Thailand

Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Thai women are trafficked to Australia, Bahrain, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan, Europe, and North America for commercial sexual exploitation. A significant number of women and children from Burma, Laos, Cambodia, and the People’s Republic of China are economic migrants who wind up in forced or bonded labor and commercial sexual exploitation in Thailand. Regional economic disparities drive significant illegal migration into Thailand, presenting traffickers opportunities to move victims into labor or sexual exploitation. Internal trafficking also occurs in Thailand, involving victims from Northern Thailand, especially ethnic hill tribe women and girls. Widespread sex tourism in Thailand encourages trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation.

Some portion (thought by the UN, NGOs, and the government to be a minority) of the estimated 200 thousand to 300 thousand sex industry workers in the country were either underage or in involuntary servitude or debt bondage. Women and children (particularly girls) tended to be the most frequent trafficking victims. victims to obtain back wages from abusive employers.

Within the country, women were trafficked from the impoverished Northeast and the North to Bangkok for sexual exploitation. However, internal trafficking of women appeared to be on the decline, due to prevention programs and better economic opportunities. Women also were trafficked to Japan, Malaysia, Bahrain, Australia, South Africa, Europe, and the United States chiefly for sexual exploitation but also for sweatshop labor.

Women and men were trafficked from Burma, Cambodia, the People's Republic of China (PRC), and Laos for labor and sexual exploitation. Boys and girls were trafficked chiefly from Burma and Cambodia primarily for sexual exploitation and to work in begging gangs.

According to domestic NGOs, girls between the ages of 6 and 18(some reported case of younger girls) continued to be trafficked from Burma, southern PRC, and Laos to work in the commercial sex industry. Social workers noted that young girls were prized because clients believed that they were free of sexually transmitted diseases. Persons trafficked from the PRC often were in transit to other countries, although women and girls from Yunnan Province generally were destined for brothels in the North. Victims of trafficking were often lured into the country or for transit to other countries, with promises of restaurant or household work and then were pressured or physically forced into prostitution.

UNESCO and NGOs believed that the lack of citizenship status for some hill tribe women and children was a strong risk factor for becoming victims of trafficking. Although members of this group were not a large percentage of trafficking victims, they were found in disproportionately large numbers in situations entailing severe forms of trafficking. At least 10 hill tribe women lacking citizenship were found among a group of more than 90 women and girls trafficked to Malaysia for prostitution, including several who were coerced.

The trafficking of Thai prostitutes abroad, and that of Chinese nationals using the country as a transit point, was done by sophisticated and well-financed international criminal syndicates that sometimes cooperated with each other. The majority of prostitutes were not kept under physical constraint, but a large number worked in debt bondage. Brothel procurers reportedly advanced parents a substantial sum against their child's future earnings. The child was then obligated to work in a brothel to repay the loan. Female citizens were trafficked to Japan for sexual exploitation.

Traffickers promised victims lucrative legitimate employment or made false promises regarding wages, working conditions, or the nature of the work. According to Human Rights Watch, upon the victims' arrival in Japan, the traffickers confiscated their passports, demanded repayment for their "purchase," charged the victims for living expenses and care, and fined them for misbehavior. Traffickers often restricted the women's movements, threatened them and their families, isolated them, and used violence to punish them for disobedience.

Because foreign women frequently were unable to speak the language and were considered illegal immigrants, they were particularly vulnerable to physical abuse and exploitation. Some women were lured into the country with promises of jobs as waitresses or domestic helpers but ended up working as prostitutes.

Trafficking within the country and from neighboring countries into the country tended to be carried out by loosely organized small groups that often had close ties in the source communities. Burmese, Laotian, Cambodian, and Thai individuals were involved in labor trafficking along the border. Informal chains of acquaintance often were used to recruit victims. In some cases, the traffickers themselves were former victims, particularly where the sex industry was the destination.

Government Efforts

Thailand showed clear progress in applying greater law enforcement efforts to fighting trafficking and systematically screening hundreds of thousands of undocumented illegal migrants to identify and provide care for trafficking victims in their midst. The government also made modest progress in addressing widespread trafficking-related corruption within the ranks of the police, immigration services, and judiciary. In November 2004, the Thai Government began a new, intensified effort to improve the vetting procedure used by the police and immigration authorities to identify trafficking victims. While reports suggest increased efforts by police and immigration officials to provide protection to trafficking victims, international organizations and NGOs continue to play an important role in screening of trafficking victims, especially underage victims found in street work. In 2005, the Thai Government increased its law enforcement efforts against trafficking.

In 2004, the Thai Government continued to provide commendable protection to trafficking victims. The government continued to operate 97 shelters throughout the country for abused women and children, six regional shelters for foreign trafficking victims, and a central shelter outside of Bangkok with capacity for over 500 foreign trafficking victims. The government reportedly identified and provided protection to 108 women and children since the November 2004 institution of the new screening mechanism. Thailand’s overseas missions continued to provide support to Thai victims who wish to return home, but limited funding is available to assist their repatriation. The government also provided police and consular officials with training on trafficking issues and dealing with victims.

The Thai Government continued its efforts to raise awareness of trafficking. In 2004, the Thai police began an information campaign, which included the distribution of pamphlets and creation of a hotline for reporting suspected cases. The government also continued to support the work of NGOs and international organizations to carry out public awareness campaigns and provide victim support services.

The government improved the screening of trafficking victims from Cambodia and Burma through cooperation between the Royal Thai Police and the International Organization for Migration. Law enforcement officials identified victims of trafficking and referred them to one of only six regional government shelters.

The government continued cooperative arrangements with local industries, especially the hotel industry, to encourage youths (particularly girls) to find employment outside of the sex industry and other exploitative work. Vocational training programs aimed at high school students also received funding. Although the vocational training was not intended explicitly for trafficking prevention, the practical effect was to increase the range of choices for recent school graduates.