In Chiang Mai’s Santitham district, known as a budget-friendly red-light district, a Shan man worked as a sex worker in host bars, drinking with customers and going out with them. But just before the New Year, he lost his job after contracting a sexually transmitted disease. It was not HIV, but it meant he became unemployed.

A civil society network proposing a new marriage equality bill, a gender recognition bill, and a bill repealing the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act is poised to launch a campaign to collect signatures to introduce the bills into parliament.

A civil society network is proposing the repeal of the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act as part of a movement to legalise sex work and grant sex workers protection under the labour laws.

<p>Thai sex workers remain excluded from government assistance schemes, after the government ordered the closure of entertainment businesses to prevent the spread of Covid-19, causing many to lose their jobs and income.</p>

<p>Representatives from the sex worker rights group Empower Foundation went to Government House on Tuesday morning (29 June) to demand assistance from the government for sex workers and service sector workers affected by the closure of entertainment establishments during the Covid-19 pandemic.</p>

<p>Prachatai, with support from the Canadian Embassy&#39;s Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI), presents &quot;Decent Work,&quot; the story of sex workers in Thailand and the problems they face as a result of their job being criminalised under Thailand&#39;s Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Women and the LGBT community have joined pro-democracy protests campaigning to abolish patriarchy, gender stereotypes and social norms that marginalize gender equality. They are also collecting signatures for petitions to decriminalize abortion and sex work.</p>