Scared but desperate, Thai sex workers forced to the streetRed-light districts from Bangkok to Pattaya have gone quiet with night clubs and massage parlours closed and tourists blocked from entering the countryA shutdown to contain the coronavirus has killed Thailand's party scene and forced sex workers like Pim out of bars and onto desolate streets. That has left an estimated 300,000 sex workers out of a job, pressing some onto the streets where the risks are sharpened by the pandemic. They include sex workers -- an illegal but widely accepted part of Thailand's nightlife. The Empower Foundation, an advocacy group for the kingdom's sex workers, says entertainment venues make around $6.4 billion a year, many of them selling sex in some form. Many are mothers and their family's main income earner, forced into sex work by lack of opportunities or low graduate salaries.

Source: Standard Digital April 05, 2020 05:14 UTC