Current Legal Framework: Prostitution in Thailand
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (the “Constitution”)1 is the supreme law of Thailand and, while not directly addressing prostitution, the Constitution does contain several gender-related articles designed to provide women with equal rights and protections. Most broadly, Chapter III, Part 2, Section 30 of the Constitution states:
“All persons are equal before the law and shall enjoy equal protection under the law. Men and women shall enjoy equal rights.”2
Despite not directly addressing prostitution, the Constitution does contain certain provisions that could be used to combat the sexual exploitation of women and children. Section 52 of the Constitution provides a general mandate for the state to protect “children, youth, women and family members…against violence and unfair treatment” and requires that children and youth who have no custody should be raised and provided with welfare by the state.3 In addition, Section 49 of the Constitution stipulates that all children, including those who are “indigent, disabled or handicapped, or destitute,” are entitled to no less than 12 years of free and equal education.4 Lack of educational opportunities, particularly for women, is commonly identified as a major contributing factor to entry into prostitution. Despite compulsory education up to Grade 6 in Thailand, girls remain especially vulnerable to entry into prostitution because they “seem to have a smaller range of occupations to choose from than do boys” and “given the near absence of social welfare programmes” in Thailand, prostitution is “often the only viable option to cope with poverty, debts and other obligations.”5
Thailand has several laws and acts that criminalize prostitution and which seek to penalize specific violators in the trade. Below we discuss Thailand’s (i) Penal Code Amendment Act (No. 17) B.E. 2547 (2003) (the “Penal Code”), (ii) Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act, B.E. 2539 (1996) (the “Prostitution Act”), and (iii) Entertainment Places Act of B.E. 2509 (1966) (the “Entertainment Places Act”).
1. Penal Code Amendment Act
Thailand’s Penal Code6 does not explicitly state that prostitution is illegal in Thailand but prohibits any person from earning an income as a prostitute. Title IX, Section 286 of the Penal Code states:
“Any person, being over sixteen years of age, [sic] subsists on the earning of a prostitute, even if it is some part of her incomes [sic], shall be punished with imprisonment of seven to twenty years and fined of fourteen thousand to forty thousand Baht, or imprisonment for life.”7
Title IX, Section 286 of the Penal Code also appears to penalize any person who (i) is found residing or habitually associating with a prostitute, (ii) receives boarding, money or other benefits arranged for by a prostitute or (iii) assists any prostitute in a quarrel with a customer. However, it does not specify what the penalties are for such offenses.
The Penal Code also has a broad prohibition on any indecent act on a child below 15 years of age that would ostensibly cover child prostitution. Title IX, Section 279 of the Penal Code states:
“Whoever, commits an indecent act on a child not yet over fifteen years of age, whether such child shall consent or not, shall be punished with imprisonment not exceeding ten years or fined not exceeding twenty thousand Baht, or both.”8
The Penal Code does not define what constitutes an “indecent act.”
The penalty under Title IX, Section 279 of the Penal Code is increased to imprisonment for up to fifteen years or fines of up to thirty thousand Baht, or both, if the offender commits the offense “by threatening by any means whatever, by doing an act of violence, by taking advantage of such child being in the condition of inability to resist, or by causing such child to mistake him for another person.”9
Title IX, Section 277 of the Penal Code stipulates that sexual intercourse with a girl below 15 years of age is regarded as statutory rape, regardless of her consent, and will be punished with imprisonment between four and twenty years and fines of up to forty thousand Baht. If statutory rape is committed against a girl below 13 years of age, the punishment is increased to seven to twenty years of imprisonment and fines of fourteen thousand to forty thousand Baht, or imprisonment for life. Title IX, Section 277 of the Penal Code also stipulates that if the offender commits statutory rape against a girl who is over 13 years but not yet 15 years of age and the court allows the offender and the girl to marry, the offender will not be punished for statutory rape.
2. Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act
The Prostitution Act,10 which repealed the 1960 Prostitution Act, is the central legal framework prohibiting prostitution. The Prostitution Act was drafted vaguely and with certain qualifying language, which suggests enforcement of the law could be challenging.
