The women of the night

Gae (23) sells sum tam. But her high heels, bright red lips, tight T-shirt and cut jeans are not exactly the dress code of a street vendor. And the papaya, cucumbers and tomatoes that are ready are made of plastic.

Gae can't even I'm there to make. She doesn't sell them either. She sells lao khao, a popular and inexpensive distilled spirit in Thailand. Put down 300 baht and she will join you at a karaoke bar. 'So we'll see what happens.'

If you hadn't guessed, Gae from Mukdahan is one of the many women who take their trade down at Hua Lamphong station every night and sell their bodies. They serve tuk-tuk drivers and construction workers, who cannot afford an expensive massage parlor. But they only go with customers they know, because the police sometimes want to pose as a customer.

De jackfruit ghosts each have their own zone

Not far from the Grand Palace, in Khlong Lot on the Atsadang road, ironing at night phi khanon down, that is jackfruit ghosts. They are so called because they sit remarkably inconspicuously under jackfruit trees, waiting for customers. Only when a car comes to a stop do they emerge, negotiate the price and go along or retreat into the shade of the trees.

De jackfruit ghosts each have their own zone: young women, transsexuals, men and older women. Around Sanam Luang on one side of the road are most young and beautiful women and on the other their pimp boyfriends. Most of the girls are friends of the well-known group street racers Van boys. The area in front of the Saran Rom Park is the working area of ​​male sex workers and in Khlong Lot there are mainly older and less beautiful women.

Nong (20) makes 1.500 to 2.000 baht per night

Dad, a woman from South, neatly dressed, 58 years old, is in Khlong Lot every evening and night from 10 to 4 am. Usually she earns 400 to 500 baht per night. Her clientele consists of tuk-tuk drivers, taxi drivers and construction workers. Most don't have much money or are older. Dad has been doing this job since she was thirty, ever since her husband left. Her son works in the market at night and is unaware of his mother's night work.

The ladies around Sanam are called Luang tamarind ghosts, to the trees under which they sit. Nong (20) has only been working there for a short time. Her fee is 500 baht, but only for going out. If you want more, you have to open your wallet. Her friends had told her that she could earn a lot and she was right, because she makes 1.500 to 2.000 baht a night.

Since last year, the number of arrests of sex workers has increased sharply

Once every three months, police raid Khlong Lot, Sanam Luang, Lumpini Park and Wong Wian in Chinatown. On average, a hundred sex workers are arrested at a time. They pay a fine – the girls at the Grand Palace 200 to 300 baht, the Lumpini girls 500 to 1.000 baht – and are then immediately released. But many girls escape the dance, because they are warned by 'protectors'. In Khlong Lon they come by on motorcycles to collect their protection money.

Superintendent Napanwut Liamsanguan says the raids are not intended to intimidate the sex workers, but to keep an eye on the trade and the number of workers. Since last year, the number of arrests has increased sharply: from 261 in the period October 2011-September 2012 to 936 since October 2012.

Customers are also punishable in Thailand, but proof is almost impossible. The law demands that they be caught in the act or there must be evidence that the person has already ejaculated. The punishment is harsh: 3 years in prison and/or a fine of up to 60.000 baht. The article does not mention whether anyone has ever been arrested and convicted.

Every year 500 prostitutes visit the shelter of the Swing foundation

The Service Workers in Group (Swing) foundation cares about the sex workers. The employees visit them, hand out condoms, try to gain their trust and point them to the Swing shelter, where they can take a nap, take a shower, get some food and even get medical care, because three days a week comes a qualified nurse. Five hundred girls visit the center every year and the employees speak to at least three thousand on the street.

Swing calls the sex workers 'service workers'; the employees do not discriminate or tell them to stop working. At most, they encourage them to make their own decisions. And those who want to stop will be helped.

Source: Spectrum, Bangkok Post

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