research on sex trafficking in thailand

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Why legalizing prostitution in Thailand can help Bangkok regulate commercial sex and curb sex-trafficking systematically and institutionally

Per the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons , sexual exploitation (79%) is known as the most common form of human trafficking at the global level. Predominantly, women and girls are victimized under the presence of human trafficking. Sex trafficking victims refer to those being forced, coerced or placed under the undue influence to participate in prostitution (Roujanavong, 2012 ). U.S. Department of State ( 2022 )'s 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report classified Thailand in Tier 2, meaning Bangkok failed to fully meet the minimum standards for the eradication of any trafficking-related activities, despite making significant endeavors correspondingly. Bangkok, per the Report, raised the anti-trafficking capacity, grew the number of trafficking investigations and sentenced officials who were involved in trafficking activities to terms of imprisonment in 2022. In spite of these efforts, Bangkok's number of trafficking prosecutions and convictions in 2022 failed to fall, relative to those in 2021. Thai law enforcement authorities, in addition, purportedly applied inconsistent and ineffective interviewing approaches amid (sex) labor inspection, rendering a raft of trafficking victims to be unidentified (U.S. Department of State, 2022 ).

Bangkok tightened its legal action against human trafficking by passing the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act (B.E. 2551) in 2008 (Pink, 2013 ). However, since then, Thailand has remained placed on the Tier 2 watch list per the Trafficking in Persons Report . Such a circumstance hints that solely raising the punitive terms against human trafficking has little to no positive impact on combating any form of trafficking activities domestically. Thailand, as the regionally largest sex tourism destination in Southeast Asia, has a value of USD 6.4 billion in annual revenue generated from underground prostitution activities (Wadekar, 2023 ). The lucrative sex tourism economy and Bangkok's over-reliance on sex work-related revenues to support its formal and informal economic development have barred Bangkok from effectively curbing sex trafficking activities. While prostitution is deemed illegal, Bangkok has long been known for tolerating commercial sex, especially in tourist-popular locations such as Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket (McGeough and the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of Mercyhurst University, 2022 ; Peter, 2023 ; Wadekar, 2023 ). Therefore, law enforcement authorities, when exercising anti-prostitution raids, often turn a blind eye to commercial sex activities, especially when they receive bribes from conventional sex establishment owners or prostitutes themselves (Paramanand, 2019 ).

In March 2023, Bangkok drafted a bill to legalize sex work, proposing to allow individuals aged 20 or older to voluntarily enter the sex industry (Charoensuthipan, 2023 ). While Thai lawmakers have yet to know when the drafted bill will possibly be passed, such a legal endeavor is deemed a remarkable law-making output that helps protect women and girls from facing sexual marginalization and exploitation and is conducive to Bangkok's implementation of more effective and consistent anti-human trafficking operations in the long term. This opinion rationalizes how, if the drafted bill is passed, the legalization of prostitution in Thailand can help domestically curb sex trafficking activities. The opinion will also include some forms of comparative analysis in order to use neighboring countries as examples to justify how the criminalization of sex work has severely marginalized the safety, rights, health and wellbeing of prostitutes, leading commercial sex workers and sex trafficking victims to become systematically and institutionally more traumatized.

The legalization of sex work and anti-sex trafficking

As a status quo , sex workers have been subject to constant physical, verbal, sexual and financial abuse and exploitation by their clients and/or managers (Peter, 2023 ). However, with their occupation being criminalized, they enjoy no legal rights to seek help from law enforcement and justice departments. They cannot publicly admit that they encounter any form of abuse and exploitation during their engagement in commercial sex, otherwise not only are not unlikely to be legally protected by existing laws but they may plausibly be criminalized.

Also, so long as prostitution becomes legalized, sex workers and victims of sex trafficking at large do not have to pay bribes to corrupt law enforcement authorities during any anti-prostitution raids (Peter, 2023 ). In recent decades, while Bangkok has been legislatively endeavoring to curb prostitution and trafficking activities, however, such efforts have failed to translate into desirable societal outcomes as law enforcement and justice authorities have been popularly corrupt. Despite the presence of anti-prostitution and -trafficking laws, police and other justice authorities have been keen on accepting bribes from sex trafficking victims and sex workers to turn a blind eye to their engagement in commercial sex. Similar situations have occurred continually in the Philippines. Ample Philippine police officers have the disposition to use anti-trafficking as a cover to extort bribes from prostitutes, commercial sex clients and owners and/or managers of conventional sex establishments. A raft of fake anti-prostitution and anti-trafficking raids were held so as to allow law enforcement authorities to financially exploit the interests of those engaging in commercial sex further and continually (Paramanand, 2019 ). The societal outcomes presented in Southeast Asia at large in recent decades have demonstrated that prostitution and sex trafficking have largely been tolerated, in part, owing to the loose law enforcement loopholes, despite the criminalization per se .

As prostitution is, in theory, criminalized, many conventional sex establishments have been operated in the underground economy. On the one hand, such a circumstance means commercial sex is under- or de-regulated, barring law enforcement authorities from identifying any existing crimes or violence against the interest and safety of sex workers. On the other hand, while, as mentioned, the Thai sex industry earns billions of USD in revenue per year, Bangkok fails to collect tax directly from the activities of commercial sex. So long as commercial sex is legalized, not only can Bangkok gain lucratively from taxing legal industries that benefit from the prevalence of sex tourism, but Bangkok can also earn substantial tax revenues directly from the sex industry. With a continual rise in financial capacity, Bangkok can capitalize on the tax revenue gains on addressing the socioeconomic root causes of prostitution and sex trafficking, including extreme rural poverty, under- or unemployment and educational exclusion against some marginalized and disadvantaged Thai nationals.

Legalizing prostitution does not implicate that Bangkok tolerates sex work more, as same as criminalizing paid sex has failed to minimize such a form of commercial activity. Legalizing prostitution may, nevertheless, help sustainably protect the rights and safety of prostitutes as now they are able to engage in commercial sex above the ground level. Whenever they experience any form of exploitation or abuse, they have the legal right to seek help from local law enforcement authorities. Police officers lose the bargaining power to solely protect the interests of prostitutes under the condition that bribes could be paid. As a result, prostitutes can avoid being financially exploited by both corrupt law enforcement officers and the institutionally unequal power relations that place them in such a limbo. Moreover, like in Indonesia, despite some provincial and local governments imposing commercial sex criminalization, at the national level, prostitution is decriminalized. All Indonesian sex laborers working in regulated brothels have to undertake mandatory, regular HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing in order to protect the sexual health of those engaging in commercial sex. Decriminalizing prostitution in Thailand allows the country to follow the footsteps of Indonesia to better and clearly regulate the sexual health policies within the sex industry (Global Network of Sex Work Projects, n.d.).

Vietnamese officials denounced that underground activities of commercial sex were overly rampant when prostitution was outlawed in their country. Allowing prostitution to operate above the ground level in certain pre-determined areas has been proven to be effective in containing the expansion of commercial sex services in Vietnam over the most recent decade (City Pass Guide, n.d.). In 2012, Hanoi passed the Law on Handling Administrative Violations that decriminalized the selling and purchasing of commercial sex (International Centre for Cultural Studies, 2022 ). Other activities such as pimping, procuring and being involved in underage commercial sex have remained criminalized (International Centre for Cultural Studies, 2022 ). Such legal endeavors have resulted in proven successes in Vietnam and should be learnt by Bangkok shall Thailand officially legalize prostitution. In order to maintain the protection of human rights, it is of utmost importance to combat any form of sex trafficking, including child trafficking, in Thailand. Bangkok's proposed law to allow those aged 20 or above to sell sex voluntarily hints that the Government intends to allow better regulation and tolerance of sex work while combating any form of sex trafficking, including child trafficking, activities. So long as Thai nationals or foreign nationals in Thailand are maturely aged, the Thai general public should learn that these individuals have full control of their self-agency even if their behaviors (i.e. selling sex) are challenging the moral values and social norms. It is not because the provision of commercial sex should now be deemed socially and morally acceptable, but, in practice, criminalization of prostitution and building a zero-tolerance of sex work are proven to be ineffective and fruitless. Allowing those meeting a pre-set age requirement to sell their bodies voluntarily while criminalizing any form of sex trafficking activities should, in theory, help legally empower sex workers and keep any challenges against moral values and social norms of society to a minimum level.

When prostitution is outlawed, conventional sex establishments' owners can easily circumnavigate laws. For example, in the Philippines, having sex with a girl under the age of 18 is regarded as rape. The involvement in influencing any girls under the age of 18 to undertake sexual intercourse is deemed sex trafficking. Therefore, Philippine bar managers exploit the legal loopholes and commonly present girls under the age of 18 as entertainers rather than sex workers. A patron paying money to bar managers by taking the girl away from the entertainment establishment is marketised as giving “fines” (Redfem and The Fuller Project, 2019 ). By exploiting these legal loopholes, while Manila passed the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 , ample underage girls have remained engaged in commercial sex, without any party assuming the legal consequences of sex trafficking (Paramanand, 2019 ). Bangkok should learn the lesson from the Philippine example and concentrate primarily on curbing sex trafficking activities while protecting the labor rights and safety of above-age prostitutes. More teenagers deciding to enter the sex industry in order to earn “quick and easy” money to support their own families' subsistence needs may plausibly be encouraged to postpone their entry into prostitution until the legal age requirement is satisfied. Moreover, without assuming the responsibilities of arresting and sanctioning above-age prostitutes, relevant Thai law enforcement departments, who are, as a status quo , often subject to understaffed and underfunded challenges, can now have sufficient capacity to focus on combating anti-trafficking, including anti-child sex trafficking, activities (Thai PBS World, 2023 ). Law enforcement endeavors on containing illegal sex work shall become more feasible and effective.

Under the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act enacted by Bangkok, prostitution is prohibited. Any person soliciting sex could be fined. Pimps could be fined and imprisoned for up to 10 years. Commercial sex clients having intercourse with children under the age of 15 could be fined and spend up to 6 years in prison. Those having sex with children aged between 15 and 18 could be fined and sentenced to imprisonment for no more than 3 years (Reyes, 2015 ). These punitive terms should all remain, or even tighten, except for the legalization of engagement in commercial sex once the prostitutes reach the age of 20. In the long term, such a legislative intervention should allow paid sex to take place above the ground level while heavily sanctioning any party who is involved in sex trafficking.

Conclusions

Ideally passing the proposed law of legalizing prostitution should help Thailand achieve better societal outcomes. However, even if such a bill is not passed, Thai lawmakers should be urged to decriminalize prostitution. Only by destigmatising prostitutes from being labeled as criminals, can sex workers safeguard their labor rights, health and wellbeing when needed. Also, decriminalization or legalization of prostitution, as said, will enable the underresourced and understaffed law enforcement authorities to enjoy an adequate capacity to combat sex trafficking activities, minimizing the risks and odds of anyone being involved in paid sex without their own legal consent.

Decriminalization or legalization of prostitution, by no means, hints at Bangkok's decision to loosen its commercial sex regulations. Such a legal intervention, however, should facilitate the justice system to better systematically and institutionally contain any unlawful act of paid sex and ensure that whoever participating in sex trafficking is severely sanctioned.

Ostensibly the proposed law does not cover the benefits and safety of those under the age of 20. Yet, from an ethical, moral and religious perspective, there is no supporting reason to allow socially disadvantaged Thai women and girls at a premature age to legally engage in commercial sex. Those who are underage, especially, are defined as sex trafficking victims if they take part in prostitution, regardless of whether they enter the sex industry coercively or voluntarily. Sex trafficking remains severely legally sanctioned within and beyond Thailand in order to protect the safety and health of premature girls, especially those of socially disadvantaged origins. Proposing the legal age for prostitution at 20 years old enables those who are lacking life opportunities and financial resources to consider if they would like to enter the sex industry non-coercively. The proposed law, simultaneously, prohibits underage girls to engage in commercial sex so as to avoid them from being subject to child sexual abuse and exploitation. Ultimately, if this proposed law is enacted, those who meet the age requirement and are already in, or considering to enter, the prostitution can enjoy more legal protection within the industry.

Author contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Conflict of interest

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A Light at the End of the Tunnel for Survivors of Trafficking in Thailand

• Dhanabara Kohkaew | Media and Communications Assistant, IOM Thailand

“I didn’t know I was getting into this situation. I came here hoping to work. They sold me the idea of a ‘good life’ and ‘easy money’,” Asa* recounts. 

Promised a good job by her trafficker, Asa left her home, which she described as filled with difficulties, and flew to Thailand with a dream of starting a new life. This dream was soon shattered. 

Under the control of her trafficker, Asa was forced into sex work. All that she earned was confiscated — an unfortunate reality for many in the same situation. 

“We lived a hard life. Sometimes, we couldn't even go outside. They would take our passports.”  

Asa knew she needed to find a way out. 

Eventually, she came into contact with a staff member from NightLight International , an organization working to reach out to, rescue and restore those who are negatively impacted by human trafficking and sexual exploitation.  

Initially, in disbelief that there were actually people so willing to help someone in her situation, it wasn’t easy for Asa to accept help at first. The NightLight staff member left her with a phone number she could call should she need any assistance. 

So in 2019, when she was arrested for overstaying her visa, Asa reached out for help to the only organization she knew – NightLight International. 

Asa was one of 868 victims of sex and labor trafficking identified by the Royal Thai Government in its Country Report on Anti-Human Trafficking Efforts . 

According to Annie Dieselberg, NightLight’s Director and Founder, common factors identified among victims and/or survivors of trafficking are limited socio-economic opportunities, lack of awareness on safe migration channels, and instability or insecurity at home. 

“Without a solid, secure foundation, women are vulnerable to dropping out of school at a younger age, getting into unhealthy relationships and looking for opportunities somewhere else,” Dieselberg says. “After being trafficked for a number of years, that’s the life they know. They don’t know other means of making money, and some may end up becoming traffickers themselves.” 

To address their needs, NightLight works to provide victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation with holistic care. “The goal is that, in providing these services, we get to know them and build trust. This helps us make referrals to other actors offering support.” 

Support can include job training opportunities, aimed at equipping women with skills to support the reintegration back into their communities. Women have benefitted from opportunities in jewelry making, sewing, baking and working at NightLight’s coffee shop. 

With victims coming from various backgrounds and countries, strong cooperation is needed to ensure their safe return home. As such, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Thailand works closely with NightLight. Victims who wish to return home can receive support from IOM, including for pre-departure counselling, securing travel documents, return assistance, and socio-economic support to facilitate reintegration back into their communities. 