Under the Prostitution Act, prostitution is defined as:
“Sexual intercourse, or any other act, or the commission of any other act in order to gratify the sexual desire of another person in a promiscuous manner in return for money or any other benefit, irrespective of whether the person who accepts the act and the person who commits the act are of the same sex or not.”11
The phrase “in a promiscuous manner” is not defined and places a qualifier on the crime of prostitution, which may contribute to difficulties in enforcing the prohibition against prostitution.
Solicitation by a prostitute is prohibited under Section 5 of the Prostitution Act:
“Any person who, for the purpose of prostitution, solicits, induces, introduces herself or himself to, follows or importunes a person in a street, public place or in any other place in an open and shameless manner or causes nuisance to the public, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding one thousand Baht.”12
Again, the phrase “in an open and shameless manner” is not defined and this qualifier on the crime of solicitation by a prostitute suggests that enforcement of this law may be difficult in situations where solicitation is discreet or subtle as might often be the case in private establishments.
The Prostitution Act does, however, impose heavy penalties on whoever procures, lures, compels, or threatens children under 18 years of age for the purpose of prostitution. Section 8 of the Prostitution Act provides that a customer who has sexual intercourse with a prostitute under the age of 15 shall be subject to two to six years in prison and a fine of up to one hundred twenty thousand Baht. If the prostitute is between the ages of 15 and 18, the prison term is one to three years, and the fine is up to sixty thousand Baht.
Section 9 of the Prostitution Act imposes penalties for human trafficking for purposes of prostitution:
“Any person who procures, seduces or takes away any person for the prostitution of such person, even with her or his consent and irrespective of whether the various acts which constitute an offence are committed within or outside the Kingdom, shall be liable to imprisonment for a term of one to ten years and to a fine of twenty thousand to two hundred thousand Baht.”13
The imprisonment terms and fines under Section 9 of the Prostitution Act increase if the victim is a minor. Additionally, if the offense under Section 9 of the Prostitution Act is committed “by means of fraud, deceit, threat, violence, [or] the exercise of undue influence or coercion,” the penalty will be “one-third heavier.”14
Parents who allow a child to enter into prostitution also are punishable and can have their parental rights revoked. Those who procure children for prostitution face strict penalties, and the punishment is more severe if the minors involved are under 15.
3. Entertainment Places Act
The Entertainment Places Act makes those who control the operations of certain kinds of entertainment establishments criminally liable if prostitution occurs on their premises. The Entertainment Places Act also requires that any prostitute, upon completion of punishment for practicing prostitution, undergo rehabilitation for one year at a reform house. However, this rehabilitation program has been criticized by Thai government officials for having “weak enforcement” and because “the occupational training consists merely of lessons on how to be a domestic servant.”15
- 1. Despite best efforts to obtain an official copy of the Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand, B.E. 2550 (2007), we were unable to obtain a current copy as of September 16, 2011. A link to an online but unverified version, accessed on September 16, 2011, is therefore provided, available at www.ThaiLaws.com. We can confirm that the Constitution has not been amended since 2007.
- 2. Id.
- 3. Id.
- 4. Id.
- 5. Hervé Berger & Hans van de Glind, Children in prostitution, pornography and illicit activities – Thailand: Magnitude of problems and remedies, (unpublished ILO-IPEC paper, August 1999, available at www.ilo.org)
- 6. Despite best efforts to obtain an official copy of the Penal Code Amendment Act (No. 17), B.E. 2547 (2003), we were unable to obtain a current copy as of September 16, 2011. A link to an online but unverified version, accessed on September 16, 2011, is therefore provided, available at www.ThaiLaws.com.
- 7. Id.
- 8. Id.
- 9. Id.
- 10. Despite best efforts to obtain an official copy of The Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act, B.E. 2539 (1996), we were unable to obtain a current copy as of September 16, 2011. A link to an online but unverified version, accessed on September 16, 2011, is therefore provided, available at www.ilo.org.
- 11. Id.
- 12. Id.
- 13. Id.
- 14. Id.
- 15. Patricia D. Levan, Curtailing Thailand’s Child Prostitution Through an International Conscience, American University International Law Review 9, no. 3 (1994): 869-912, available at www.auilr.org.
