"Thailand sex workers press government to back landmark rights bill", 12 August 2026

… About 20 members of the Empower Foundation, a sex worker rights group led by Chantawipa Apisuk, gathered near the Office of the Civil Service Commission (OCSC) opposite Government House on August 11 to petition Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul to endorse the landmark Sex Work Protection Bill.

During the demonstration, titled “We Have Always Existed in Every Era,” activists staged a symbolic event in the middle of the road, occupying two traffic lanes. Speakers read aloud a statement demanding the formal recognition and labor protection of sex workers, before presenting a symbolic giant pen intended for the Prime Minister to sign off on the proposed legislation…

The proposed bill would repeal Thailand’s 1996 prostitution law, decriminalize voluntary sex work and recognize sex workers as legal workers entitled to labor protections.

Key Provisions on the Sex Work Protection Bill

The draft law, driven primarily by civil society groups and the Empower Foundation, aims to revolutionize sex work policy in Thailand:

• Decriminalization: The bill seeks to repeal the outdated Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act B.E. 2539 (1996), which currently criminalizes voluntary sex work, shifting the status of sex workers from “offenders” to recognized legal workers.
• Labor Rights & Welfare: Sex workers aged 18 and older would gain standard employment protections, social security benefits, and safe working conditions equivalent to other recognized professions under Thai labor laws.
• Protection Mechanisms: The bill retains strict penalties against underage prostitution and human trafficking (prohibiting services for or by anyone under 18), while establishing dedicated protection centers under the MSDHS to oversee health, safety, and legal rights for workers.