Thailand’s sex worker legal limbo

The murder of a 17-year-old girl in the coastal city of Pattaya, allegedly by a 45-year-old Australian man has sparked a discussion about whether legalising sex work in Thailand could make it safer.

Tunchanok Donhomla’s body was found stuffed in a suitcase in late June near a railway track. The man accused of killing her, Simon Peter Carman, has been charged with murder and abducting a minor for indecent purposes, along with other charges. He has denied murder, claiming he acted in self-defence.

The case has shone a spotlight on the precarious legal situation that Thailand’s large number of sex workers find themselves in.

Despite being famous for having some of the world’s biggest red-light districts in cities like Bangkok and Pattaya, commercial prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand.

Now advocates are pushing to change that, arguing that legalisation could better protect sex workers in future.

Asia Specific host Mariko Oi speaks to Siromas Akrapongpanich, a child safety advocate from the Human Help Network based in Pattaya, and senior journalist Panisa Aemocha from the BBC Thai service.

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