Bangkok--23 May--คณะกรรมการสิทธิมนุษยชนแห่งชาติ
Empower Foundation is pleased to invite the media and the public to join our
Upcoming event "Has 10 years of entrapment and raids solved trafficking?" during the Anti-trafficking Week Friday 1st June 2018 at Bangkok Art and Culture Center (BACC) – Hall 1st Floor 10:00 am to 16.00 pm
The 10th Anniversary of the Thai Human Trafficking Act 2008 and National Anti-trafifkcing Day are in the first week of June. Over the last 10 years many agencies have been running campaigns and projects but the issue of human trafficking has not been solved using the Human Trafficking Law. The anti-trafficking act was created to protect the rights of women, but in reality it has mostly been used to arrest women and women are the ones impacted by the law. In particular the practice of entrapment of sex workers is harmful and has serious impacts on women and their families.
Entrapment of sex workers is against human rights standards and also the Thai Criminal Procedure Code Section 226. Entrapment of sex workers is a process where those doing the entrapment are also breaking the law. The raids that follow abuse the right to human dignity, are acts of violence against sex workers and impact on all sex workers.
There are around 300,000 sex workers in Thailand. In the last 10 years about 300 victims of trafficking in prostitution are caught every year. Many more women who have nothing to do with human trafficking are arrested at the same time. For example in the Nataree Massage incident they caught 121 women but only got 15 victims. Most recently in the Victoria Secret raid 113 women were caught to get just 8 victims. Those who aren't victims are charged under the criminal law for 'associating in a place of prostitution'. Each year over 30,000 women are arrested under the Prostitution Act in Thailand. The letter or spirit of the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act 1996 is to assist disadvantaged women but we see that arresting women is not providing any opportunities.
The Nataree Massage incident in 2016 allowed us to see clearly how entrapment and raids are violating sex worker's rights. Empower submitted a report to the National Human Rights Commission on the practice.
In July 2016 Thailand was reviewed by the Committee of Experts on CEDAW to review its treatment of women in Thailand in accordance with its legal obligations under CEDAW. Empower Foundation submitted a Shadow Report largely based on our experiences including the Nataree incident. The Committee of Experts on CEDAW recommended that the Thai government must immediately end the practice of entrapment of sex workers and violent raids; end the criminalization of sex workers and enforce the labor law for the protection of sex workers. It is not clear what progress has been made towards this aim.
Therefore it is timely that Empower is hosting a seminar "Has 10 years of entrapment and raids solved trafficking?" at Bangkok Art and Culture Center (BACC) – Hall 1st floor Friday 1st June 2018, 10:00 am to 16.00 pm. The event will provide an opportunity for all those involved e.g. including sex worker representatives, police, the National Huma Rights Commission and other organizations working on the human rights of sex workers to explore solutions and methods to solve issues of trafficking without abusing the rights and dignity of women who do sex work, whether they are trafficked or not.
Empower Foundation invites the media and the public to join the seminar and listen to the real experiences of sex workers. The event has an interesting and varied program.
- View the Empower film "Last Rescue in Siam" that shows the issues sex workers live and work on top of.
- See the Mida Tapestry a 5 meter cloth with panels embroidered by migrant sex workers to tell their story of "raid and rescue"
- Visit the exhibition "Helping: Not Helping" by the sex workers of Empower about what we think and know of anti-trafficking practice
- Attend the Seminar "Has 10 years of entrapment and raids solved trafficking?" featuring Ms. Thanta Laovilwanyakul, Coordinator of Empower Foundation Ms Mai Janta of Empower Foundation representing sex workers, Pol Lt Col Krittat Uamson DSI's Human Trafficking Division deputy director , Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit from the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand The Seminar will be moderated by Pranom Somwong, Protection International.
- The Seminar will be held at 10am – 12:00 and the exhibition will be open 10 am unti 16:00pm