“Our collaboration with civil society partners such as NightLight is critical to our support of national counter-trafficking efforts,” says Among Resi, Programme Officer, Counter-Trafficking, at IOM Thailand. “By building such partnerships with both government and non-government, we can ensure that all victims receive the support they need.”

To empower victims to make an informed decision on their next steps, IOM provides medical and mental health and psychosocial (MHPSS) support and has helped train Nightlight’s staff. “We’ve collaborated with IOM to strengthen our capacities for victim identification and trauma-informed care,” explains Dieselberg. 

As survivors work towards reintegrating into their communities, many factors come into play. 

“IOM believes that the reintegration of victims of trafficking should be addressed through individual, community and structural level interventions Shared responsibility in delivering assistance is crucial for successful and sustainable reintegration,” highlights Resi. 

The role of one’s community cannot be emphasized enough, adds Dieselberg.

"People need to realize that trafficking is a community issue, not an individual issue. Everybody has a role to play. We need to think about how we can help reduce vulnerabilities of victims and prevent potential victims from being exploited."

For survivors, hope and trust are crucial to rebuilding their lives. “It’s very important to have a support network. Don't try to do this alone. Find people you can trust and share your stories with, to walk with you,” Dieselberg adds. 

Reintegration is not an overnight process. With continuous support, Asa finds herself rediscovering her dignity, regaining her strength and feeling empowered. She is now taking steps towards rebuilding a life far from fear and violence. 

“After everything I went through, I have been given hope,” Asa shares. “I feel free.” 

                                                                                               ***

*Name has been changed to protect her identity. 

IOM’s counter-trafficking activities in Thailand are financially supported by the European Union, Government of Japan, IOM Development Fund and U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration. 

RELATED STORIES

Chasing dreams beyond borders: unlocking world of possibilities through skills training in thailand, scars of trafficking: heart-wrenching stories from indonesian migrant workers, escaping the shadows: a man’s story of survival.

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Human Trafficking in Thailand: A Culture of Corruption

• First Online: 03 May 2017

Cite this chapter

• Patchanee Malikhao 3 &
• Fiona Servaes 3  

Part of the book series: Communication, Culture and Change in Asia ((CCCA,volume 3))

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• An erratum to this publication is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4125-9_10

Human trafficking continues to be a significant problem in Thailand. Only recently, mainly due to international media coverage and policy decisions made by foreign governments, the Thai government has started to address the issues. Although small advances are slowly being made, the underlying root causes within Thai culture and governmental corruption continue to undermine anti-trafficking efforts, and can therefore only be solved if significant structural changes are being made.

The original version of the chapter was revised: Missing author name has been updated. The erratum to the chapter is available at 10.1007/978-981-10-4125-9_10

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Malikhao, P., Servaes, F. (2017). Human Trafficking in Thailand: A Culture of Corruption. In: Culture and Communication in Thailand. Communication, Culture and Change in Asia, vol 3. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4125-9_8

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2018 Trafficking in Persons Report - Thailand

• Document source : United States Department of State
• Date: 28 June 2018
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• Information

THAILAND: TIER 2

The Government of Thailand does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore Thailand was upgraded to Tier 2. The government demonstrated increasing efforts by prosecuting and convicting more traffickers, and decreasing prosecution time for trafficking cases through the use of specialized anti-trafficking law enforcement divisions. The government also investigated more cases of suspected official complicity in trafficking crimes and convicted 12 complicit officials in 2017, including 11 officials involved in the trafficking of Rohingya migrants. The government issued regulations to increase oversight of NGO-operated shelters and provide access to governmental financial support. It established an anti-trafficking task force composed of law enforcement, social workers, and NGOs to increase coordination of law enforcement and victim protection efforts; created a victim specialist program; and increased training for labor inspectors on forced labor. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. Officials identified fewer victims of forced labor and investigated fewer forced labor cases compared to the previous reporting period. Although the government continued to increase labor inspections in high-risk industries, inspections resulted in disproportionately few identified victims and criminal investigations. Official complicity continued to impede anti-trafficking efforts, and there were anecdotal reports that officials arrested, detained, and deported some potential victims for crimes committed as a direct result of being subjected to human trafficking. Victims and activists may have been deterred from reporting, and some officials may have been hesitant to pursue investigations of exploitation due to risks of facing criminal defamation charges brought by unscrupulous employers.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THAILAND

Improve the capacity of law enforcement, labor inspectors, and first responders to consistently and proactively screen for and identify victims among vulnerable populations, including migrant workers, stateless persons, children, and refugees, and to ensure victims are not subjected to arrest, detainment, or deportations for crimes committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking; proactively investigate and prosecute officials allegedly complicit in trafficking, and convict and punish those found guilty with dissuasive sentences; improve the capacity of law enforcement to proactively prosecute and convict sex and labor traffickers; improve law enforcement and first responders' ability to identify and prosecute cases of forced labor, especially in cases lacking physical coercion or confinement; continue to train multidisciplinary teams and labor inspectors to improve the quality of fishing vessel inspections that could result in the identification of victims and criminal investigations; ensure government- and NGO-run shelters provide victims with adequate trauma-informed care, including legal assistance, and increase the provision of financial compensation and restitution to victims, including to those who are unable to work outside shelters; foster an environment conducive to reporting human trafficking crimes without fear of criminal prosecution and provide protections for multidisciplinary teams against interference or retaliation; regulate migrant worker labor recruiters, including by enforcing bans on worker-paid recruitment fees and by prosecuting cases with indicators of trafficking; improve migrant workers' rights, legal status, and labor migration policies to minimize the risk of trafficking; enforce regular payment of wages and the rights of employees to retain possession of their own identity and financial documents; and proactively inform migrant workers and other vulnerable populations of their rights, including under new migrant worker regulations, and legal protections from human trafficking.

PROSECUTION

The government increased law enforcement efforts. The 2008 anti-trafficking law, as amended, criminalized sex and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of up to 12 years imprisonment and a maximum fine of 1.2 million baht ($36,810) for offenses involving an adult victim, and up to 20 years imprisonment and 2 million baht ($61,350) for those involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The Ministry of Labor (MOL) drafted legislation to more clearly define forced labor in Thai law and create additional protections for victims; in 2018 the government sought input from the public on this draft law. The government reported investigating 302 trafficking cases (333 in 2016), initiating prosecutions against 638 suspected traffickers (493 in 2016), and convicting 466 traffickers (366 in 2016) in 2017. Despite reports of continued forced labor in Thailand, the government reported investigating fewer cases; authorities investigated 47 forced labor cases in 2017 (83 in 2016) and 16 in January through March 2018. The government reported investigating significantly fewer cases of labor trafficking in the fishing industry in 2017; it investigated seven cases in 2017 (43 in 2016). In one case, the government sentenced a boat captain to four years imprisonment and ordered him to pay 450,000 baht ($13,800) in restitution to the victims. The government investigated and detained several vessels operating in international waters, leading to the identification of 50 exploited workers, including 35 trafficking victims and, in one case, the arrest of a broker and crew supervisor. To increase efficiency in prosecuting trafficking and illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing cases, in March 2018 the attorney general issued guidelines to prosecutors with descriptions of relevant charges and sentencing recommendations.

Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes continued to impede anti-trafficking efforts, and the government sometimes utilized administrative punishments against suspected complicit officials, such as suspensions or transfers to new positions, rather than subjecting them to criminal prosecutions. However, the government increased efforts to address official complicity. In 2017, the government initiated investigations of 26 officials (10 in 2016), initiated prosecution of seven, and convicted 12 officials complicit in trafficking crimes (three convictions in 2016). In addition, from January through March 2018, it initiated criminal investigations of 20 officials, prosecuted eight, and convicted five. Of the 10 officials initially investigated in 2016, four remained under investigation, the office of the public sector anti-corruption commission referred three for prosecution, and the government chose not to pursue charges against three. In one prosecution completed in 2017, the government convicted 62 offenders, including 11 government officials, involved in the trafficking of Rohingya migrants; it sentenced convicted officials to prison terms ranging from 14 to 79 years. In addition, in March 2018, the government convicted four police officers who solicited bribes in exchange for not pressing charges against those involved in the exploitation of the Rohingya migrants; they were each sentenced to five years imprisonment.

Following the adoption of the Beggar Control Act in 2016, the government increased efforts to investigate forced and child begging; it initiated 26 forced begging investigations in 2017, compared to eight in 2016. Police utilized DNA testing to determine the relationship between child victims of forced begging and the adults accompanying them, and the government prosecuted parents from neighboring countries who brought their children to Thailand more than once to engage in begging. Law enforcement officials cooperated with foreign counterparts to investigate Thai traffickers and victims abroad, and foreign nationals involved in trafficking in Thailand. The anti-money laundering office seized assets worth more than 31 million baht ($950,920) from suspected traffickers in 2017, including in cases involving forced labor on fishing vessels, compared to 784 million baht ($24 million) seized in 2016. The government amended the Human Trafficking Criminal Procedures Act to allow judges to award compensation or restitution to victims, including in the absence of a victim request for these funds.

In early 2018, the Royal Thai Police (RTP) established the Thailand Anti-Trafficking in Persons Task Force (TATIP), composed of law enforcement, social workers, and NGOs, to increase coordination of sex and labor trafficking law enforcement efforts. TATIP included teams of first responders dedicated to screening potential victims, gathering evidence, conducting operations, interrogating subjects, and analyzing digital evidence. The RTP increased the number of personnel assigned to the Thai Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (TICAC), which investigated internet-facilitated child sex trafficking. In 2017, TICAC investigated 41 allegations of online child exploitation (24 in 2016), including 18 trafficking cases (four in 2016) which resulted in eight trafficking prosecutions. The government operated specialized anti-trafficking divisions within the Bangkok Criminal Court, office of the attorney general (OAG), and the RTP. The government made efforts to encourage victim and witness participation in trafficking investigations and prosecutions. Some victims continued to report reluctance to participate in prosecutions due to fear of detention, an inadequate understanding of the Thai legal process, language barriers, and preferring repatriation over lengthy shelter stays and judicial processes. The specialized anti-trafficking law enforcement divisions continued to complete trafficking investigations and prosecutions more quickly than in previous reporting periods; courts completed the majority of cases heard in 2017 within six months. Thai courts increasingly admitted advance and video testimony by victims as evidence in trials, increasing the willingness of victims to act as witnesses. Prosecutors also worked with NGOs to prepare victims to provide testimony. The government provided 4.3 million baht ($130,670) for witness protection services for 52 witnesses in trafficking cases in 2017, compared to 2.9 million baht ($88,960) for 254 witnesses in 2016.

The government-funded trainings focused on anti-trafficking laws for more than 2,600 police, prosecutors, and other law enforcement officials. The government completed a manual outlining standard operating procedures (SOPs) for trafficking investigations and initiated a pilot in one region in early 2018 to test the procedures; the pilot was ongoing at the end of the reporting period. In addition, the government held training sessions with judges and prosecutors in two local regions to increase their coordination in trafficking cases. In an effort to improve the quality of trafficking prosecutions across the country, the government operated a sub-unit within the OAG trafficking division to provide guidance and mentoring for provincial law enforcement, prosecutors, and other court officials. Coordination between local law enforcement and prosecutors improved, but in some cases weak coordination impeded the success of trafficking prosecutions during the reporting period. The government required all judicial branch officials to report all trafficking-related cases into an integrated case database. The Department of Labor Protection and Welfare (DLPW) organized training for 335 law enforcement officers on forced labor, emphasizing non-physical indicators of trafficking. However, in some cases, first responders, prosecutors, and judges did not sufficiently examine evidence or properly interpret trafficking laws, especially for labor trafficking.

The government increased efforts to protect victims but identified significantly fewer trafficking victims, particularly of labor trafficking, than in the previous reporting period. The government identified 455 victims in 2017 (824 in 2016), including 336 sex trafficking victims (335 in 2016) and 119 labor trafficking victims (489 in 2016). NGOs and trafficking experts expressed concern that the government inconsistently identified trafficking victims, leaving them vulnerable to penalization and re-trafficking. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) reported assisting 450 victims in government shelters (561 in 2016), including 360 identified in 2017 and 90 identified in 2016, of which 132 were Thai and 228 were foreign victims. Authorities assisted in repatriating 147 foreign victims exploited in Thailand, including 36 Rohingya, and facilitated the return of 45 Thais exploited abroad by providing funding for travel expenses, legal assistance, job placement, and other reintegration services.

Government agencies participating in multidisciplinary teams who deployed to screen for indications of trafficking among vulnerable populations used a standard questionnaire to guide interviews with potential victims. Some NGOs asserted multidisciplinary teams improved capacity to identify victims using a victim-centered approach and were effective in some regions during the reporting period; however, effective implementation of identification procedures was less consistent outside urban areas. Some officials failed to recognize non-physical indicators of trafficking, such as non-payment of wages and document confiscation. In addition to trainings for law enforcement, the government trained more than 1,400 multidisciplinary team members, labor inspectors, social workers, and interpreters on victim identification and referral systems. The government held a series of workshops in early 2018 to review and update screening questions, procedures, and investigative techniques to improve the success of prosecutions. In addition, the RTP established a working group with the MOL to review and evaluate labor violations such as wage disputes and child labor to identify potential victims of trafficking. The government also created a victim specialist training program in early 2018 with 50 social workers, NGO personnel, TATIP members, and other officials to improve identification and investigative techniques. Participants were appointed to mobile response teams that will advise multidisciplinary teams in complex cases. MSDHS trained and registered 67 additional interpreters in 2017, bringing the total number of available interpreters to 251. In addition, the government employed 60 Burmese and Cambodian language coordinators for port-in-port-out (PIPO) inspection centers, an increase from 30 in 2016, and MOL employed 74 interpreters. MOL held trainings for language coordinators onboard vessels and MSDHS held five training sessions on victim assistance for interpreters to support the Command Center for Combatting Illegal Fishing (CCCIF) and the anti-trafficking units of the OAG, police, and criminal courts.

