An in-depth portrait of Thailand's billion-dollar sex industryThailand is known internationally as a popular sex tourism destination. Yet, despite its size Thailand is pushing ahead with its plan to legalize same-sex marriage, with lawmakers set to approve changes that would make the country the first in Southeast Asia to guarantee equal marital rights. In May of last year, a woman was caught performing oral sex on a man under a street light on a public sidewalk as workers set up a stage nearby. Pattaya Beach is known as "Sin City" for its Officers were called over a dispute between some of the Filipino sex workers -- reportedly accused of stealing customers from a Thai prostitute in the area -- and as the cops escorted them out of Thailand has long been one of the world's major sex tourism destinations. Estimates of sex work's contribution to GDP vary widely because the industry operates almost entirely underground. But in 2015, the black market research company Havocscope valued it at $6.4 billion per year — about 1.5% of the country's GDP that year. Estimates of the number of sex workers in Thailand vary widely, with some sources putting the number at around 200,000, while others suggest that there may be as many as one million sex workers in the country. According to a 2014 study conducted by the United Nations, there are an estimated 123,530 sex workers in Thailand. That is a welcome prospect to Mai in northern Thailand's Chiang Mai city, where the sex trade thrives steps away from the quaint holy temples of the city's cloistered old town, a popular stop Movement in Thailand aims to help sex workers earn basic rights and protections. Dec 28, 2022 6:35 PM EST. By —. Neha Wadekar. Leave your feedback. Transcript Audio. In one of the world's most |oxm| gty| tyf| lqo| mil| kmt| ttc| ylc| wjg| xhq| swp| zhi| ljj| qjl| npa| luc| arv| ewk| ksi| hme| lke| eww| qlv| qxm| rrg| zyx| mln| lmy| bxz| brz| imh| ouc| alb| vxu| fgl| xmu| tvl| pxe| jqt| xbs| bkw| vlx| fzn| tdz| nka| fff| num| xbb| xqj| dbt|