Last week, the Service Worker in Group (SWING) Foundation submitted a proposal backed by 14,484 voters for the repeal of the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act to pave the way for the protection of sex workers in Thailand.

The National Assembly Radio and Television Broadcasting Station reported on 18 July that Surang Chanyaem, SWING Foundation’s director, submitted the proposal and the list of voters to Padipat Suntiphada, First Deputy House Speaker.

Surang said that the 1996 law has been in effect for 28 years and has never been amended to fit the changing times, while criminalisation of sex work pushed sex workers underground and led to discrimination. It also deprived them of protection under labour law. The Act therefore violate the rights of those who become sex workers out of their own will, Surang said, since they have the right to their own bodies and the freedom to work. It is necessary to repeal the Act to restore dignity and rights for sex workers and pave the way for sex workers to be accepted and protected by Thai labour laws.

Padipat noted that the House has a sub-committee studying the legalisation of sex work, and that its concerns were not about morality but about public health, the economy, labour, human trafficking prevention, child protection, and coercion. He said that it is time to hold open and mature discussions on issues relating to sex work without allowing morality to cover other aspects that could lead to exploitation or the destruction of people in a profession that deserves the same protection as any other.

Mulan (pseudonym), one of the representatives who came to submit the proposal, said that she believes sex work is a profession that feed sex workers and their families, and that sex workers should be able to work without being criminalised and be allowed access to welfare without facing discrimination.

She asks that members of parliament act as representatives of the people, pointing out that over 14,000 voters backed the proposal and that MPs now need to take action to make it come true.