The government continued to refer victims to the 76 short-stay shelters or the nine long-term regional trafficking shelters operated by MSDHS, where they had access to counseling, legal assistance, medical care, civil compensation, financial aid, witness protection, education or vocational trainings, and employment. The government offered Thai victims who did not request assistance in shelters with legal assistance and compensation from the anti-trafficking fund. Gaps in access to suitable services and treatment during investigations, such as subjecting victims to multiple interviews, threat of detention or deportations, lengthy trials, and a lack of shelters in parts of the country, deterred victims from approaching authorities. NGOs reported concerns over the lack of appropriate options for foreign children whose families were complicit in their trafficking or whose identities could not be established. Authorities were more likely to send boy victims to juvenile detention facilities than to centers offering victim services. In October 2017, the government issued regulations to provide for government oversight of NGO shelters while making available the technical support of MSDHS and the opportunity for NGOs to apply for funds from the MSDHS anti-trafficking fund. Previously, NGOs could operate shelters for trafficking victims without government financial support or oversight. The government continued to operate three child advocacy centers in Chiang Mai, Pattaya, and Phuket which served as child-friendly spaces in which law enforcement, NGOs, and social workers could conduct forensic interviews of child trafficking victims.

The government continued to allow more adult trafficking victims the ability to travel, work, and reside outside shelters as provided by Thailand's anti-trafficking law. Of the 450 victims in government shelters, 287 were employed either inside or outside shelters during the course of legal proceedings. Others were in the recovery period, chose not to work, were too young to work, or were receiving educational training in shelters. MSDHS approved a daily allowance of 300 baht ($9.20) – which was the minimum wage in most parts of Thailand – to victims residing in MSDHS shelters who wished to work but were unable to do so due to security concerns or were awaiting an employment opportunity, as well as to some victims not residing in MSDHS shelters who intend to work; however, at the end of 2017, only 24 victims were receiving this financial support. Government efforts to more quickly complete trafficking prosecutions may have resulted in victims spending less time in shelters. NGOs reported a decline in the prevalence of child begging following the passage of the Beggar Control Act during the previous reporting period, which provided for health and social services to beggars, including trafficking victims. The government identified 35 victims of forced begging in 2017, an increase from 20 identified in 2016. However, government agencies inconsistently enforced laws related to forced begging, which may have resulted in authorities sending some potential child victims to homeless shelters rather than MSDHS trafficking shelters.

In 2017, the government provided more than 10.2 million baht ($314,110) to victims and witnesses through various government funds, compared to 9.2 million baht ($280,980) in 2016. This included 5.6 million baht ($171,780) provided to 760 victims from its anti-trafficking fund (5.8 million baht ($177,910) to 648 victims in 2016). In addition, courts ordered more than 18.4 million baht ($565,640) in restitution from traffickers to 151 victims in 2017, an increase from 1.7 million baht ($50,610) to 15 victims in 2016. Nonetheless, legal advocates and NGOs reported compensation and restitution for victims were inconsistently paid and remained too low to incentivize victims to cooperate in prosecutions and funds seized from traffickers' assets were not awarded to victims. MSDHS established a sub-unit under its anti-trafficking division to provide victims legal assistance and file compensation claims. The government provided legal alternatives to deportation to victims who faced retribution or hardship upon return to their home countries. It permitted foreign trafficking victims and witnesses to stay and work in Thailand for up to two years; however, since the government approved extending the duration of stay from one year to two in early 2017, it granted only one victim this status.

The law protected victims from prosecution for acts committed as a result of being subjected to trafficking; however, flaws in the government's implementation of victim identification procedures and its efforts to arrest and deport immigration violators increased victims' risk of being re-victimized and treated as criminals. Victims were prosecuted for crimes committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking, including prostitution and immigration violations. The government's criminal defamation laws allowed companies to pursue criminal charges against potential victims during the reporting period; additionally, labor inspectors could be held personally liable for claims of abuse of power, which could be misused and limit their ability or willingness to perform their work. Such policies may have prevented victims, advocates, and labor inspectors from feeling empowered to report abuse. The government amended the anti-trafficking law in 2015 to provide protection to whistleblowers but did not report whether this new provision had been applied.

The government increased efforts to prevent trafficking. It increased funding for migrant labor management and anti-trafficking efforts to 3.6 billion baht ($110.4 million) in fiscal year 2018 from 3.2 billion baht ($98.2 million) in fiscal year 2017. In September 2017, the cabinet approved the Second National Policy Strategies and Measures to Prevent and Suppress Trafficking in Persons, 2017-2021. It conducted campaigns through newspapers, television, radio, social media, billboards, and handouts to raise public awareness throughout the country.

Given the low literacy rate and diversity of languages among at-risk persons, however, this information remained inaccessible to many vulnerable non-Thai speakers. The government and civil society groups operated a service center for fishermen to provide information on their rights, skills training, health screenings, and other resources.

The government continued efforts to reduce costs for Thais in overseas guest worker programs, but excessive fees incurred by some Thai workers to obtain employment abroad made them vulnerable to debt bondage or exploitative conditions. Through government-to-government formal migration channels, the government facilitated 20,068 Thais to obtain employment abroad in 2017. Provincial employment offices provided training to more than 3,500 of these workers prior to their departure and MOL screened travel documents for departing workers at 25 checkpoints throughout the country; of 64,602 workers departing Thailand in 2017, 729 were prevented from traveling. In 2017, the government inspected 302 labor recruitment agencies that facilitated overseas and domestic employment of Thai workers and found unlawful practices in nine, resulting in license suspensions of eight agencies and the revocation of one agency's license. It initiated prosecutions against 287 illegal brokers (108 in 2016) under the Employment and Job-Seeker Protection Act. The government continued to grant citizenship to stateless persons in 2017 and issued a new regulation to provide legal residency to orphaned and non-Thai children born in Thailand. In an effort to prevent trafficking of children, child advocacy centers provided social service interventions, including acute care needs, to children vulnerable to exploitation, and childcare was offered at a service center for fishermen. MSDHS and MOL operated hotlines with operators fluent in 20 foreign languages; the MSDHS hotline received 172 calls related to possible trafficking cases in 2017 (269 in 2016), leading to the identification of 109 child and 63 adult victims and prosecution of 73 cases. MSDHS increased the number of available hotline interpreters to 68 in 2017.

Critical gaps in Thailand's labor laws preventing migrant workers from forming labor unions may have contributed to exploitation. In addition, NGOs and international organizations widely reported the government did not adequately enforce the application of minimum wages in sectors with a minimum wage and lacked legislation to require minimum wages in other sectors, especially in those sectors with high employment of migrant workers. Some also reported gaps in Thai policies related to migrant workers that exacerbated exploitation, such as no requirement that employment contracts be written in both Thai and workers' languages, lack of clear guidance to measure work and rest hours for workers aboard fishing vessels, and difficulty for workers to change employers. In June 2017, the government issued a royal ordinance concerning management of foreign worker employment, which required additional registration requirements for migrant workers and their employers, and strengthened penalties for employers of undocumented workers. However, the sudden announcement of the ordinance resulted in mass departures of thousands of undocumented workers who subsequently may have become vulnerable to exploitation. Following criticisms from stakeholders, the government delayed implementation of the decree until June 2018 to seek stakeholder input on amendments of the decree, as well as to allow migrant workers more time to obtain the necessary documents for legal employment under the decree. The government facilitated the establishment of 14 service centers in Thailand, in coordination with the governments of Burma, Cambodia, and Laos, to conduct nationality verification for undocumented migrant workers. The cabinet subsequently approved an amended decree in March 2018, adding protections for workers such as prohibiting the confiscation of identity documents, banning sub-contracted employees, and easing the ability for workers to change employers, which remained widespread concerns during the reporting period. In October 2017, DLPW required employers in the fishing sector to pay workers monthly through bank transfers.

A government decree required migrant worker recruitment agencies to apply for a license and pay a deposit fee applied toward a foreign worker employment fund; unregistered agencies were liable to three years imprisonment and fines up to 60,000 baht ($1,840). Employers were also mandated to cover costs (excluding personal expenses such as passports, medical checks, and work permits) associated with bringing migrant workers to Thailand and back to their home countries when employment ends, such as recruitment fees and transportation costs. In 2017, 101 migrant worker recruitment agencies were licensed and the government inspected 97 agencies; the government prosecuted one agency in violation of the decree and imposed a fine of 20,000 baht ($610). While the number of migrant workers entering Thailand through formal government-to-government migration systems increased, greater usage of this mechanism continued to be impeded by lack of information, lengthy processing times, difficulties in changing employers, and high costs tied to corruption on both sides of the border. The government operated three post-arrival centers to assist migrant workers entering Thailand through these formal channels, as well as 10 migrant workers assistance centers; these centers assisted 345,204 workers in 2017 (105,647 in August 2016 to February 2017) by providing resources in multiple languages, including for trafficking awareness, and assisting the migrant workers to register with the government.

The Ministry of the Interior and Ministry of Justice inspected 11,268 "high-risk" adult entertainment venues and ordered 268 to cease business activities for five years; these inspections led to the prosecution of eight trafficking cases. DPLW conducted 1,693 labor inspections at high-risk workplaces, including sugarcane farms, garment factories, shrimp and fish processing facilities, pig farms, and poultry farms in 2017, finding 191 violations resulting in 12 prosecutions. In February 2017 the government called all Thai fishing vessels operating outside Thai waters back to port where they were put under close monitoring; the government had not authorized these vessels to continue fishing by the end of the reporting period. CCCIF, the Department of Fisheries, DLPW, and other relevant agencies developed a manual on SOPs for labor inspections to be conducted after the government reauthorizes Thai vessels to operate outside Thai waters. In addition, the government required fishing vessels operating within Thai waters to return to ports every 30 days for inspections.

The government continued to screen for trafficking indicators among fishermen returning to Thailand and on fishing vessels in Thai waters, as well as among workers in seafood processing facilities. The CCCIF operated 32 PIPO centers plus 19 additional forward inspection points, which performed inspections at port, at sea, and on land to verify whether fishing vessels were operating legally and workers had contracts, work permits, and identity documents. The government increased the number of PIPO inspection teams from 64 to 85. MOL conducted inspections onboard 644 vessels in 2017 and found 34 violations of the law (15 in 2016); three cases were prosecuted as a result. In addition, the Royal Thai Navy conducted 3,927 on board inspections of fishing vessels in 2017 and suspended 110 vessels from operating for legal violations. However, the government did not report whether any of these inspections resulted in the identification of trafficking victims, and NGO observers asserted both at-port and at-sea inspections conducted by multidisciplinary teams of the CCCIF were conducted too quickly, in front of ship captains or in open settings, with inconsistent methods in different ports, or by interpretors without the presence of labor inspectors; and in some cases, inspections consisted only of a review of documents or inspectors did not board vessels or speak to crewmembers. Civil society and government officials expressed concerns that due to varying levels of enforcement at PIPO centers, some boat captains chose ports where inspections and enforcement were weaker. Some NGOs reported workers faced retaliation if they reported abuse to inspection teams, and asserted potential victims did not to report abuses to avoid long shelter stays which could result in financial or personal hardships. In 2017 the multidisciplinary teams of the CCCIF inspected 358 on-land seafood processing workplaces and found 142 cases of law and labor violations. The government issued administrative orders to suspend business operations for nine workplaces for 10 to 30 days. The government did not report how many of these violations had direct ties to trafficking.

The government took steps to decrease the demand for commercial sex acts, including by investigating and prosecuting offenders who purchased children for commercial sex acts. To discourage child sex tourism, the government reported it denied entry to 74 known foreign sex offenders. The government developed and launched a video shown on flights entering Thailand discouraging sex tourism. The Ministry of Tourism distributed more than 315,000 brochures discouraging sex tourism to businesses and tourism professionals and organized trainings for 800 local government officials, tourism sector workers, students, youth, and civil society organizations on prevention of child sexual exploitation in the tourism industry.

TRAFFICKING PROFILE

As reported over the past five years, Thailand is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Labor trafficking victims are exploited in commercial fishing and related industries, the poultry industry, manufacturing, agriculture, and domestic work, or forced into street begging. Thailand's commercial sex industry remains vast, increasing vulnerabilities for sex trafficking. Women, men, boys, and girls from Thailand, other Southeast Asian countries, Sri Lanka, Russia, Uzbekistan, and some African countries are subjected to labor and sex trafficking in Thailand. Thailand is also a transit country for victims from China, North Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, and Burma subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Russia, South Korea, the United States, and countries in Western Europe.

Thai nationals are subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking in Thailand and in countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Members of ethnic minorities, highland persons, and stateless persons in Thailand have experienced instances of abuse indicative of trafficking. Children from Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia are victims of sex trafficking in brothels, massage parlors, bars, karaoke lounges, hotels, and private residences. Children in orphanages are vulnerable to exploitation, including trafficking. Some parents or brokers force children from Thailand, Cambodia and Burma to sell flowers, beg, or work in domestic service in urban areas. As recently as 2015, there were reports of separatist groups in southern Thailand recruiting and using children to commit acts of arson or serve as scouts. Instances of trafficking, migrant smuggling, abduction, and extortion of migrants occur as migrants move between Thailand and neighboring countries. Traffickers, including some registered and unregistered labor brokers of Thai and foreign nationalities, bring foreign victims into Thailand through both formal migration and smuggling routes and serve as intermediaries between job-seekers and employers. Some brokers charge substantial fees or collaborate with corrupt law enforcement officials, and some Thai and migrant workers incur significant debts to obtain employment and are subjected to debt bondage. There are reports that some brokers and employers continue to confiscate identity documents. Thai men and women who migrate overseas also rely on registered and unregistered labor brokers to facilitate acquisition of low-skilled contract work or agricultural labor and are sometimes subjected to conditions of forced labor and debt bondage. Trafficking in the fishing industry remains a significant concern. Thai, Burmese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Indonesian men and boys are subject to forced labor on Thai and foreign-owned fishing boats. Some remain at sea for several years, are paid very little or irregularly, work as much as 18 to 20 hours per day for seven days a week, and are reportedly threatened, physically beaten, drugged to work longer, and even killed for becoming ill, attempting to escape, or disobeying orders. Some trafficking victims in the fishing sector had difficulty returning home due to isolated workplaces, unpaid wages, and the lack of legitimate identity documents or safe means to travel.

Corruption continues to undermine anti-trafficking efforts. Some government officials are directly complicit in trafficking crimes, including through accepting bribes or loans from business owners and brothels where victims are exploited. Credible reports indicate some corrupt officials protect brothels and other commercial sex venues from raids and inspections and collude with traffickers. Migrant workers, especially those who are undocumented, are fearful of reporting trafficking crimes and cooperating with authorities due to lack of awareness of their rights and minimal protections both in Thailand and in countries of origin and a general fear of authority that may stem from their country of origin or their experience in Thailand. Some government officials profit from bribes and direct involvement in the extortion and exploitation of migrants. Some of these migrants are kidnapped and held for ransom, which increases their vulnerability to sexual servitude, forced labor, or debt bondage.

