Decriminalising Sex Work in Thailand

Author: Srijita Mukherjee

August 14, 2026

HRRC calls on the tie government and prime minister to immediately endorse and pass the sex work protection bill which fully discriminalises sex work and recognizes sex workers under the national labour laws. HRRC emphasizes that every individual has the right to live, safety and legal protection regardless of their status. We denounce laws that enable foreign tourists or anyone to exploit sex workers with impunity.

Nightlife in Bangkok, Thailand [Image credit: Duytrg Truong/Pexels]

Thailand is known as a sex tourism hub with dark realities for sex workers. Sex work remains illegal yet continues to persist. Authorities often avoid acknowledging it in order to portray Thailand as a modern luxury tourist destination, rather than maintaining its reputation for cheap sex tourism. However, this does not account for the need to focus on the sex workers’ right to life and safety. 

Prostitution in Thailand was criminalised under the 1960 Prostitution and 1966 Entertainment Places Acts and it remains illegal today under the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act. Because of these anti-prostitution laws, voluntary consensual transactions are turned into crimes. This law puts workers at extreme risk of exploitation and discrimination. As the law does not regulate them as legal workers, sex workers are denied basic human rights and have zero protection under the Thai labour laws. 

Criminalising sex work effectively disarms victims and gives leverage to abusers. The Director of Service Workers in Group Foundation (SWING), Surang Chanyam, highlighted a recent violent case in Pattaya where an Australian man was arrested and charged with the death of a 17-year-old sex worker. Foreign tourists feel they can do anything to sex workers without facing consequences. Under the current law, sex workers endure severe abuse and violence because they fear the legal system and are unlikely to seek justice. 

While sex workers are legally allowed to report crimes, doing so would reveal their involvement in prostitution, so they often choose to forego reporting. They know that, instead of acknowledging torture or assault, police often end up charging the victim with prostitution, since it is a crime and is easy to prove. Predators understand this systemic vulnerability and take advantage of those victims under the assumption that the law will not do anything to them. 

In response to this reality, sex worker groups are demanding systemic change. On August 11th, approximately twenty members of the Empower Foundation, a sex worker rights group, organized a demonstration opposite Government House (Office of the Prime Minister)  to petition the Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to endorse the proposed Sex Work Protection Bill. 

The protesters seek labour protections, the repeal of the 1996 Act, and a shift of sex workers from "offenders" to legal workers who deserve employment protections, social security benefits, and safe working conditions. This demonstration also served to expose their reality to the world and show that sex workers have always been a part of Thai society, in brothels, karaoke bars, cafes, etc. 

While the draft bill was submitted to the Parliament on July 10, it was classified as a financial bill which requires the Prime Minister's approval before it can be forwarded through the lawmaking process. On August 5, the government released a summary acknowledging recommendations from the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which urged Thailand to decriminalise prostitution in order to end social stigmatization and denial of labour rights.

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Glossary

Criminalised: to make illegal

Disarms: to deprive of means, reason, or disposition to be hostile

Discrimination: the act, practice, or an instance of unfairly treating a person or group differently from other people or groups on a class or categorical basis (such as race, religion, gender, or sexual orientation) : prejudiced or prejudicial outlook or practice

Endure: to remain firm under suffering or misfortune without yielding

Exploitation: an act or instance of exploiting

Injustice: absence of justice : violation of right or of the rights of another

Illegal: not according to or authorized by law : contrary to or in violation of a law

Legislation: the exercise of the power and function of making rules (such as laws) that have the force of authority by virtue of their promulgation by an official organ of a state or other organization

Leverage: influence or power used to achieve a desired result

Prostitution: the act or practice of engaging in sex acts and especially sexual intercourse in exchange for pay

Regulate: to govern or direct according to rule

Tourism: the practice of traveling for recreation

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References

1. https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/general/3299192/putting-the-spotlight-on-an-open-secret 

2. https://thethaiger.com/thai-life/prostitution-in-thailand-the-cost-of-criminalisation 

3. https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=46403 

4. https://www.nationthailand.com/news/general/40068296

5. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/6/27/thai-police-arrest-australian-over-killing-of-teenager-found-in-suitcase 

6. https://prachataienglish.com/node/11942

7. https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/latest-news/thailand-govt-urged-to-endorse-a-proposed-law-to-formally-recognise-sex-workers-as-workers-entitled-to-labour-social-protections/ 

8. https://theactive.thaipbs.or.th/news/law-rights-20260811