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Should sex workers be 'registered'? They say "No" because...
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Snea Thinsan
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Sep 28, 2003 22:14 PDT
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Registration "would violate human rights"
Labelled for rest of their lives _ senators
The registration of sex workers would be a violation of their rights and
smear them with the label prostitute for the rest of their lives,
senators said yesterday.
Instead, their places of employment should be registered and the workers
given full protection and entitlements under the labour laws.
The independent senators for political reform group, led by Chirmsak
Pinthong, made its recommendations in a seven-point proposal to the
government.
Last week, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra assigned the Justice
Ministry to study the feasibility of legalising the flesh trade,
including registering prostitutes. Public hearings are planned for next
month.
Women's groups have criticised the registration proposal, saying it
would be damaging to the country's culture and traditions.
The Chirmsak group's seven-point statement said:
- The government must respect the dignity of human beings and their
constitutional right to a profession.
- The government should not register prostitutes, as this amounted to a
human rights violation. Sex workers would be branded with the label for
life.
- The government should instead register entertainment places, to
prevent them luring women or underage girls into the flesh trade.
- Sex workers in registered entertainment places should be protected by
the labour laws and enjoy the same welfare benefits as other workers in
the private sector,including the rights to medical treatment, annual
leave and maternal leave.
- Sex workers at entertainment places should pay taxes like other
professionals. The state, in turn, should protect them from exploitation
by employers, police or influential figures.
- Legal action should be taken against customers who use sex services at
non-registered places.
- The government should urgently tackle the root cause of the
prostitution such as poverty and the widening gap between the rich and
poor.
Source: Bangkok Post
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