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Trafficking in Thailand: The Demand Fuels Child Trafficking for Sexual Purposes

Today, Thailand is not only a paradise for backpackers and honeymooners, but a key destination country for migrant workers, human trafficking and forced labour. In 2019, an estimated 3.9 million migrant workers were living and working in Thailand , both legally and illegally. Most of them came from neighbouring Cambodia, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar and Vietnam. 480,000 were estimated to be stateless, while 100,000 were refugees and asylum seekers.

According to the Global Slavery Index, Thailand is home to about 610,000 human trafficking victims.

For more than two and a half decades, the labour migration to Thailand has continued to increase and it seems unlikely that it will change in the coming years. The majority of the identified victims for the past year came from Myanmar , but historically Thai nationals have also been forced, coerced, or deceived into labour or sexual exploitation. Victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation domestically and to a number of countries internationally. Even though migrants from neighbouring countries constitute a large proportion of identified trafficked persons in Thailand, it is also clear that there are many more that have yet to be identified. The Thai Government needs support in doing so. Migrant workers coming to Thailand

In order to enter Thailand legally, migrants have to go through an “MoU process”, an agreement between the governments of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar that establishes a channel for legal labour migration from these countries. This process, however, can be expensive, long and complex – which means many migrant workers are likely to continue using illegal channels to work in Thailand. The difficulties are not solely due to the Thai government though, for example, it can be expensive for Myanmar citizens to apply for passports in their country and for many ethnic minorities it is almost impossible.

In a report released early 2019, the United Nations International Organization of Migration described the situation in Thailand as below.

The largely ineffective and ever-changing policies have kept migrants in a precarious legal status and prevented them from fully contributing as members of Thai society. Efforts to promote safe and regular migration are likely to prove unsuccessful until policies are established and implemented to ensure migrant workers’ rights and dignity are fully protected.

A girl who migrated from Myanmar to Thailand with her family. Photo: ECPAT International

Migrant workers and ethnic minorities most vulnerable to trafficking and sexual exploitation

To protect those that are most vulnerable to trafficking and sexual exploitation, the Thai government has enacted progressive policies that guarantee migrants access to many essential services regardless of legal status, including education and health care. However, barriers continue to hamper their use of these services in practice. Only 51 percent of all eligible migrants are currently enrolled in public health insurance schemes, while up to 200,000 migrant children remain out of school. The lack of access to these social safety nets, language barriers and low economic and social status contribute to the vulnerability of children to different forms of trafficking, especially sexual exploitation.

Migrant agricultural workers are especially affected by injustices in Thailand

Working Conditions for Migrants in Agriculture are Tough

To prevent exploitation against migrant workers and their families and to ensure their safe migration into Thailand, ECPAT Sweden and the faith-based development organisation Diakonia , started the project Safe Migration. Together with partner organisations, Diakonia in Thailand is working in this project on issues related to human rights, local democracy, social and economic justice and gender equality. One particular focus of their work includes the rights of stateless people and ethnic minorities. Agricultural workers are especially affected by these injustices. Most of them do not receive the most basic protections including minimum wage, overtime pay, rest time, annual leave, sick leave and social security.

Most migrant workers do not receive minimum wage. According to Thai labour law, the minimum wage is set to 310 baht per day, a sum most employers do not pay even though it’s punishable by up to 6 months in jail and a 100,000 baht fine. As long as few regulations are in place – and even for those that are in place but are not followed – low wages, unsafe living and working conditions and lingering problems with child labour will persist.

The Demand for Children Fuels Child Trafficking for Sexual Purposes

Southeast Asia has long been recognised as a significant source region for trafficking of children for sexual purposes. There are many reasons for this ; high levels of regional migration, illegal migration, economic imbalances and local demand for the sexual services of children—to name a few. Children in the region are trafficked for jobs such as domestic services, factory work, agriculture, fishing, construction, begging, forced marriage and adoption, but the trafficking of children for sexual exploitation continues to be one of the most common purposes for trafficking.

Many children in Thailand have access to a smartphone and internet – something trafficking recruiters take advantage of. Photo: ECPAT International.

Often, children are recruited through online brokers or agents giving false promises of employment opportunities, better economic conditions and well-paid work overseas. Instead, they end up in a situation of sexual exploitation. Today, the internet is a goldmine for recruiters. Through social media and chat rooms, they can easily advertise and get in contact with children and youth looking for new livelihood opportunities.

Parents often have little or no idea of what happens online.

This is a huge challenge in preventing trafficking as parents often have little or no idea of what happens online. There are many cases of children trafficked to Thailand without parents knowing, but there are also cases where children are encouraged by parents or friends into joining exploitative labour.

An orange farm somewhere in Thailand. Photo: ECPAT International.

At the border between Thailand and Myanmar, Diakonia Thailand supports local partners to strengthen the rights and working conditions of migrant workers. One initiative is the Migrant Support Networks. They serve as a forum where migrants can access training on human and labour rights and advise on their situation.

Many employers see migrant workers as lower-class citizens who are willing to work for less than minimum wage. Unfortunately, the mobilisation of migrant workers has led to severe tension between local organisations and businesses providing jobs in the region. Many employers see migrant workers as lower-class citizens who are willing to work for less than minimum wage. To some businesses, labour rights mean less revenue and additional responsibilities.

A workshop on children’s rights and sexual exploitation somewhere in Thailand. Photo: ECPAT International

For many migrant workers coming to Thailand, an orange farm is the first stop. Once there, they are accomodated in simple housing with their families next to the farm. The wage agreements between the farm owner and the workers differ, but most workers do not receive minimum wage. The employers argue that the ”free” housing is to be considered a benefit equivalent to minimum wage, and a reason for them to not pay adequate salaries. However, the only ones who benefit from an agreement like this are the employers.

The backyard of migrant workers somewhere in Thailand. Photo: ECPAT International.

But everyone’s journey doesn’t start at an orange farm. Others arrive with a debt to pay to the broker who helped them cross the border—something that can take years to pay back. Many children in these communities go to school during the weekdays, but on weekends almost all of them help their parents at the farm where they are exposed to harmful chemicals.

Children help their parents during weekends and are exposed to toxic chemicals. Photo: ECPAT International.

One orange farm that is part of the Safe Migration project, has a history with sexual exploitation. A few years back, a man came to the farm and managed to lure two girls into coming with him by offering them candy. He forced them to take their clothes off so that he could take photos to share on Facebook.

He forced them to take their clothes off so that he could take photos to share on Facebook.

The girls luckily returned to the farm and their families, but the images of them are still out there. To prevent this from happening again, ECPAT Foundation Thailand became a part of the Safe Migration project. Once a month, they invite children in the community to participate in activities focusing on increasing youth’s knowledge of – and resistance to – sexual exploitation.

This is the first article in a series of two where we report on the issue of trafficking and sexual exploitation in Thailand. In the next story, you will get to know Monting, a 17-year-old girl living in one of the orange farms. She participated in many youth workshops and is now a youth leader in her community – responsible for sharing her knowledge with others.

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• DOI: 10.5604/01.3001.0009.2972
• Corpus ID: 73608722

Human trafficking for sex exploitation in Thailand

• Nataliya Opanovych
• Published 30 June 2016
• Law, Sociology, Political Science
• Securitologia

2 Citations

Human trafficking in thailand in perspective of human rights law, thailand’s sex entertainment: alienated labor and the construction of intimacy, 6 references, protocol to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, supplementing the united nations convention against transnational organized crime, 2000, the asean human rights architecture: its development and challenges, court performance around the world: a comparative perspective, the evolving asean human rights system: the asean human rights declaration of 2012, related papers.

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OPINION article

Why legalizing prostitution in thailand can help bangkok regulate commercial sex and curb sex-trafficking systematically and institutionally.

• Department of Sociology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom

Per the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime's Global Report on Trafficking in Persons , sexual exploitation (79%) is known as the most common form of human trafficking at the global level. Predominantly, women and girls are victimized under the presence of human trafficking. Sex trafficking victims refer to those being forced, coerced or placed under the undue influence to participate in prostitution ( Roujanavong, 2012 ). U.S. Department of State (2022) 's 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report classified Thailand in Tier 2, meaning Bangkok failed to fully meet the minimum standards for the eradication of any trafficking-related activities, despite making significant endeavors correspondingly. Bangkok, per the Report, raised the anti-trafficking capacity, grew the number of trafficking investigations and sentenced officials who were involved in trafficking activities to terms of imprisonment in 2022. In spite of these efforts, Bangkok's number of trafficking prosecutions and convictions in 2022 failed to fall, relative to those in 2021. Thai law enforcement authorities, in addition, purportedly applied inconsistent and ineffective interviewing approaches amid (sex) labor inspection, rendering a raft of trafficking victims to be unidentified ( U.S. Department of State, 2022 ).

Bangkok tightened its legal action against human trafficking by passing the Prevention and Suppression of Human Trafficking Act (B.E. 2551) in 2008 ( Pink, 2013 ). However, since then, Thailand has remained placed on the Tier 2 watch list per the Trafficking in Persons Report . Such a circumstance hints that solely raising the punitive terms against human trafficking has little to no positive impact on combating any form of trafficking activities domestically. Thailand, as the regionally largest sex tourism destination in Southeast Asia, has a value of USD 6.4 billion in annual revenue generated from underground prostitution activities ( Wadekar, 2023 ). The lucrative sex tourism economy and Bangkok's over-reliance on sex work-related revenues to support its formal and informal economic development have barred Bangkok from effectively curbing sex trafficking activities. While prostitution is deemed illegal, Bangkok has long been known for tolerating commercial sex, especially in tourist-popular locations such as Pattaya, Bangkok and Phuket ( McGeough and the Anti-Human Trafficking Cell of Mercyhurst University, 2022 ; Peter, 2023 ; Wadekar, 2023 ). Therefore, law enforcement authorities, when exercising anti-prostitution raids, often turn a blind eye to commercial sex activities, especially when they receive bribes from conventional sex establishment owners or prostitutes themselves ( Paramanand, 2019 ).

In March 2023, Bangkok drafted a bill to legalize sex work, proposing to allow individuals aged 20 or older to voluntarily enter the sex industry ( Charoensuthipan, 2023 ). While Thai lawmakers have yet to know when the drafted bill will possibly be passed, such a legal endeavor is deemed a remarkable law-making output that helps protect women and girls from facing sexual marginalization and exploitation and is conducive to Bangkok's implementation of more effective and consistent anti-human trafficking operations in the long term. This opinion rationalizes how, if the drafted bill is passed, the legalization of prostitution in Thailand can help domestically curb sex trafficking activities. The opinion will also include some forms of comparative analysis in order to use neighboring countries as examples to justify how the criminalization of sex work has severely marginalized the safety, rights, health and wellbeing of prostitutes, leading commercial sex workers and sex trafficking victims to become systematically and institutionally more traumatized.

The legalization of sex work and anti-sex trafficking

As a status quo , sex workers have been subject to constant physical, verbal, sexual and financial abuse and exploitation by their clients and/or managers ( Peter, 2023 ). However, with their occupation being criminalized, they enjoy no legal rights to seek help from law enforcement and justice departments. They cannot publicly admit that they encounter any form of abuse and exploitation during their engagement in commercial sex, otherwise not only are not unlikely to be legally protected by existing laws but they may plausibly be criminalized.

Also, so long as prostitution becomes legalized, sex workers and victims of sex trafficking at large do not have to pay bribes to corrupt law enforcement authorities during any anti-prostitution raids ( Peter, 2023 ). In recent decades, while Bangkok has been legislatively endeavoring to curb prostitution and trafficking activities, however, such efforts have failed to translate into desirable societal outcomes as law enforcement and justice authorities have been popularly corrupt. Despite the presence of anti-prostitution and -trafficking laws, police and other justice authorities have been keen on accepting bribes from sex trafficking victims and sex workers to turn a blind eye to their engagement in commercial sex. Similar situations have occurred continually in the Philippines. Ample Philippine police officers have the disposition to use anti-trafficking as a cover to extort bribes from prostitutes, commercial sex clients and owners and/or managers of conventional sex establishments. A raft of fake anti-prostitution and anti-trafficking raids were held so as to allow law enforcement authorities to financially exploit the interests of those engaging in commercial sex further and continually ( Paramanand, 2019 ). The societal outcomes presented in Southeast Asia at large in recent decades have demonstrated that prostitution and sex trafficking have largely been tolerated, in part, owing to the loose law enforcement loopholes, despite the criminalization per se .

As prostitution is, in theory, criminalized, many conventional sex establishments have been operated in the underground economy. On the one hand, such a circumstance means commercial sex is under- or de-regulated, barring law enforcement authorities from identifying any existing crimes or violence against the interest and safety of sex workers. On the other hand, while, as mentioned, the Thai sex industry earns billions of USD in revenue per year, Bangkok fails to collect tax directly from the activities of commercial sex. So long as commercial sex is legalized, not only can Bangkok gain lucratively from taxing legal industries that benefit from the prevalence of sex tourism, but Bangkok can also earn substantial tax revenues directly from the sex industry. With a continual rise in financial capacity, Bangkok can capitalize on the tax revenue gains on addressing the socioeconomic root causes of prostitution and sex trafficking, including extreme rural poverty, under- or unemployment and educational exclusion against some marginalized and disadvantaged Thai nationals.

Legalizing prostitution does not implicate that Bangkok tolerates sex work more, as same as criminalizing paid sex has failed to minimize such a form of commercial activity. Legalizing prostitution may, nevertheless, help sustainably protect the rights and safety of prostitutes as now they are able to engage in commercial sex above the ground level. Whenever they experience any form of exploitation or abuse, they have the legal right to seek help from local law enforcement authorities. Police officers lose the bargaining power to solely protect the interests of prostitutes under the condition that bribes could be paid. As a result, prostitutes can avoid being financially exploited by both corrupt law enforcement officers and the institutionally unequal power relations that place them in such a limbo. Moreover, like in Indonesia, despite some provincial and local governments imposing commercial sex criminalization, at the national level, prostitution is decriminalized. All Indonesian sex laborers working in regulated brothels have to undertake mandatory, regular HIV and sexually transmitted disease testing in order to protect the sexual health of those engaging in commercial sex. Decriminalizing prostitution in Thailand allows the country to follow the footsteps of Indonesia to better and clearly regulate the sexual health policies within the sex industry (Global Network of Sex Work Projects, n.d.).

