Empower Foundation demands ministerial support for sex worker protection law

Representatives of the sex worker rights group Empower Foundation and other civil society groups marched from Ratchadamnoen Road to the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) on Thursday (24 September) to call for Ministry support of a sex worker protection bill proposed by civil society organisations.  In an announcement, the Foundation noted that civil groups have spent some 40 years campaigning for sex work decriminalisation and demanded that sex workers have a say in drafting a law that directly affects them.

The bill, backed by 10,293 voters, calls for the repeal of the 1996 anti-sex work law and outlines protection for sex workers. Empower formally proposed the draft in June 2026. On 10 July, in a meeting of the House Speaker and House Committee chairs, it was deemed to be a finance-related bill that must be approved by the Prime Minister before being considered in Parliament.  Civil society groups later raised concerns that Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul would shelve the bill.  It could be dismissed entirely if he does not sign off on it.

At the Ministry, sex workers took turns giving speeches about the work-related rights violations they experienced, including underpayment and exploitation by employers, harassment from customers and the police, and discrimination against trans women and migrant sex workers.

Empower said in a statement that the network is calling for the MSDHS to support sex worker protection in accordance with the recommendations made by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), which called on Thailand to decriminalise sex work and protect labour rights.

It noted that it has been waiting over 2 months for the Prime Minister to approve the bill. Acknowledging that MSDHS drafted its own version of a sex worker protection bill in 2023, it added that no progress has been made in adopting it.  Empower also disagreed with amendments in the Ministry draft, which included punishments for sex workers, as well as a provision that social security insurance for sex workers would be a financial burden for the government.  The Foundation stated that sex workers should be given the same rights as other labourers.  It also noted that a sex worker protection centre proposed in the bill could be set up using existing MSDHS agencies without the need to form a new system.

Empower called on the Minister of Social Development and Human Security to push for Prime Ministerial approval of the draft so that it can be publicly debated in Parliament. It also asked that sex workers be included in every step of the legislative process.

Anekchai Rueangrattanakorn, advisor to the Minister of Social Development and Human Security, received the petition. Asked if the MSDHS would push for the bill, he said that the Ministry had yet to receive any communication on the matter from the Prime Minister‘s Office.  The Ministry of Labour and the Ministry of Public Health have reportedly already contacted however and both have informed the Prime Minister‘s Office and Empower that they support the bill.

Group members stayed at the Ministry until evening to hear back from Ministry representatives. Anekchai returned at 17.30 to inform them that the Ministry has received the petition and would need 2 weeks to follow up on the matter. Empower representatives plan to  return to the Ministry in two weeks for answers.