Boom boom: Thailand ranked in top 10 for sex workers globally

The International Union of Sex Workers (IUSW) reports that Thailand is one of the countries with the highest number of sex workers, at 250,000. Despite the number, sex workers in the country remain illegal and continue to struggle for basic labour rights.

The IUSW released global sex industry statistics under the topic, Sex Worker Statistics by Country, Gender. The report, recently updated this year, estimates over 50 million sex workers worldwide, with 41.6 million being female and 10.4 million male.

The IUSW predicts this number will likely increase in the future due to the increased opportunities and channels to provide sex-related service

The report also highlights the top countries for sex work. China leads with five million sex workers, followed by India (three million), the US (one million), the Philippines (800,000), Mexico (500,000), Germany (400,000), Brazil (250,000), Thailand (250,000), Bangladesh (200,000), and South Korea (147,000).

Despite Thailand being among the top ten countries in the world, government officials continue to ignore their existence and oppose them. Sex work in Thailand is deemed illegal under the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act, despite widespread acknowledgement of the industry.

Several political activists and sex workers themselves are advocating for the legalisation of sex work, aiming to grant sex workers access to labour rights comparable to those of other professions.

Chatchalawan Mueangchan, a human rights activist from the Empower Foundation, told Matichon that a Protection of Sex Service Act was drafted and submitted to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (M-Society) over five years ago. Despite passing through multiple referendums, there has been no progress on the act.

Chatchalawan and other representatives from the sex industry in Thailand recently called for advancements in the act at the start of this year. The issue was raised again on Labour Day, with many stressing that sex work is indeed work, and therefore, sex workers should have access to the same labour rights.