Vietnamese officials denounced that underground activities of commercial sex were overly rampant when prostitution was outlawed in their country. Allowing prostitution to operate above the ground level in certain pre-determined areas has been proven to be effective in containing the expansion of commercial sex services in Vietnam over the most recent decade (City Pass Guide, n.d.). In 2012, Hanoi passed the Law on Handling Administrative Violations that decriminalized the selling and purchasing of commercial sex ( International Centre for Cultural Studies, 2022 ). Other activities such as pimping, procuring and being involved in underage commercial sex have remained criminalized ( International Centre for Cultural Studies, 2022 ). Such legal endeavors have resulted in proven successes in Vietnam and should be learnt by Bangkok shall Thailand officially legalize prostitution. In order to maintain the protection of human rights, it is of utmost importance to combat any form of sex trafficking, including child trafficking, in Thailand. Bangkok's proposed law to allow those aged 20 or above to sell sex voluntarily hints that the Government intends to allow better regulation and tolerance of sex work while combating any form of sex trafficking, including child trafficking, activities. So long as Thai nationals or foreign nationals in Thailand are maturely aged, the Thai general public should learn that these individuals have full control of their self-agency even if their behaviors (i.e. selling sex) are challenging the moral values and social norms. It is not because the provision of commercial sex should now be deemed socially and morally acceptable, but, in practice, criminalization of prostitution and building a zero-tolerance of sex work are proven to be ineffective and fruitless. Allowing those meeting a pre-set age requirement to sell their bodies voluntarily while criminalizing any form of sex trafficking activities should, in theory, help legally empower sex workers and keep any challenges against moral values and social norms of society to a minimum level.

When prostitution is outlawed, conventional sex establishments' owners can easily circumnavigate laws. For example, in the Philippines, having sex with a girl under the age of 18 is regarded as rape. The involvement in influencing any girls under the age of 18 to undertake sexual intercourse is deemed sex trafficking. Therefore, Philippine bar managers exploit the legal loopholes and commonly present girls under the age of 18 as entertainers rather than sex workers. A patron paying money to bar managers by taking the girl away from the entertainment establishment is marketised as giving “fines” ( Redfem and The Fuller Project, 2019 ). By exploiting these legal loopholes, while Manila passed the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 , ample underage girls have remained engaged in commercial sex, without any party assuming the legal consequences of sex trafficking ( Paramanand, 2019 ). Bangkok should learn the lesson from the Philippine example and concentrate primarily on curbing sex trafficking activities while protecting the labor rights and safety of above-age prostitutes. More teenagers deciding to enter the sex industry in order to earn “quick and easy” money to support their own families' subsistence needs may plausibly be encouraged to postpone their entry into prostitution until the legal age requirement is satisfied. Moreover, without assuming the responsibilities of arresting and sanctioning above-age prostitutes, relevant Thai law enforcement departments, who are, as a status quo , often subject to understaffed and underfunded challenges, can now have sufficient capacity to focus on combating anti-trafficking, including anti-child sex trafficking, activities ( Thai PBS World, 2023 ). Law enforcement endeavors on containing illegal sex work shall become more feasible and effective.

Under the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act enacted by Bangkok, prostitution is prohibited. Any person soliciting sex could be fined. Pimps could be fined and imprisoned for up to 10 years. Commercial sex clients having intercourse with children under the age of 15 could be fined and spend up to 6 years in prison. Those having sex with children aged between 15 and 18 could be fined and sentenced to imprisonment for no more than 3 years ( Reyes, 2015 ). These punitive terms should all remain, or even tighten, except for the legalization of engagement in commercial sex once the prostitutes reach the age of 20. In the long term, such a legislative intervention should allow paid sex to take place above the ground level while heavily sanctioning any party who is involved in sex trafficking.

Conclusions

Ideally passing the proposed law of legalizing prostitution should help Thailand achieve better societal outcomes. However, even if such a bill is not passed, Thai lawmakers should be urged to decriminalize prostitution. Only by destigmatising prostitutes from being labeled as criminals, can sex workers safeguard their labor rights, health and wellbeing when needed. Also, decriminalization or legalization of prostitution, as said, will enable the underresourced and understaffed law enforcement authorities to enjoy an adequate capacity to combat sex trafficking activities, minimizing the risks and odds of anyone being involved in paid sex without their own legal consent.

Decriminalization or legalization of prostitution, by no means, hints at Bangkok's decision to loosen its commercial sex regulations. Such a legal intervention, however, should facilitate the justice system to better systematically and institutionally contain any unlawful act of paid sex and ensure that whoever participating in sex trafficking is severely sanctioned.

Ostensibly the proposed law does not cover the benefits and safety of those under the age of 20. Yet, from an ethical, moral and religious perspective, there is no supporting reason to allow socially disadvantaged Thai women and girls at a premature age to legally engage in commercial sex. Those who are underage, especially, are defined as sex trafficking victims if they take part in prostitution, regardless of whether they enter the sex industry coercively or voluntarily. Sex trafficking remains severely legally sanctioned within and beyond Thailand in order to protect the safety and health of premature girls, especially those of socially disadvantaged origins. Proposing the legal age for prostitution at 20 years old enables those who are lacking life opportunities and financial resources to consider if they would like to enter the sex industry non-coercively. The proposed law, simultaneously, prohibits underage girls to engage in commercial sex so as to avoid them from being subject to child sexual abuse and exploitation. Ultimately, if this proposed law is enacted, those who meet the age requirement and are already in, or considering to enter, the prostitution can enjoy more legal protection within the industry.

Author contributions

The author confirms being the sole contributor of this work and has approved it for publication.

Conflict of interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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Keywords: sex trafficking, child trafficking, prostitution, commercial sex, Thailand, policy, safety, labor rights

Citation: Hung J (2023) Why legalizing prostitution in Thailand can help Bangkok regulate commercial sex and curb sex-trafficking systematically and institutionally. Front. Sociol. 8:1227247. doi: 10.3389/fsoc.2023.1227247

Received: 23 May 2023; Accepted: 20 October 2023; Published: 06 November 2023.

Reviewed by:

Copyright © 2023 Hung. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) . The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

*Correspondence: Jason Hung, jasehung123@gmail.com

Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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2020 Trafficking in Persons Report: Thailand

• THAILAND: Tier 2

The Government of Thailand does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore Thailand remained on Tier 2. These efforts included providing anti-trafficking training to judges and working with NGOs to provide trauma-informed care training to police, prosecutors, and shelter staff. The government investigated more suspected cases of labor trafficking compared to the previous reporting period, sentenced convicted traffickers to significant terms of imprisonment, increased the amount of compensation provided to victims through the anti-trafficking fund, and successfully provided restitution to victims of trafficking for the first time during the reporting period. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. Officials continued to conflate trafficking and smuggling during the reporting period, effective victim identification remained inadequate, and the government did not provide adequate psycho-social care to victims or provide victims residing in government shelters sufficient freedom of movement. The government initiated the fewest number of trafficking investigations since 2014, convicted the fewest number of traffickers since 2015, and only initiated investigations of two complicit officials. The government amended the 2008 anti-trafficking law to include a separate “forced labor or services” provision which prescribed significantly lower penalties for labor trafficking offenses than those already available under the existing trafficking provision of the law.

• PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS:

Improve the capacity of law enforcement to proactively prosecute and convict labor traffickers and identify labor trafficking victims. • Proactively investigate and prosecute officials allegedly complicit in facilitating trafficking, and convict and punish those found guilty with adequate prison sentences. • Ensure government and NGO-operated shelters provide victims with adequate trauma-informed care, such as legal assistance and psychological care, including by increasing the number of full-time interpreters and psychologists employed in shelters. • Increase the ability of victims, especially adults, to move freely in and out of shelters and access communication devices, and reassess shelter placements periodically to ensure victims are not required to remain in shelters longer than necessary. • Improve training provided to labor, provincial and local police, immigration, and social welfare officials to increase proactive victim identification among vulnerable populations, including adults and children in commercial sex, children engaged in begging and street vending, migrants working in agriculture, manufacturing, fishing, seafood processing, construction, and domestic service industries, and among North Korean workers. • Extend the period in which officials are required to formally identify a potential victim in order to allow victims time to obtain government services, recover from their exploitation, and recount their experiences to authorities. • Do not make victims’ formal identification and access to services dependent on their willingness to participate in investigations against their traffickers. • Ensure victims of trafficking identified under the definitions set forth in Sections 6 and 6/1 of the trafficking law, as amended, are afforded the same rights and access to services. • Increase efforts to ensure employers provide workers copies of contracts in a language they understand. • Continue to support the development of victim-centric and trauma-informed approaches among judges overseeing trafficking cases. • Increase collaboration with local civil society organizations in migrant worker assistance centers, post-arrival centers, and government shelters, including in the provision of services to victims. • Continue to increase efforts to ensure victims receive court-order restitution from their traffickers. • Foster an environment conducive to victims and advocates reporting human trafficking crimes without fear of facing spurious retributive charges pursued by employers, including by utilizing new amendments to dismiss cases filed with dishonest intent or to intimidate defendants. • Provide technical and financial support for NGO-operated shelters to enable more to assist victims. • Increase government coordination to ensure labor violations and migrant workers’ complaints that include indicators of forced labor are investigated for trafficking crimes. • Enforce regular payment of wages, requirements that employers pay recruitment fees of migrant workers, and the rights of employees to retain possession of their own identity and financial documents.

• PROSECUTION

The government maintained law enforcement efforts. Section 6 of the 2008 anti-trafficking law, as amended, criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of four to 12 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 400,000 to 1.2 million baht ($13,440 to $40,310) for offenses involving an adult victim, and six to 20 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 600,000 to two million baht ($20,150 to $67,180) for those involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. In April 2019, the government amended the 2008 anti-trafficking law to include a separate provision under Section 6/1, specifically addressing “forced labor or services,” which prescribed penalties of six months’ to four years’ imprisonment, a fine of 50,000 to 400,000 baht ($1,680 to $13,440) per victim, or both. This new provision prescribed significantly lower penalties for labor trafficking offenses than those already available under the existing human trafficking provision of the law. In 2019, the government reported investigating 288 potential trafficking cases (304 in 2018), initiating prosecutions of 386 suspected traffickers (438 in 2018), and convicting 304 traffickers (316 in 2018). The government reported investigating 76 potential cases of labor trafficking—including four cases involving the fishing sector—compared to 43 in 2018. Courts sentenced approximately 74 percent of convicted traffickers to five or more years of imprisonment. During the reporting period, law enforcement increasingly conflated trafficking and smuggling crimes, and local observers reported that pressure from Royal Thai Police (RTP) leadership to provincial police to increase the number of trafficking cases resulted in police, sometimes knowingly, identifying cases of migrant smuggling as trafficking. The trafficking litigation unit of the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) did not find sufficient evidence of trafficking in approximately 18 percent of cases with arrested suspects referred to the unit by law enforcement in 2019, which was an increase compared to nine percent in 2018 and two percent in 2017. The absence of legislation criminalizing human smuggling crimes may have increased the likelihood that officials identified smuggling cases as trafficking.

The government operated specialized anti-trafficking divisions within the Bangkok Criminal Court, the OAG, Department of Special Investigation (DSI), and the RTP. The Thailand Anti-Trafficking in Persons Task Force (TATIP) specialized in investigating complex cases and comprised law enforcement, social workers, and NGOs. Local observers reported the anti-trafficking division of RTP sometimes referred trafficking cases to inexperienced local agencies or did not properly manage the oversight of cases investigated by suspected complicit local police. The Thai Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force (TICAC) investigated 26 cases of internet-facilitated child sex trafficking (19 in 2018). In 2019 courts issued forfeiture orders for assets valued at 401,014 baht ($13,470) which had been subjected to restraint and seizure orders in 15 trafficking cases litigated by the anti-money laundering office (AMLO). Thai authorities continued to hold bilateral meetings with neighboring countries to facilitate information-sharing and evidence-gathering in trafficking cases. In addition, law enforcement officials cooperated with foreign counterparts to investigate the trafficking of Thai victims abroad. While interagency coordination was effective in major cities, in some provinces observers reported ineffective communication among agencies and civil society. In January 2020, the police anti-trafficking division held a meeting with local NGOs to discuss collaboration on trafficking cases, with a focus on cases involving forced labor. In addition, the Courts of Justice organized a roundtable meeting with police, prosecutors, and NGOs to discuss laws and procedures relevant to trafficking cases.

Some victims continued to report reluctance to participate in prosecutions due to fear of detention and extended shelter stays, fears of experiencing retaliation from traffickers, and language barriers. In an attempt to increase victims’ willingness to participate as witnesses, Thai courts admitted advance and video testimony as evidence in trials; courts conducted 15 advanced hearings for 41 witnesses in 2019. Thai authorities also worked with authorities in neighboring countries to enable testimony from witnesses outside of Thailand, although some local NGOs reported an unwillingness among local police and prosecutors to do so. Prosecutors worked with NGOs to prepare victims to testify, and courts allowed NGO lawyers to serve as co-plaintiffs in some cases to legally support victims. The government provided approximately 2.44 million baht ($82,000) for witness protection services for 193 witnesses in trafficking cases in 2019, compared to 2.45 million baht ($82,290) for 15 witnesses in 2018. The OAG partnered with an NGO to organize trainings for prosecutors on trauma-informed procedures in trafficking cases and organized trainings on forced labor for police and prosecutors in southern and central Thailand. The government partnered with an NGO to organize seminars for police, prosecutors, and social service providers to promote increased coordination in child sex trafficking cases, and RTP organized trainings for police on internet-facilitated sex trafficking. The office of the judiciary collaborated with UNODC and a university to provide training to criminal, civil, and labor court judges on trafficking laws and best practices for overseeing trafficking cases. In addition, the Courts of Justice collaborated with a foreign government to organize a seminar for 30 judges on trafficking. MSHDS provided training to 200 police officers on the Beggar Control Act and identification of forced begging cases. However, first responders, prosecutors, and judges sometimes did not properly interpret or apply trafficking laws, especially for labor trafficking. Prosecutors and multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) frequently looked for evidence of physical abuse, and cases of labor trafficking were frequently directed to labor courts rather than criminal prosecution. The frequent rotation of police officers also meant officers with experience working trafficking cases were rotated out of their positions, and often replaced with inexperienced officers. For the first time, a Thai court permitted a judgement against a convicted trafficking network from a foreign court as evidence in a related prosecution, which resulted in a successful conviction.

