An Analysis of the Joint SDG Fund for Social Protection in Thailand as Part of the 

United Nations Sustainable Goal to End Poverty

Albert Baxter, Shellonnee Chinn, Errol Douglas, Janelle King, & Shirley Radford

Leadership and Policy Ph.D. Program, Niagara University

ADS 740 Leadership in a Global Society

Professor Patricia Briscoe, Ph.D.

March 28, 2020

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United Nations Sustainable Goal #1, No Poverty

 

Thailand Proposed Goal #1.3 

 

          Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.The Thai proposal submitted to the United Nations in response to Goal #1, No Poverty compliments the country’s ongoing effort to demonstrate the Thai government’s systematic approach to eradicate one of the most pressing issues facing Thai society today. The UN goal is the implementation of a nationally appropriate social protection system with measures for all, including floors, that achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable by 2030.  The ongoing effort highlights the nation’s efforts to establish a zero tolerance for human trafficking policy to the next level. Revisions to the Thai Constitution in 2014 and the enactment of Article 44 of the interim constitution has aided in this pursuit, however, prior to the complete repeal in 2019 slave labor, sexual exploitation, and ongoing violations of labor rights in the fishing industry had not been successfully addressed.

         

          In 2017, the “Thai government allocated a 3.208 billion THB which is equal to 101 million USD.  The budget is used to prosecute, protect, and prevent human trafficking” (Chongkittavorn, 2017). However, despite the monetary infusion local and international human rights organizations have consistently pointed out, that human trafficking and the prevalence of sexual exploitation and labor rights violations persist.  The national administration has messaged that human rights violations are their top priority. However, skeptics have pointed to Thailand’s tarnished international profile and efforts to improve economic conditions as the motivating factor rather than human rights. Thailand has been subjected to sanctions and their status as a watchlist country has been downgraded on numerous occasions over the past several years for their efforts to combat human trafficking. 

 

In 2016, there were 333 trafficking cases investigated.  

244 cases were sexual and 75 were immigrant labor exploitations, with 43 designated as fishing labor.  A total of 600 persons were charged along with Myanmar, Cambodian and Lao nationals. The number of human trafficking convictions also increased in 2016 to 268 cases from 205 the previous year. Ninety cases were sentenced to more than 2-year jail terms and 98 cases longer than five years. The report also stated that from 2013-16, a total of 45 officials were charged for involvement in trafficking in persons. In 2016, 10 policemen were charged and under investigation. Altogether, the government has seized over 784 million THB or 22.4 million USD in assets (Chongkittavorn, 2017). 

 

          The Thai administration has orchestrated an international effort to combat crimes involving children. This encompasses child labor, child pornography and sex crimes. The Thai administration has established the Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children (TICAC) task force with cooperation with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security (Chongkittavorn, 2017). The task force has enhanced Thailand’s capabilities, providing access to global databases that offer information on sexual exploitation and human trafficking cases that have international implication.

 

          In order to properly assess the Thai administration’s response to human trafficking and any future plans given the United Nations proposal, an examination of the country was completed using peer reviewed scholarly writing as a basis to derive a recommendation on implementation and sustainability. These resources were cross referenced across several sectors that provide indicators of social and cultural institutions. Utilizing a framework assists in organizing data, but also expands the research beyond the surface of government dictated reporting to deeper social and cultural drivers that inhabitants and researchers have experienced. The framework used is referred to by the acronym ASCOPE which stands for area, structures, capabilities, organization, people, and events.  The ASCOPE framework has been used by the United States military to combat counterinsurgency abroad. This framework was chosen because of its effectiveness in analyzing cultural and human environments, in addition to identifying root causes of instability. In simple terms, the framework provides the who, what, where, when, why, and how of the environment (Major, 2013). ASCOPE allows researchers to approach a problem from the perspective of the inhabitants of the community.  The simplicity of the framework allows anyone to use the methodology across a variety

of disciplines.

 

          The intent of the research was to use ASCOPE to analyze the administration of Thailand’s efforts to eliminate or suppress human trafficking and compile data to make recommendations for implementation and sustainability of their United Nations proposal.

