Health Officials Say 100,000 Thai Men Bed 26,000 HIV-Infected Prostitutes Every Night

Copyright November 1993 by Richard S. Ehrlich

BANGKOK, Thailand -- Every night, in sleazy brothels, expensive massage parlors and cheap "tea houses," 100,000 Thai men are bedding more than 26,000 HIV-infected prostitutes, helping Thailand to suffer one of the worldís fastest rates of new AIDS cases, officials said.

Thailandís alarming statistics of more than 400,000 people infected with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), which causes Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), has also created an increased demand for child prostitutes by customers who believe kids are less likely to be diseased.

Thai men, already stricken with the virus, also unknowingly infect other prostitutes and go home and spread the illness to their wives, girlfriends and the next generation of babies.

Today, the worldís fastest spread of AIDS is in the three Asian nations of India, Thailand and Burma, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

WHO said most of the spread is via heterosexual contact.

North America and Europe, by comparison, have achieved some success at slowing their rates of new infections, though the number of victims is still climbing.

WHOís Technical Officer Steven J. Kraus said Asian countries are "mimicking" the rapid rise in AIDS cases which occurred in Africa 10 years ago.

Much of Thailand's increase is because of a widespread tradition by Thai men to enjoy prostitutes as part of an eveningís casual entertainment.

Kraus said in an interview, Thailandís estimated 200,000 prostitutes include 80,000 who work in "low-charge sex establishments" such as brothels and tea houses, where they suffer a deadly 24 per cent rate of HIV, resulting in 19,200 infected "sex workers."

Male farmers, factory employees, soldiers, students, drivers and others flock to brothels and tea houses throughout Thailand, where females as young as 10 are offered for only a few dollars -- often after being kidnapped, tortured and enslaved to keep them as prostitutes.

An additional 120,000 prostitutes work in "high-charge" massage parlors and nightclubs, where six per cent of them are infected, equivalent to 7,200 more HIV cases, Kraus added.

These plush establishments are favored by wealthier businessmen, government officials, diplomats, journalists, foreign tourists and others with money to splurge.

As a result, a total of at least 26,400 prostitutes currently have HIV, and continue to work in a nationwide "sex industry" where females average at least four customers each evening.

"About 100,000 clients will sleep with an infected prostitute every night," agreed Thai Red Cross Director Dr. Praphan Phanuphak.

Thailandís AIDS Counseling Centers and Education Support Services (ACCESS) Director, Jon Ungphakorn said, "The first people to spread AIDS are the policy makers who allow a situation where young girls from the north, northeast and other parts of the country -- who have no other choice to support their families -- become sex workers."

Jon added, "They are the policy makers who make prostitution and the sex industry illegal, while allowing it to grow, and the police to make a lot of money. All these are the factors that spread HIV."

Jon said the Thailand's new policy against child prostitution is merely driving it underground "because under-18 is the time when the sex workers make the most money."

As a result, even when child prostitutes get AIDS they continue to avoid authorities for fear of being arrested.

Jon described a girl who hoped to be a sex worker in an expensive hotel, but her pimp discovered she had HIV and "she was diverted to a tea house."

The latest HIV statistics, issued in Bangkok by WHO, make grim reading:

-- India has 600,000 to three million people infected by HIV.

-- Thailand has 400,000 to 600,000 HIV cases.

-- Burma has 100,000 to 250,000 HIV victims.

"The major increases in HIV infection are taking place in this part of the world," Kraus said, pointing to a map of India, Thailand and Burma.

Thai Red Cross Doctor Werasit Sittitrai said this means, "One per cent of the Thai population is now infected with the AIDS virus."

The Minister for Women and Children attached to the Prime Ministerís Office, Dr. Saisuree Chutikul, said, "Thai men are frequenting prostitutes as if this was just part of life, and something as ordinary as having cup of coffee.

"Therefore, it is not surprising that the demand for prostitution remains high."

She added, "In some particular areas of the country, it is quite acceptable for villagers to ësellí their daughters to prostitution establishments, since this is an easy way to earn money.

"The situation becomes acceptable in the sense that since many people do it, it must be all right. Do what the Joneses do."

Saisuree said it "is not unusual" to find "children aged under 15 years, or even under 10, who are engaged by the prostitution racket operators. Many of them are lured, sold, abducted or forced into the flesh trade," she added.

"The procurement of young prostitutes is known to be well organized, whether it be procurers, pimps, brothel operators, or some corrupted officials."

Saisuree added, "Service girls are arranged for some senior government officials who travel to the provinces."

Several womenís rights groups, and others involved in helping prostitutes and AIDS victims, have suggested Thailand legalize prostitution so sex workers would have legal protection against being forced to sleep with clients who refuse to wear condoms.

Every day, females from Thailandís countryside, and from neighboring rural areas of Burma, Cambodia, Laos and China, are lured to work in brothels.

Dealers offer their cash-hungry parents money.

Or trick the girls into thinking they will have a decent job.

Or simply kidnap and torture them.

Some Thai parents are so impoverished that they knowingly sell their daughters into prostitution to make ends meet, while other parents do so simply to upgrade to a fancy house, or buy a vehicle or electronic goods.