Corruption and official complicity facilitated trafficking and continued to impede anti-trafficking efforts. Some NGOs’ perceptions of corruption made them reluctant to work with the government or certain agencies in some cases. Observers continued to report a reluctance by some law enforcement officials to investigate influential boat owners and captains, including those whom they perceived to have connections with politicians. Further, some police may have purposely compromised investigations and failed to provide prosecutors sufficient evidence to prosecute trafficking cases. The government reported two new investigations of official complicity in 2019. The Public Sector Anti-Corruption Commission and Department of Special Investigations (DSI) referred four officials to prosecutors. In 2019, the government reported convicting 14 officials complicit in trafficking crimes (16 in 2018), sentencing six to terms of imprisonment ranging from 34 to 225 years’ imprisonment; sentencing for eight officials convicted for soliciting child sex trafficking victims was pending at the end of the reporting period. In addition, courts increased the terms of imprisonment of previously convicted officials complicit in the trafficking of Rohingya migrants. The government utilized administrative punishments against some suspected complicit officials rather than criminally investigating and prosecuting them. The government did not report investigating or prosecuting immigration officials who facilitated trafficking by accepting bribes at border checkpoints.

The government demonstrated uneven progress to identify and protect victims. The government identified 868 victims of sex and labor trafficking in 2019, compared to approximately 631 victims identified in 2018. However, the government also reported identifying an additional 950 individuals as trafficking victims subjected to “extortion,” many of whom were likely irregular Burmese or Rohingya migrants transiting Thailand seeking employment in third countries, particularly Malaysia. This apparent conflation of trafficking with smuggling crimes resulted in overcrowding at government-operated trafficking shelters and may have decreased the quality of services provided to sex and labor trafficking victims. Of the 868 sex and labor trafficking victims identified by Thai officials, 258—who were mostly Thai—chose not to reside in government shelters, and 28 victims resided in NGO government-registered shelters. The 610 sex and labor trafficking victims whom the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) reported assisting in government and NGO shelters (401 in 2018), included 134 Thai and 476 foreign victims, and 170 victims of sex trafficking and 440 victims of labor trafficking. Immigration authorities did not identify any victims among the 7,156 migrants screened in immigration detention centers, compared to 15 identified in 2018; NGOs reported authorities decreased efforts to cooperate with NGOs to screen for trafficking victims among this population during the reporting period.

MDTs, which comprised government agencies and NGOs, utilized standard screening guidelines to formally identify victims and refer them to services. The government collaborated with an international organization to provide a training for 30 trainers from Bangkok and high-risk provinces on labor trafficking victim identification and protection. In addition, MOL organized numerous trainings for labor officers and inspectors on identifying trafficking. MSHDS trained 1,000 MDT participants on victim identification, with a focus on forced labor following the 2019 amendment to the anti-trafficking law. Government agencies worked with NGOs to revise the preliminary victim identification form to include victims of forced labor, as defined under Section 6/1 of the amended anti-trafficking law; the government approved the revised form in January 2020 and assigned MSDHS to develop additional guidelines for MDT victim interviews and organize trainings on the new form. Nonetheless, the absence of clear guidance on the application of the forced labor amendment in victim identification during the majority of the reporting period led to confusion among front-line officers. Although the government reported victims of forced labor under Section 6/1 were afforded the same rights to services as all other victims of trafficking, civil society groups reported that proposed implementing regulations, including those that provide permission for trafficking victims to remain in Thailand and allow victims to obtain compensation from the anti-trafficking fund, may not apply to those identified as victims of forced labor. Effective implementation of identification procedures by MDTs continued to be inconsistent. Observers reported some officials utilized practices during MDT victim interviews that hindered the ability of victims to recount their exploitation. For example, they reported officials allowing employers of potential victims to be present during victim interviews, some MDT interviews involved an excessive number of officials, and insufficient coordination between officials during interviews. One local NGO reported DSI officers more frequently utilized victim-centered practices during MDT interviews than local police officers. MDTs were also sometimes reluctant to make identifications unless a case was likely to result in a successful prosecution.

Labor inspectors and members of the Royal Thai Navy screened migrant workers for trafficking during inspections, and were required to refer all potential trafficking victims to MDTs for formal identification and service referral. Some officials failed to recognize trafficking cases that did not involve physical force or overt signs of coercion, such as delayed or non-payment of wages, debt-based coercion, and document confiscation. In addition, some officials did not routinely identify victims who initially consented to travel to Thailand or consented to work in the industry in which they were later exploited. Officials sometimes encouraged exploited workers who were likely victims of forced labor to mediate their situation with their employer or referred their cases to labor courts, rather than recognizing them as trafficking victims. Anecdotal reports suggested some government officials were reluctant to receive complaints or to identify victims due to fears it would indicate law enforcement incompetence or a failure of the government’s efforts to combat trafficking. Labor inspectors could be held personally liable for claims of abuse of power under Thai law, which may have discouraged them from reporting suspected exploitation.

The government could only provide temporary assistance to potential victims for up to eight days, and formal identification by MDTs was necessary for victims to obtain a legal right to services. This acted as a significant barrier for some victims who were not physically or psychologically prepared to undergo the MDT identification process to obtain services. Further, the absence of a suitable reflection period during which victims could access stabilizing services from the government, did not allow officials sufficient time to build rapport and trust with victims, including to obtain sufficient information to make a formal identification and to encourage victims’ participation in investigations. Consequently, victims frequently sought temporary care from NGOs, who did not receive government funding, before they were prepared to undergo the MDT interview process. The government continued to refer victims formally identified by MDTs to government-operated shelters where they had access to counseling, legal assistance, medical care, civil compensation, financial aid, witness protection, education or vocational trainings, and employment opportunities. However, authorities made the provision of services contingent upon a victim’s willingness to participate in law enforcement investigations. In addition, the government did not consistently provide repatriation assistance to victims who declined to participate in law enforcement investigations. MSDHS operated 76 short-stay shelters and nine long-term regional trafficking shelters, including four dedicated to adult male victims and families, four for female victims, and one for male child victims. The government continued to distribute a handbook in seven languages informing victims of their legal rights under the trafficking law, including access to services. The government only permitted foreign victims who held a valid visa or work permit at the time of their identification to stay outside government shelters during legal proceedings against their traffickers. Undocumented foreign victims of trafficking were required to remain in shelters while the government processed applications for permits to stay and work in Thailand. MSDHS trafficking shelters did not allow victims—including adults—to leave without permission, which was often denied; only victims who received permission to work outside shelters could leave the shelter on a regular basis for work. Further, victims were often required to stay in shelters until the completion of proceedings against their traffickers, even in cases in which they were physically and psychologically ready to exit the shelter system. In addition, shelter staff required victims to obtain permission to make personal phone calls and often monitored their calls. Requiring victims to remain in shelters longer than necessary, combined with the restrictions on their movement and communication during shelter stays, likely contributed to some victims’ re-traumatization and inhibited their ability to earn an income. The government did not report how many victims it permitted to work outside shelters in 2019—compared to 65 in 2018 and 149 in 2017. While the government made efforts to reduce the length of prosecutions and thereby decrease the amount of time victims had to stay in shelters, NGOs reported the required shelter stays continued to deter foreign victims from cooperating with law enforcement, with some preferring to instead be deported to their home countries. The government permitted some victims to reside at and obtain services at three government-registered NGO shelters; although victims obtaining these services could still obtain compensation from the government’s anti-trafficking fund, the government did not provide these shelters with additional funding to support their operations. In addition, observers reported strict requirements for NGO-operated shelters to receive permission to assist formally identified victims made it challenging for additional NGOs to obtain this registration. Due to the increase in victims and smuggled migrants authorities identified during the reporting period and the subsequent overcrowding within the nine trafficking shelters, the government placed 55 victims in two of the short-term government-operated shelters.

Government shelters often lacked adequate numbers of psychologists and staff trained on trauma-informed care, inhibiting victims from obtaining psycho-social and individualized care. In collaboration with an NGO, MSDHS organized training on trauma-informed care and trust-based relational interventions for shelter staff in both government and NGO-operated shelters. Contacts reported shelters did not always provide victims with private counseling and instead relied on group counseling sessions with social workers. MSDHS shelters did not provide specialized care to boys and LGBTI victims; in addition, authorities did not maintain guidelines for determining where to place transgender victims and required some to stay in shelters based on their sex assigned at birth. NGOs reported difficulty accessing victims they had supported once they entered MSDHS shelters; this, combined with insufficient communication from shelter staff, discouraged NGOs from further cooperating with the government or referring victims to authorities. MSDHS employed more than 300 interpreters, an increase compared to 251 in 2018, but often relied on interpreters provided by NGOs and international organizations during rescue operations. In addition, government shelters often lacked sufficient numbers of interpreters, which weakened their ability to provide adequate services to victims. MSDHS provided vocational training activities in shelters, and victims could earn a minor income from activities such as craft-making. However, observers continued to report inadequate options for vocational training and work offered in shelters. Thai law permitted foreign trafficking victims and witnesses to stay and work in Thailand for up to two years upon the completion of legal proceedings against their traffickers; however, the government did not report if any victims received this benefit during the reporting period.

Authorities facilitated the return of 123 Thais exploited abroad (103 in 2018), including 25 confirmed trafficking victims, by providing funding for travel expenses, legal assistance, job placement, and other reintegration services. MSDHS reported it assigned social workers to maintain contact with Thai victims for at least one year after their reintegration. The government worked with an NGO shelter in South Korea to provide assistance to Thai sex trafficking victims. Officials utilized approximately 2.17 million baht ($73,000) from the government’s anti-trafficking fund for aiding in the repatriation of foreign victims exploited in Thailand; the government did not report how many victims it repatriated in 2019, compared to 201 in 2018. In coordination with the Government of Cambodia, Thai agencies established standard operating procedures for repatriation and reintegration of victims between Cambodia and Thailand. However, Thai authorities did not consistently follow procedures for safely repatriating foreign victims.

The government opened two new child advocacy centers, which served as child-friendly spaces where law enforcement, NGOs, and social workers could conduct forensic interviews of child trafficking victims; this brought the total number of centers to seven. Local observers reported the government often deployed female officials to conduct identification interviews of female victims. Some judges lacked sufficient understanding of trauma-informed care, which resulted in harmful treatment of victims during court proceedings. While courts reportedly followed protocols to protect victims and witnesses in most instances, NGOs reported some incidents where the court failed to provide a non-confrontational cross examining area, despite advance request, and asked witnesses to verbally confirm sensitive information in front of the suspects during proceedings.

The 2016 Beggar Control Act provided for health and social services to individuals engaged in begging activities, including trafficking victims. The government reported identifying only seven victims of forced begging in 2019. NGOs reported the government lacked clear policies related to the protection of children compelled to sell items on the street and noted there was no agency responsible for protecting this population. MSDHS developed a mobile application for trafficking victims and witnesses to report exploitation and request protective services, including interpretation, and it provided information on the rights of trafficking victims in seven languages. MSDHS and MOL operated hotlines with operators fluent in 19 foreign languages. In 2019, the MSDHS trafficking hotline received calls related to 162 possible trafficking cases, including 19 involving forced labor (139 cases in 2018); officials referred 106 of these cases to related authorities but only referred 28 to the police anti-trafficking division. In 2019, MOL employed 91 language coordinators (84 in 2018) and 99 interpreters (69 in 2018), and the Department of Labour Protection and Welfare (DLPW) conducted training on labor laws and trafficking for 82 language coordinators.

In 2019, the government provided 11.88 million baht ($398,990) to trafficking victims from its anti-trafficking fund, including 1.68 million baht ($56,430) allocated to victims residing outside government shelters, an increase from 6.15 million baht ($206,580) in 2018. Thai law legally obligated prosecutors to file restitution claims when a victim expressed intention to make a claim. The Human Trafficking Criminal Procedures Act allowed judges to award compensation or restitution to victims, including in the absence of a victim request for these funds. The government did not report how many restitution claims prosecutors filed on behalf of victims in 2019 (116 in 2018) but reported courts ordered 3.3 million baht ($110,850) in restitution for 14 victims in two cases in 2019. The government reported that for the first time, two victims successfully received court-ordered restitution from their traffickers; nonetheless, the execution of court orders to pay restitution for victims remained ineffective, particularly for non-Thai victims. MSDHS operated a unit under its anti-trafficking division to provide victims legal assistance and file compensation claims and utilized guidelines to enhance the efficacy of filing such claims. The government drafted an amendment to the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 1999 to expand the right of victims of trafficking to obtain compensation from assets forfeited from traffickers, which was pending the Thai Cabinet’s approval at the end of the reporting period.

The law protected victims from prosecution for unlawful acts their traffickers compelled them to commit; however, flaws in the government’s implementation of victim identification procedures increased the risk of authorities penalizing victims, including for prostitution and immigration violations. Employers reportedly convinced Thai law enforcement to bring criminal charges against exploited workers for theft when workers attempted to leave or change jobs. In addition, the government’s criminal defamation laws continued to allow companies to pursue criminal charges against potential victims and advocates during the reporting period, and the government did not report investigating company owners for subjecting these workers to exploitation. For example, in December 2019, courts convicted and sentenced a reporter to two years’ imprisonment for criminal libel for making comments on social media related to a poultry farm that was previously ordered to compensate 1.7 million baht ($57,100) to 14 Burmese workers who were subjected to conditions indicative of forced labor; since 2016, this company has pursued more than 36 complaints against rights advocates. Despite making amendments to the Criminal Procedure Code in March 2019 that would enable courts to immediately dismiss cases filed with dishonest intent or to intimidate the defendants, as well as amendments in February 2019 that strengthened the rights of defendants in cases where their employers filed criminal defamation charges, the government did not report utilizing these amendments to drop criminal defamation charges pursued against advocates during the reporting period. The government also amended the anti-trafficking law in 2015 to provide protection to whistleblowers but has never reported applying this provision.

