cooperation of bar
owners and the police in HIV prevention efforts. Since 2005, SWING has offered an internship
programme for third-year police cadets. SWING hosts six to nine cadets for three-week
internships every year. Cadets work with SWING staff in promoting condom use among
male sex workers in hotspots, teaching at a drop-in centre, and helping to lead workshops.
When the internship ends, the cadets deliver a presentation on their experience to all
students in the police academy. In 2007 SWING developed a four-hour curriculum for all
cadets. Since the programme began, SWING has experienced improved communication
and cooperation with police and fewer arrests and incidents of harassment. 576
In 2011, SWING established rights protection volunteers for sex workers in Pattaya, with
UNFPA support. Through this activity, SWING documented human rights violations
against sex workers in Pattaya in 2011. RTI International worked with SWING on a project
to strengthen rights-based responses to HIV among sex workers in 2011. RTI provides
technical assistance to SWING on human rights and laws related to sex work.
In 2003, the Justice Ministry held a public consultation on proposals to legalize the sex
industry and register sex workers to raise revenue from taxes, enable sex workers to access
to social services and health care, and expose police corruption. The Justice Ministry stated
it had no immediate plans to decriminalize the sex trade. 577
Reforms of Social Security Fund rules enable sex workers to access some state social security
benefits in Thailand if they make financial contributions. 578 The Social Security Act requires
employers to register all employees with the Social Security Fund. Employees, employers
and the government each contribute to the Fund, which pays benefits to workers in the
formal sector in relation to sickness, injury, disability, childbirth, death, unemployment and
an old age pension. Reforms have extended some coverage to informal sector workers,
574 Empower (2004) op cit.
575 Ibid.
576 PACT (2007) op cit.
577 Thais mull legal prostitution, BBC News, 27 November 2003.
578 Lowe D. (2011) op cit., p.5; Foreign Office, Government of Thailand (2011), Social Security for Informal
Workers: One of the Key Issues in the Thailand Reform Process, 28 February 2011.
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