Foreign tourists typically know Northern Thailand as a region for fabulous trekking holidays among the peoples of the hills. But to many Thais, the area is often better known for supplying prostitutes to massage parlours, go - go bars and escort services around the country. Little formal education, poor awareness of sexually transmitted diseases, the lure of a well - paid job and cultural attitudes that do not stigmatize young women who work in prostitution, have led to the trend, according to the results of interviews in 10 villages in the northern provinces of Chiang Rai and Phayao.
Women can earn many times more as commercial sex workers than as factory labourers, according to Thailand s Population and Community Development Association PDA. Clearly they have set themselves a tremendous task. Estimates of the number of employees in the commercial sex industry in Thailand vary widely. The PDA - Thai Red Cross group puts the figure at between , and , in more than 10, establishments around the country.
The northern provinces, particularly Chiang Mai, Chiang Rai and Phayao, appear to provide the majority of women to the profession.
One of the first goals of the project was to find out why. A desire to make money to support an impoverished family was seen as one of the reasons young women turn to commercial sex work. But motivation based on economic need was surpassed by the relatively positive image the trade has in the north. It is often seen as a way to achieve material wealth and a comfortable lifestyle because it is widely known that Thai women can make more in the sex trade than in virtually any other career. Added to the material reward is a long history of northern women with their lighter skin being more favoured by Thai men and therefore finding it easier to break into commercial sex work.
It was difficult for researchers to find northern women working at physically demanding jobs such as in factories or on construction sites. The sex trade can provide an immediate payback in the form of cars, material goods and the means to build homes for their families. By comparison, other careers often cost money to pay for training courses and uniforms, for instance.
