Illegal labor
Commercial sex labor
Sex workers have long been disapproved of in Thailand. Now they are calling for their billion-dollar industry to be recognised
It is hard to imagine, but Pattaya’s near-deserted “Walking Street” used to teem with revellers, as pulsating music filled the air and neon lights flashed until the early hours. Before the pandemic, the coastal city south-east of Bangkok was a buzzing party scene, and was once described by the Lonely Planet travel ...
South-East Asia correspondent Mazoe Ford and Supattra Vimonsuknopparat
Sex workers fighting for human rights among world’s most ‘at risk activists’
Sex worker activists are among the most at risk defenders of human rights in the world, facing multiple threats and violent attacks, an extensive investigation has found. The research, published today by human rights organisation Front Line Defenders, found that their visibility as sex workers who are advocates ...
Sarah Johnson
Children in sex industry of ASEAN cry for implementation of legally binding agreements
A report by ILOs in 2017 estimated that 152 million children are involved in child labor worldwide, of which 73 million are in hazardous work, including situations where they are engaged in child prostitution. Addressing child prostitution is an important part of addressing child labor. Keep ...
Human traffickers continue targeting young Lao
Thousands of young people including local factory workers have been lured into the trap of human trafficking, experts in the field have highlighted. Lao Federation of Trade Unions (LFTU) has called for governments in the region, notably those in Mekong Sub-region to work harder in ...
Oz offender ban may be felt in Cambodia
The Australian government on May 30 announced plans to ban those listed on the country’s national sex offender registry from travelling abroad – a plan that would nullify the passports of 20,000 offenders, including those who may be living or travelling in Cambodia. Australian Foreign Minister ...
More arrest warrants sought in child prostitution ring in Mae Hong Son
Anti-human trafficking police will seek arrest warrants for at least two more persons in connection with the alleged prostitution of minors in Mae Hong Son. Kornchai Klayklueng, commander of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Division, declined to reveal the names of the suspects on April 25, ...
Exploitation up, trafficking down
More cases of sexual exploitation were reported in 2016, a report from the Interior Ministry revealed on February 22. However, the number of human trafficking cases saw a reduction last year compared with 2015. In 2016, the ministry reported 52 cases of sexual exploitation involving 87 victims ...
Human trafficking needs urgent action: Mekong nations
Human trafficking continues to flourish within the region, requiring a joint effort by the Mekong countries to actively stamp out the trade and penalise those responsible. Human trafficking is harmful to socio-economic development and social order in the region and could worsen when the ASEAN Economic ...
More Cambodian women trafficked to Saudi, officials say
The number of Cambodian women now thought to be caught in Saudi Arabia’s sex industry after being trafficked in the past year has risen to more than 20, officials said on August 24. However, the government remained tight-lipped about its efforts to rescue the women, while ...
Rethink on prostitution: Officials say Vietnam needs legal red-light districts
Social affairs officials at a national meeting on 21 August said the government should legalize prostitution and create red-light districts in major cities to monitor the sex industry more effectively. Officials at the meeting held by the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs in Ho Chi ...
