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THAILAND: Male Sex Workers Face HIV Risks, but Get Less Attention
By Chayanit Poonyarat
BANGKOK, Nov 22 (IPS) - Bon, 18, says that being in sex work earns him more
than enough money for his needs, but he still hopes to do something else in
the future.
''You don't need special qualifications to join this business and the
pay is impressive,'' he explains in an interview.
But he says he has set some goals for himself after three years in the
sex industry here in Thai capital, where he has three to four customers a
night. ''I can now almost afford a new house for my parents,'' says Bon,
who is from Chachoengsao province 82 kilometres north-east of Bangkok.
He ran away from home and worked as a waiter earning 1,500 baht (35 U.S.
dollars) a month, but found this barely enough to cover his rent and his
other expenses.
''Then my friends told me about this job. I was a bit worried in the
first place, but I know I had nothing to lose,'' Bon explains.
But in truth, Bon knows he has something to lose. ''I am always afraid
of many things while working, but I don't want to mention them. To tell you
the truth, I have never been happy. I do it simply because I don't have
much choice,'' he says.
He also knows that health and other risks from his sex work exist,
ranging from sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) to HIV/AIDS.
He says he has heard of HIV/AIDS and STDs. ''I am afraid of getting the
disease that's why I use a condom every time I have sex,'' Bon says, adding
that he also has a medical check-up every three months.
''For me, if a customer refuses to use a condom they never get my
service. I know I can't buy my life (back) with their payment,'' he adds.
Still, he says more than half of his customers, most of them 'katoey'
(tranvestites, transsexuals and homosexual men), prefer not to use condoms
if they could have their way. ''They often say it's not comfortable and I
know many of sex worker friends don't always use this.''
This kind of behaviour is what worries activists like Natee
Teerarojjanapongs, director of the Fraternity for AIDS Cessation in
Thailand (FACT), despite figures that show lower HIV prevalence rates among
male sex workers and what he says are HIV/AIDS campaigns that have been
successful in promoting safer sexual behaviour.
Figures from the AIDS division of the department of disease control in
the Ministry of Public Health show that 9.6 percent of male sex workers
have HIV, compared with 16.2 percent of female sex workers.
Activists say that while campaigns for condom use and programmes on
HIV/AIDS for male sex workers by groups like FACT have an impact, there
remain worrying signs of ignorance and complacency about the pandemic.
Natee also says that the vulnerability of male sex workers tend to get
lesser attention from society and even some activists, and that this is
reflected in the much fewer number of groups that work with them compared
to those working with female sex workers.
''Society continues to turn a blind eye to problems involving make sex
workers,'' says Natee, who has worked with male sex workers since 1986.
''People are less sympathetic toward male sex workers because men are seen
to have 'nothing to lose' when it comes to sex work.''
Chantawipa Apisuk, director of Empower Foundation, which works with sex
workers here, agrees. ''Thai society tends to see men as having more
choices compared to women,'' she says. ''Therefore they see male sex
workers as doing their jobs voluntarily, while female sex workers are more
likely to be trafficked or forced.''
But she disputes this popular perception. She says that Empower has
found that sex workers, whether male or female, are not always forced by
traffickers or criminals and may go into the sex industry out of their own
choice.
Activists, however, also point to the sensitive issue of how free this
choice really is, giving economic pressure and other factors that limit
their livelihood choices.
According to recent studies by Nithet Tinnakul from Bangkok's
Chulalongkorn University, the number of male sex workers has more than
tripled over the past two years to more than 30,000 in 2002.
Nithet identified two factors to explain the spike - the 1997 economic
crisis and a growing attitude among women customers that they should get
even with their philandering husbands by imitating their sexual behaviour.
He found that male sex workers, some as young as 12, are mostly confined
to Bangkok
and large cities like Chiang Mai in the north and Phuket in the south. Male
sex workers catering to foreign and Thai women tend to be older, from 18 to
35 years, while younger prostitutes mostly have gay men visiting from
abroad as customers, he said.
Nithet's study found that male sex workers come from all walks of life
- university graduates, office workers, students and street children. Bon
adds that sex workers he knows range from 17 to 27 years of age.
Customers range from locals and foreigners, homosexual men, transsexuals
and bisexuals, and women. ''Some of my women customers include high school
and university students. I can tell as they sometimes drive in with their
uniforms,'' he says, adding that women customers appear to be increasing.
Looking ahead, Bon said he thinks he will continue being in sex work for
about a year, then will go back home to build that house for his parents.
''I might come back to Bangkok, but for another job. However, I may come
back to this job again, but only if I have to.''
(END/2002)
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