The government increased efforts to prevent trafficking. The prime minister oversaw the government’s anti-trafficking efforts through the Supervisory Policy Committee on Addressing Trafficking in Persons, and the government continued to monitor its progress to combat trafficking through data collection and annual reports to the prime minister and the Cabinet. In 2019, the government allocated approximately 3.8 billion baht ($127.9 million) towards its prevention and suppression of trafficking budget, compared to approximately 3.64 billion ($122.3 million) allocated in 2018. It conducted campaigns through newspapers, television, radio, social media, billboards, and handouts to raise public awareness throughout the country. Officials conducted numerous outreach activities to raise awareness of trafficking among school children, teachers, and community leaders. In addition, the foreign affairs ministry produced and shared a video clip on television and social media that included indicators of trafficking among Thai nationals abroad and methods to report suspected cases. In January and March 2020, MSDHS hosted a forum with NGOs, government agencies, international organizations, and the private sector to discuss anti-trafficking efforts and encourage increased collaboration; the government collected recommendations from participants at the January forum and presented them to the anti-trafficking committee in March. In June 2019, the government published the first nationally representative survey of children in the workplace, which was produced in collaboration with an international organization, and found approximately 177,000 children were involved in child labor, including 133,000 in hazardous working conditions.

Thai law permitted recruitment agencies to charge recruitment fees to Thais seeking overseas employment, and excessive fees incurred by some workers made them vulnerable to debt-based coercion. Through government-to-government formal migration channels, the government assisted 11,886 Thais to obtain employment abroad in 2019, including by providing job placement assistance. In addition, 14 provincial employment offices provided training, including on trafficking risks, to 4,803 Thai workers prior to their overseas employment. In November 2019, the Department of Employment (DOE) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the South Korean Immigration Service that aimed to increase coordination to address the prevalence of undocumented Thai migrants working in South Korea and to prevent their exploitation in forced labor. In 2019, the government inspected 181 employment agencies that recruited Thai workers and found unlawful practices in four, resulting in license suspensions and revocations. It initiated prosecutions against 239 illegal brokers (416 in 2018) under the Employment and Job-Seeker Protection Act, resulting in the issuance of arrest warrants in seven cases. The government operated 12 labor offices in countries with large numbers of Thai workers; these offices conducted 887 inspections, assisted more than 5,980 workers, and trained 758 labor volunteers to assist in the identification of labor violations and trafficking among Thai workers.

In August 2019, the government approved the extension of stay for Cambodian, Laotian, and Burmese workers who obtained legal work permits through the nationality verification process, which allowed undocumented workers to obtain identity documents without leaving Thailand, by two years. Nonetheless, the complicated nature of government registration under the nationality verification process and in many cases, low levels of literacy, resulted in workers’ reliance on brokers and employers, who often overcharged workers to obtain documents, thereby increasing their vulnerability to debt-based coercion. The government also maintained bilateral MOUs with neighboring countries to recruit migrant workers to Thailand, and 413,536 workers were recruited through this system in 2019. However, high costs, difficulties in obtaining identity documents in home countries, and other administrative barriers continued to impede greater usage of this mechanism and also resulted in workers’ reliance on brokers assistance. The government also permitted migrants to obtain 30-day and 90-day border passes to work in non-seasonal agricultural or manufacturing jobs, including within 10 developing special economic zones, but such temporary working arrangements did not provide workers access to social protections. NGOs reported employers increasingly encouraged workers to obtain these border passes. The government reported labor inspectors conducted inspection of 146 establishments in border areas in 2019 and found 71 in violations of the law; however, the government did not report identifying any cases of trafficking through these efforts and only issued corrective orders in all but one case. In 2019, the government inspected 244 migrant worker recruitment agencies, compared to 67 in 2018, and found four operating in violation of the law.

Weaknesses in Thailand’s labor laws preventing migrant workers from forming labor unions may have contributed to exploitation. The 2018 Royal Ordinance on Management of Migrant Workers required employers to provide workers a copy of their employment contracts and to cover costs (excluding personal expenses such as passports, medical checks, and work permits) associated with bringing migrant workers to Thailand and back to their home countries when employment ends, such as recruitment fees and transportation costs. The decree prohibited employers from deducting more than 10 percent of workers’ monthly salaries for personal expenses and the retention of travel or other personal documents; the law prescribed penalties of fines ranging from 10,000-100,000 baht ($340-$3,360) and up to six months’ imprisonment for employers who violated these rules. The government found 2,333 businesses and employers guilty of employing migrant workers without valid work permits in 2018, a sharp increase compared to 716 in 2018; the government collected 16 million baht ($537,450) in fines from 586 of these employers. However, NGOs reported the regulations on recruitment fees were poorly defined and enforced, and recruitment agencies and brokers still required workers to pay recruitment fees and transportation costs. The government did not report investigating illegal salary deductions and observers reported that while DLPW was responsible for monitoring for illegal deductions, DOE conducted labor inspections of recruitment agencies but did not frequently refer suspected cases of illegal deductions to DLPW. Recent research reported fewer migrant workers, including those employed in the fishing industry, who were recruited in their home countries paid recruitment fees prior to starting their employment in Thailand. However, many employers and brokers, who bore the upfront costs associated with bringing workers to Thailand, indebted workers to pay these fees through illegal salary deductions, often without workers’ knowledge. The Ministerial Regulation on Labor Protection for Sea Fishers required employers to pay workers’ salaries at least once per month through electronic deposits and to share catch profits. While this system received overall praise from civil society observers, some reported concerns some workers were unable to access their funds due to a lack of ATMs near some ports, insufficient training on how to use the system, and the withholding of workers’ ATM cards and PINs by vessel owners, captains, or brokers. In addition, while the electronic payment system increased the ability of labor inspectors to verify wage payments, unscrupulous employers continued to make regular electronic payments in their employees’ accounts to satisfy the legal requirement but made illegal withdrawals. The lack of a requirement that employment contracts be written in both Thai and migrant workers’ languages, and a lack of clear guidance to measure work and rest hours for workers aboard fishing vessels heightened their risk of trafficking. Employers rarely provided workers a contract to keep or in their language, and research indicated migrant fishermen were less likely to have signed a contract in their own language than in previous years; contacts attributed this decrease to the government ceasing to proactively provide a standard contract that had been made available in multiple languages in previous years. NGOs and international organizations widely reported the government did not adequately enforce minimum wage laws and lacked legislation mandating minimum wages in sectors with high employment of migrant workers, such as seasonal agriculture. In November 2019, the government passed the Fishery Workers Protection Act to increase protections for fishermen, including by requiring health and safety protections, medical care at sea, rest periods, and other protections; however, it was not fully enforced by the end of the reporting period because the government had not approved seven out of 11 subordinate laws. Although government regulations permitted exploited migrant workers to change employers, some policies restricted their ability to do so in practice. Provincial labor offices required workers recruited under MOUs to present many documents that workers often could not provide without NGO or brokers’ assistance in order to approve job changes. By law, MOU employers could recover costs associated with recruiting a migrant worker from the new employer when a worker requested to change jobs before the end of their employment contract, and some employers charged these workers to obtain their documents, making them susceptible to debt-based coercion. The government did not report investigating employers who illegally charged fees to such migrant workers.

The government operated five post-arrival and reintegration centers that assisted migrant workers who entered Thailand through the MOU process by providing information on labor rights, Thai culture, employment contracts, trafficking awareness, and complaint mechanisms; in 2019, these centers assisted 413,536 migrant workers. However, due to the limited amount of time workers were present at these centers, which was usually immediately after workers’ arrival in Thailand, officials were only able to provide them with limited information in practice. In addition, observers reported labor officials interviewed workers in the presence of their employers, brokers, and armed police at post-arrival centers, which may have deterred workers from reporting exploitation. MOL also worked with NGOs to provide services at 10 migrant worker assistance centers. During the reporting period, the government held a meeting with civil society, government agencies, and the private sector to evaluate these centers. The government worked with NGO-operated centers located near fishing markets to provide skills training, health screenings, and other resources to raise awareness of workers’ rights. Provincial labor offices, migrant worker assistance centers, and other government agencies did not adequately investigate migrant workers complaints or refer suspected labor violations, including those indicative of forced labor, to relevant agencies. In addition, workers’ past negative interactions with authorities and a lack of availability of interpreters at some labor offices deterred migrant workers from reporting exploitation.

During the reporting period the government transferred the authority of the Command Center for Combating Illegal Fishing (CCCIF), which operated 32 port-in port-out (PIPO) centers and 19 additional forward inspection points (FIP), to the Department of Fisheries, while the newly established Thai Maritime Enforcement Command Center (Thai-MECC) oversaw PIPO and FIP operations. PIPO centers performed inspections to verify whether fishing vessels were operating legally and implemented a risk-based assessment system to identify target vessels for inspection. Labor inspectors working in PIPO teams verified crew lists using biometric data and worker interviews. The government banned long-haul Thai-flagged vessels from operating in international waters from 2016 to 2018 and permitted two vessels to renew their licenses to fish in international waters in 2019, with requirements that they return to Thailand every year. From February to September 2019, PIPO centers conducted 53,860 inspections at-port and 6,605 at-sea and found 23 and 330 infringements, respectively. Among these, authorities identified only two cases involving labor violations, which involved failure to provide an employment contract and failure to pay workers’ wages via bank transfer. The government has never reported identifying trafficking victims as a result of PIPO labor inspections. In addition, resource constraints during the transition of inspection authority from CCCIF to Thai-MECC resulted in reduced inspection rates for two months during the year. The government introduced a manual for PIPO centers on standardized inspection practices and, although still inconsistent, centers increasingly utilized universal checklists for inspection operations compared to previous years. In addition, observers reported inspectors more frequently conducted interviews with victim-centered practices, and all PIPO centers had translators available for inspections. Nonetheless, some inspection teams lacked translators for some workers’ languages, did not board vessels during inspections, did not separate workers away from owners, captains, or brokers for interviews, or conduct pre- and post- inspection team meetings away from vessel owners or captains; these practices likely deterred some workers or inspectors from revealing information due to fears of retaliation. In addition, at-sea inspections did not sufficiently include checks for labor violations or consistently have translators available for interviewing foreign crewmembers. PIPOs did not universally apply a standardized procedure for referring cases of fishermen who went missing at sea, including to identify indicators of trafficking on the vessels in which they went missing, and an increasing number of crewmembers went missing at sea during the reporting period.

The government did not report how many inspections of adult entertainment businesses officials conducted in 2019, compared to 7,497 in 2018. In 2019, DLPW conducted 2,116 inspections at high-risk workplaces, including sugarcane farms, garment factories, seafood processing facilities, pig farms, and poultry farms, finding 1,017 workplaces operating in violation of labor laws. Some local observers reported some factories received advance warning of labor inspections, which may have hampered the ability of officials to identify labor violations, including those indicative of forced labor. The government continued to grant citizenship to stateless persons. The government made efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, including by displaying a video in four languages discouraging child sex tourism in Thai airports and on Thai airline flights. In addition, the government coordinated with foreign governments to deny entry to known sex offenders. The government provided anti-trafficking training to its diplomatic personnel.

• TRAFFICKING PROFILE

As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Thailand, and traffickers exploit Thai victims abroad. Traffickers subject Thai nationals to forced labor and sex trafficking in Thailand and in countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Members of ethnic minorities, highland persons, and stateless persons in Thailand have experienced instances of abuse indicative of trafficking. Labor and sex traffickers exploit women, men, LGBTI individuals, and children from Thailand, other Southeast Asian countries, Sri Lanka, Russia, Uzbekistan, and some African countries in Thailand. Traffickers use Thailand as a transit country for victims from China, North Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, and Burma whom traffickers subject to sex trafficking and forced labor in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Russia, South Korea, the United States, and countries in western Europe. The North Korean government may have forced North Koreans to work in Thailand. Children from Thailand, Burma, Laos, and Cambodia are victims of sex trafficking in brothels, massage parlors, bars, karaoke lounges, hotels, and private residences. Traffickers increasingly induce young Thai girls and boys to perform sex acts through videos and photos on the internet, sometimes by blackmailing victims with explicit images. Children in orphanages are at risk of trafficking. Some parents or brokers force children from Thailand, Cambodia, and Burma to sell flowers or other items in streets, beg, or work in domestic service in urban areas.

Labor traffickers exploit Thai and migrant workers in commercial fishing and related industries, the poultry industry, manufacturing, agriculture, domestic work, and street begging. Traffickers exploit some migrants in labor trafficking often through debt-based coercion, deceptive recruitment practices, retention of identity documents and ATM cards, illegal wage deductions, and other means. Brokers, recruitment agencies, and others impose excessive fees on workers before and after they arrive in Thailand. Vessel owners, brokers, and senior vessel crew traffickers subject Thai, Burmese, Cambodian, Vietnamese, and Indonesian men and boys to forced labor on Thai and foreign-owned fishing boats. Some are paid little or irregularly, incur debts from brokers and employers, work as much as 18 to 20 hours per day for seven days a week, and without adequate food, water or medical supplies. Some boat captains threaten, beat, and drug fishermen to work longer. Some trafficking victims in the fishing sector had difficulty returning home due to isolated workplaces, unpaid wages, and the lack of legitimate identity documents or safe means to travel. Employers in fishing and seafood processing often made confusing wage deductions for documentation fees, advances, and other charges, making it difficult for workers to account for their wages accurately. Various research published in 2019 and 2020 found that between 14 and 18 percent of migrant fishermen were exploited in forced labor in the Thai fishing industry, indicating traffickers exploited thousands of workers on fishing vessels.

Corruption continues to undermine anti-trafficking efforts. Some government officials are directly complicit in trafficking crimes, including through accepting bribes or loans from business owners and brothels that exploit victims. Corrupt immigration officials facilitate trafficking by accepting bribes from brokers and smugglers along Thai borders. Credible reports indicate some corrupt officials protect brothels, other commercial sex venues, factory owners, and fishing vessel owners from raids, inspections, and prosecutions and collude with traffickers. Some local police reportedly withhold information from prosecutors to protect traffickers. Some government officials profit from bribes and direct involvement in extortion from and exploitation of migrants.

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Escaping the clutches of sex trafficking in Thailand

An Uzbek woman who was trafficked to Thailand and forced to sell sex shares the story of her escape.

It’s nearly 10pm and Umida* is cooking dinner – a simple meal of rice and meat for the 11 members of her household who have been stuck inside the house all day due to Uzbekistan’s intense summer heat.

Since emerging as an independent nation in 1991, after nearly 200 years of Russian and then Soviet rule, Uzbekistan has slowly seen some economic progress. But poverty and unemployment remain high and many Uzbeks travel abroad for work. This leaves the men, women and children vulnerable to forced labour and sex trafficking.

“My older sister works in a hospital in Moscow, so I look after her children,” Umida says.  “She’s the only one who understands what happened to me in Bangkok, I have told nobody else.” 

