Thais mull legalising sex trade

Thai prostitutes say they are forced to hide from the police

The Thai Government has begun a public debate on whether prostitution should be legalised.

Justice Minister Pongthep Thepkanchana opened the debate attended by academics, officials and sex workers.

Proposals being considered include registering sex workers and thus urging them to pay taxes.

Prostitution is a $4.3bn industry in Thailand which could generate big revenues - currently it accounts for about 3% of the country's income.

Some brothel owners support calls for the trade's legalisation, as they say it would relieve them of various expenses.

"The government should licence brothels," Anan Atpruang, the owner of a gay massage parlour, told the meeting.

"Then we can eliminate the vicious circle of bribery and illegitimate sources of income," he said.

We just want to take care of ourselves. But we need insurance, we need everything Noi, Thai prostitute

Advocates of the changes say legalisation would give Thailand's estimated 200,000 sex workers access to health care and protection from abuse.

"We just want to take care of ourselves. But we need insurance, we need everything," Noi, a 26-year-old prostitute, told AP news agency.

She said if prostitution became legal she would have recourse against clients who refused to pay, and would no longer have to hide from the police.

Improved conditions

Not all sex workers favour making prostitution legal.

Many argued at the forum that if legalisation meant registration of sex workers, it would further stigmatise them.

But they did call for improved conditions in return for the taxes they paid indirectly, through the bars and massage parlours in which they worked.

"We want to have welfare benefits like employees in other businesses. We are paying tax to the government, but we do not receive anything in return," said one sex worker who did not want to be named.

Pasuk Phongpaichit, who has written several books on Thailand's underground economy, said legalisation would only benefit the tycoons who ran bars and massage parlours.

" Legalising prostitution would boost the commercial sex trade instead of empowering women... it would only encourage more women to enter the sex trade," she told the meeting.

The country's Justice Minister, Pongthep Thepkanchana, told the Reuters news agency that there were no immediate plans to legalise prostitution.

He said the forum was designed to assess public opinion on the issue.

The government has recently expanded legalised gambling in an attempt to boost the economy.