In desperation, Thailandís highly acclaimed prostitution rights organization EMPOWER teaches poorly educated sex workers simple phrases in English and Thai such as: "Please donít hurt me," or "Please wear your condom."

Only about 10 per cent of Thais use condoms for family planning, because most prefer birth control pills or sterilization, officials said.

Convincing Thai men to use condoms with prostitutes, to help protect against AIDS, is still a major chore.

The Bangkok Post reported, "For women, having their husbands visiting prostitutes is the lesser evil they have to live with, because it is better than them keeping a ëmia noií or minor wife."

Thailand has a popular tradition of men often squiring one or more "minor wives" who enjoy free separate housing and other benefits, while acting as an extramarital concubine.

Many Thai males also pay for "short-time" or "long-time" sex throughout much of their lives, even if they are married or have a steady girlfriend.

Thailandís massive AIDS problem is meanwhile causing officials and investors to predict that health-conscious tourists will shy away from visiting this nation, and cause its multi-billion dollar tourism industry to wither.

The governmentís Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) -- criticized in the past for not protesting against ads offering "surf, sun and sex" holidays -- now warns: "If you plan to travel to Thailand and engage in activities with risks to receiving the AIDS virus, I appeal to you to change your thinking and your behavior."

TAT's anti-AIDS message adds, "Please donít support immoral activities, and donít take advantage of women, men and children sexually."

More than 14 million people across the earth are infected with the virus that causes AIDS.

"Thai males commonly initiate their first sexual experience by visiting a prostitute at an early age," Dr. Napaporn Havanon said in a report on "Sexual Networking" among Thais.

"Single men believe they especially need an outlet for their sex drive, and prostitutes are the most convenient way to accomplish this," he said.

"They see this as a way of adding variety to married life, and relieving the boredom of sex with the same person," added Napaporn, who is assistant professor at Srinakharinwirot University.

The sex study was also conducted by Dr. John Knodel of the University of Michigan, and Anthony Bennett of Family Health International.

When Thais contract AIDS, they are often shunned as if they were lepers.

At a Buddhist temple, used as a hospice for dying AIDS patients, the abbot Alongkot Tikhapanyo said sadly, "Most family members donít even come by to visit their dying son or daughter."

One reason AIDS victims often do not receive sympathy in Thailand, was explained by another senior Buddhist priest, Pra Maha Suvit Thammasiri, who blamed Buddhism and noted, "Does Buddhism not say that all of oneís sufferings are due to his or her own karma, whether from a previous or present life?

"The AIDS victim may have caused his family much grief and frustration with his behavior and as a result, when he became infected, his family no longer had any sympathy for him," Suvit added.

The Nation newspaperís respected columnist Sopon Onkgara meanwhile asked readers, "Here is question for globetrotters: which city can offer the best sex, with the widest variety, and at the most reasonable price 24 hours a day?

"A second question for Bangkokians: how many streets are there in Bangkok which do not have sex-oriented entertainment places?"

Sopon said Bangkok beats the Philippines capital, Manila, in the first question, and "very few" streets in the Thai capital do not have "sex dens."

"There is a general decline of moral standards among (Thai) men, especially among the wealthy, who consider sex as the ultimate form of entertainment" with "ladies of pleasure," Sopon said.

As a result, AIDS officials are very pessimistic.

"Everyone is at risk," said Dr. Khanchit Limpakarnjanarat, adjunct director of the HIV/AIDS Collaboration, which is a joint project of the Thai Ministry of Public Health and the Atlanta-based US Centers for Disease Control.

"HIV infection is spreading throughout the (Thai) population indiscriminately," Khanchit said.

Despite bold campaigns by the government to educate people about the virus, condoms and related issues, Khanchit lamented, "With more and more victims -- there are now an estimated 400,000 HIV carriers -- it is clear that these campaigns have had little effect on the behavior of the general public."

He added, "Statistics from hospitals throughout the country indicate that more and more women are becoming infected with HIV, primarily by husbands or boyfriends, and that an average of one per cent of pregnant women were reported HIV carriers."

The Prime Ministerís Permanent Secretary, Apilas Osatananda, said, "The sex trade adversely affects the country's image and leads to a rapid increase in sex-related diseases, including the deadly AIDS."

Some attempts to inform the public also fail to discuss the problem directly.

For example, Thailandís popular IBC cable TV occasionally broadcasts the word "AIDS" below snippets of film showing vaguely symbolic footage, such as a womanís hands shaking while clinging onto a brass bedís headboard, an oil rig pumping away, a circus actor being shot out of a cannon, and a fireworks display in the night sky.

The film clips end with the words, "Play It Safe," while a basketball player jumps up and dunks a ball in a net.

Parliament Member Wisal Techatirawat recently created paranoia when he told reporters a beautiful prostitute in his northern province of Chiang Rai recently died of AIDS.

"But the point is that before her death, she submitted to the Chiang Rai Public Health Office a list of 21 senior government officials who had used her services," Wisal said.

"This girl was only a part-time prostitute, and served only senior officials," Wisal said without elaborating.

Website, more Asia news by Richard S. Ehrlich plus the non-fiction book of interviews, documentation and investigative journalism, titled: "Hello My Big Big Honey!" Love Letters to Bangkok Bar Girls and Their Revealing Interviews

at: http://www.oocities.org/asia_correspondent