Born into a large, impoverished family, the 36-year-old says life was difficult growing up. Her mother died in 2000, leaving her father, a builder, to care for his four children. “It was hard without my mother,” she recalls, “the families in my town with two parents had more money.”

When she was 28 years old, Umida says she met a local Uzbek woman who promised her profitable work in Thailand .   Umida doesn’t say whether she knew the specific nature of this work, but explains that with the hope of providing for her son who was then six years old, she agreed to travel to the Thai capital, Bangkok.

But, when she arrived in Thailand, she realised that she had been deceived. The woman who had made the arrangements destroyed all of her documents. “She was a very bad lady. She gave me no food, no money. I could only go outside to work every day,” Umida says quietly. The woman forced her to work as a prostitute on the streets of Bangkok.

Trafficked for sex

Many downtown Bangkok streets are lined with women, shifting from one foot to the other, whispering to passers-by, hoping to attract their next customer. Statistics from the Thai Ministry of Public Health and from NGOs indicate that there are more than 120,000 people working in the Thai sex industry.

Some of these women are engaged in sex work because they have no other way to make money, others have been forced into the industry, and many are trafficked to Thailand from other countries. 

Annie Dieselberg, CEO and founder of Nightlight International, an organisation committed to helping victims of sex trafficking and exploitation, says that the  authorities do not always take the situation seriously. “Often, authorities don’t recognise the complexities of sex trafficking – that it isn’t as simple as underage women in a brothel, ” Dieselberg says. “It may be an adult woman, walking the streets of Bangkok, being forced against her will to work for sex.”

Angkhana Neelapaichit, one of the seven National Human Rights Commissioners appointed by the Thai king to examine and report acts which violate human rights or “do not comply with obligations under international treaties to which Thailand is a party”, concurs. “Essentially, I can say that dealing with trafficking among sex workers, in the long run, is still challenging for Thailand and it is hard for authorities to find the real perpetrators,” she says. 

After a few months, Umida attempted to escape her trafficker, anxious to return home to her son. She managed to convince one of her clients, who sympathised with her, to give her money for a return flight home.

“He gave me a lot of money, so I bought some things for my son and a plane ticket home,” Umida says. She went to the Uzbek consulate in secret and was issued with a certificate to return to Uzbekistan. When she arrived at the airport, however, a woman with a face veil approached her. She revealed herself as the trafficker. She was angry and threatening – Umida felt powerless before her. “She caught me. I didn’t know what to do. She took my passport and I had to go back to work.”

She worked for a further five months, receiving little to no money. She was made to stay in an apartment with no shower and no food, she recalls.

“I was hungry. It was only when I had a customer that I could have a meal. We would go out and drink and eat,” she says of the meetings with clients. “Then we would end up in a hotel or an apartment.”

Escaping the clutches of her trafficker

Umida saw another chance for escape when she met Emily Chalke, cofounder of Ella’s Home, an NGO helping women exiting trafficking and exploitation.

Chalke, working at Nightlight International at the time, met Umida at a Bangkok hotel known for hosting exchanges between sex workers and their customers. Chalke  explains that she met Umida after another Uzbek woman told her that Umida’s passport had been taken away.

“Everyone at the hotel knew her as the girl who was in trouble,” Chalke  says.

Umida told  Chalke that  she wanted to escape. They agreed to meet at another hotel so she could pretend that she was going to see a client and from there they took a taxi to a safe house.

“She was angry when I met her, so angry that so much had been taken from her,” Chalke  says. “She only had the clothes on her back and a small notebook where she had written the amounts paid to her trafficker, more than $10,000 by that time.”

Nightlight International made the arrangements for her return home and reported the case to the police.

The trafficker was arrested, Chalke  says. It was the first arrest police had made of an Uzbek trafficker in four years. But this required Umida to make a statement. She was terrified. “I had to go to court once. I was so scared to see the bad lady,” she says, adding: [But] the people around me helped me and I was able to do it.”

Her trafficker, however, was freed after paying bail and disappeared, never to be prosecuted.

Read a related article on the victims of modern day slavery trafficking in the UK

Prosecuting traffickers in Thailand

The trial on July 19 in which Bangkok’s Criminal Court Division for Human Trafficking convicted 62 people on charges of human trafficking, including an army general, was Thailand’s largest human trafficking trial and an unprecedented achievement for the Thai military government.

Dieselberg says the current government is accomplishing more than its elected predecessors. “When we began helping victims of sex trafficking in 2010, justice honestly seemed out of reach.”

Still, she thinks that more needs to be done. “Though the military is absolutely doing more to address trafficking, it is primarily addressing labour trafficking, the seafood industry, and minors.”

In many cases, the sex trafficking rings are small, comprising one to five women, whereas labour traffickers often exploit more victims at one time. “Many large anti-trafficking organisations lack the financial and human resources to focus on smaller cases, so there is a greater value in targeting a greater number of people in one place,” Dieselberg explains.

Neelapaichit, the Human Rights commissioner, agrees. “[Dealing with sex trafficking] is very challenging for Thailand. Thailand tries to show they have policies to fight against trafficking, but there are still many traffickers that are free and have no criminal offences.”

There can also be improvements in providing safety and services for the victims, Dieselberg feels. “At the moment, it is still not considered beneficial to a victim to identify the trafficker and take them to court … she would rather return home and be safe.”

Out of the approximately 100 victims of sex trafficking her organisation has helped, only three initially agreed to testify. This led to two court cases but neither resulted in a prosecution.

Dieselberg says she hopes the immediate effect of the high-profile case  will be a warning to traffickers, but adds that they always look for other ways to continue their trade. “It sends a message, but a law only makes a difference if it is enforced continuously.”

Neelapaichit agrees, “ Thailand must continue to show that it really wants to fight human trafficking and will not allow perpetrators to walk freely, even if the traffickers are from Thailand or are officers or security forces.”

It took three months for the police to gather the information they required in Umida’s case and for her to receive her travel documents, but she finally returned to Uzbekistan and to her son on October 20, 2009.

Her son is now 14 years old.   “I am home with him and he goes to school every day,” she says proudly. She helps her younger sister bake bread and care for the family. She is determined to express how much her life has improved since Bangkok.

“After I returned to my son, I found us a place to live. I don’t want to remember the bad times. I don’t think about them. I only remember the kind people that helped me and the friends I made. Life is so good for me now, now I am happy.”

*Name changed to protect identity

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Review of “Sex Tourism in Thailand: Inside Asia’s Premier Erotic Playground.”

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Jillana Enteen, Review of “Sex Tourism in Thailand: Inside Asia’s Premier Erotic Playground.”, Social Forces , 2024;, soae118, https://doi.org/10.1093/sf/soae118

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Ronald Weitzer’s Sex Tourism in Thailand focuses on current sex work practices in two major Thai cities, Bangkok and Pattaya. Providing a detailed overview of the dense and networked sex work industry in contemporary Thailand, his study strives to elucidate the specificities of Thai sex work, particularly the non-Thai focused branch of sex work renown to international travelers seeking sexual encounters with Thai cis and non-cis women.

Weitzer notes that this is the first study in two decades in English from a compassionate perspective using social science methodologies. Indeed, little in English assessing and describing the sex work industry in Thailand exists beyond community-based organizations and nongovernment organizations focused on health or human trafficking. While the literature in Thai is more expansive, it is not easily translatable, and none describe the intricacies of the Thai sex work industry from the perspective of a scholar of sex-work. Weitzer’s earlier work on the sex-work industry (which he calls the sex industry and prostitution interchangeably) in US and European settings is based on articulating the differences between practices in different locales, as well as data-based evidence and an overall argument justifying legalization. 1

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How Involving People with Lived Expertise Strengthens Research

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The Value of Lived Expertise in Addressing Global Research Challenges      

Researchers are being asked to respond to some of the toughest challenges our world has seen, requiring diverse perspectives to increase transparency, accessibility, and equity and to foster growth and discovery. There is a growing recognition that research is stronger when people who have directly experienced the phenomena being studied are involved—not just as study participants, but as members of the research team. These experts—often referred to as people with lived experience or lived expertise—bring an on-the-ground lens to complex issues that is pivotal when it comes to making research relevant and actionable. 

Integrating Lived Expertise into Equity-Centered Research

The equity-centered research framework developed by RTI International’s Transformative Research Unit for Equity (TRUE) explains why people with lived expertise should play a central role in all stages of the research process. Early in an investigation, experts with lived experience can partner with researchers to identify areas of study that are aligned with community interests and needs, while producing findings that can inform policy and practice. In addition, people with lived expertise can make vital contributions in the design of study procedures, including creating survey and interview questions that are clear, respectful, and sensitive to power dynamics and the feelings of stigma or trauma that participating in research can evoke. Furthermore, the input of people who have intimate knowledge of the experience being studied can transform and enliven analytical processes, leading to innovative insights and helping shed light on paradoxical or unexpected findings. When studies reach the dissemination phase, having experts who can situate study results in the context of their (and their communities’) stories is an effective way to share knowledge with audiences outside of academia.

Tapping into lived experience expertise has multiple benefits, but many researchers have not been taught best practices for engaging people with lived expertise, and they struggle with knowing how to meaningfully include them. Below, we highlight several projects in which RTI researchers took concrete steps to substantially involve people with lived expertise in ways that led to mutually fulfilling collaborations and improved research. 

How to Build a Research Team with Lived Expertise: The A Crecer Study

A Crecer (“to grow”) is a multiyear, community-based prospective cohort study funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development focused on the health and well-being of adolescents and young adults living in Salinas, California. Principal Investigator Alexandra Minnis   prioritized hiring a field research team composed of early career bilingual and bicultural first-generation college students, most of whom come from the Salinas area or from similar agriculture-based communities in central California.

The cultural sensitivity of the field research team—along with their strong commitment to conducting research to inform Latinx adolescent and young adult health—has contributed to the ability to obtain parent permission for minor-age teens to participate in the study and establish rapport with study participants and their guardians. This rapport was essential for meeting enrollment goals, achieving high retention, and facilitating the successful reengagement of participants and their parents after a 3-year pause in funding. In addition, these individuals have offered insights across all phases of the study—from refining the research approach and questionnaires to being instrumental in guiding the analysis of quantitative and qualitative findings. In response to interest from study participants, the field   research team established a group of Young Adult Advocate Advisors to aid with study implementation. The group has also brought new perspectives to the interpretation of study results and guided the development of dissemination materials to be shared with community members in ways that will be engaging to young people themselves. 

For most of the field research team, A Crecer was their first post-college job and their first job in research. By being encouraged to incorporate their lived expertise in day-to-day study operations and having their expertise recognized and valued by senior researchers, the experience led to new professional development opportunities. One team member recently began a master’s program and gave a class presentation on A Crecer , highlighting her role as a research analyst. She also brought study consent forms as models for a seminar. Although she has started graduate school, she remains in touch with her field research colleagues and has actively shared what she is learning in the program, both to help inform work on the study and to provide insight into the benefits of graduate school.

How to Prioritize Professional Development and Lived Expertise: The GODDESS Study

When designing the Gathering Online for Dialogue and Discussion to Enhance Social Support (GODDESS) study, Principal Investigator Felicia Browne wanted to create an advisory council of young Black women from Durham and Wake counties in North Carolina to play a key role in the project work. Born and raised in Durham County, Dr. Browne had strong insights as to how to reach young women who might be interested in joining the council. By giving presentations at a local historically Black university, attending community events, distributing flyers in local businesses and nonprofits, and engaging existing networks, she and her team recruited members of what would become the Black Advisory Goddesses—or BAG, a name chosen by the BAG members themselves. 

Recognizing how valuable input from these experts would be for her research, Dr. Browne invested in making their participation in GODDESS a rewarding experience for them as well. The recruitment materials and interest form explicitly stated that BAG members would have access to networking and other professional development opportunities. When they signed up to participate, the experts were asked questions that helped the research team understand their priorities and needs, including, “What are you most interested in as a member of the GODDESS Young Women Advisory Council?” and “What goals do you have that you would like help achieving as part of this group?” Dr. Browne and her team used their responses to plan activities that helped members meet their goals. Through in-person meetings at RTI to foster connections, direct engagement with the Principal Investigator and study Co-Investigators, planned meetings with other project community boards, and opportunities to “own” aspects of the project as task leads, the project team listened to the requests of the BAG members and aimed to provide an impactful experience for each person involved in the group.

How to Learn from Lived Expertise Advisors: Working with Survivors of Sex Trafficking

In their research focusing on people who have survived sex trafficking, Rebecca Pfeffer and Kelle Barrick are intentional about sharing power with community-based organizations and people with lived expertise. The study design for the Estimating Sex Trafficking in Sacramento County project was co-created with Community Against Sexual Harm , a local survivor-led nonprofit, and the Institute for Social Research at Sacramento State University . The project involved a Survivor Advisory Committee (SAC) that convened regularly and contributed to the design and implementation of the project. The SAC also wrote several “survivor action briefs,” including Survivors of Sex Trafficking, Their Children, and Opportunities for Intervention: Key Findings and Recommendations ,  Survivor Experiences With Law Enforcement: Key Findings and Recommendations ,  and Improving Survivors’ Experiences With Services Through Peer Advocacy: Key Findings and Recommendations .

In the Human Trafficking Policy and Research Analyses Project , funded by the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), people with lived expertise co-facilitated listening sessions and workshops. Multiple challenges arose in compensating these experts, some of whom could not receive direct deposits because they did not have bank accounts, were unfamiliar with the processes and tax implications of invoicing as a consultant, or experienced significant distress when notified of a payment delay or error due to histories of economic abuse. In addition to working with RTI’s finance department to create flexible payment options and clear communications for the experts, Dr. Pfeffer and her team submitted a 10-page memo to the ACF Office on Trafficking in Persons documenting the key lessons learned. The memo also contained economic empowerment strategies developed for engaging people with lived expertise of surviving human trafficking as research experts and participants.

Incorporating Lived Expertise in Future Research

As research continues to evolve, opening the door for unique perspective sharing is helpful to strengthen research and address some of our most pressing social issues. Whether exploring an innovative method for addressing HIV locally among young Black women or understanding the scope and nature of sex trafficking in Sacramento County, California , the inclusion of lived expertise in research enhances the quality of the project and maximizes the impact of the results. Hearing from individuals with lived expertise can also shed light on future areas of study, further facilitating the research continuum. By engaging in these critical collaborations and understanding diverse viewpoints and experiences, researchers can make significant progress to improve people’s health, safety, and well-being.

Learn how RTI is advancing equity in research and contributing to better health outcomes for all .