 

Area

 

          Thailand’s economic growth has not been inclusive. Growth has been concentrated only in some areas, giving rise to geographical and income inequality. Women in the informal sector are still facing barriers in accessing social welfare and social security benefits due to their inability to afford the required contribution of social security, or the lack of formally recognized employer/employee relation. This is particularly the case for women migrants as the majority are employed in informal sectors such as domestic works, construction, and agriculture. Informal employment usually entails poor working conditions, long hours, low wages, fear of deportation due to legal status, lack of social insurance, and access to social protection schemes. Although the government has put in efforts to ensure the rights and protection for domestic workers, both Thais and non-Thais, its implementation of policies remain challenging and there are policy gaps that do not ensure protection for undocumented migrants, and especially domestic workers who are most vulnerable, due to the excluded workplace of private households that hinder inspections by authorities and their inability to access social security and protection.

Thailand is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Migrant workers who are trafficking victims may be deported without effective screening for indications of trafficking. Women, men, boys, and girls from Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Burma are subjected to labor and sex trafficking in Thailand.

 

          Thailand is also a transit country for victims from China, North Korea, Vietnam, Bangladesh, India, and Burma subjected to sex trafficking or forced labor in countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Russia, South Korea, the U.S., and countries in North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. Members of ethnic minorities, highland persons, and stateless persons in Thailand have experienced instances of abuse indicative of trafficking. Children from Thailand are victims of sex trafficking in brothels, massage parlors, bars, karaoke lounges, hotel rooms, and private residences. Some parents or brokers force children from Thailand to sell flowers, beg, or work in domestic services in urban areas. Many foreign trafficking victims migrate willingly to

 

          Thailand seeking employment, often with the assistance of relatives and community members, or informal recruitment networks. Traffickers, including registered and unregistered labor brokers of Thai and foreign nationalities, bring foreign victims into Thailand through both formal migration and smuggling routes and serve as intermediaries between jobseekers and employers. Some brokers charge substantial fees or collaborate with corrupt law enforcement officials, and some migrant workers incur significant debts to obtain employment and are subjected to debt bondage.

 

          Trafficking in the fishing industry remains a significant concern. Some remain at sea for several years, are paid very little or irregularly, work as much as 18-20 hours per day for seven days a week, or are reportedly threatened, physically beaten, drugged to work longer, and even killed for becoming ill, attempting to escape, or disobeying orders. Migrant workers, especially those who are undocumented, are fearful of reporting trafficking crimes and cooperating with authorities due to minimal protections both in Thailand and in countries of origin and lack of awareness of their rights. Thailand is home to about 4.9 million migrants, making up 10% of its workforce, according to the United Nations. Gas stations are one of the risk groups as some of those located up country still employ child labor in night shifts. Victims are often trafficked into Thailand through established migration routes from neighboring states with significantly lower levels of socio-economic development.

 

Structure

 

          Thailand has had a long and complex relationship with commercial sex work that persists today. The country is considered a destination for sex tourism and received this designation around the time of the Vietnam War. Thailand's modern sex industry is believed to have been established with the setting up of Japanese military bases during World War II. It expanded quickly during the Vietnam War, when U.S. troops came to Bangkok for their recreation breaks. Over the years, the country has come to be known for sex tourism, with large numbers of male visitors frequenting bars, massage parlors, and karaoke lounges that have multiplied as tourist numbers soared. Although prostitution has been illegal since 1960, the law is almost invariably ignored as the lucrative business provides payoffs to untold numbers of officials and policemen (Asia News Monitor, 2019). Prostitution is prolific throughout much of Thailand, but Bangkok is the hub, with the notorious red-light district of Patpong (Brooks, 2014). 

Some foreign expatriates have capitalized on exploitation of the Thai people under the guise of  

         

          Thailand's thriving tourism industry. Claiming employment in Patpong is a better option for young women from the country's rice-farming communities. Paul Messner, an Austrian expatriate who owns several properties that rent to the bar and massage parlors in Bangkok’s Patpong district, stated in a recent interview, "Let's face it, we're in a country with many poor people who have little education, Thais are a playful people and, like it or not, they don't think selling or buying sex is immoral. Licentiousness is part of their culture" (Pilcher, 2019).  Attitudes similar to this can be identified as a significant part of the problem. 

 

          Commercial sex work in any form is illegal in Thailand. However, laws to this effect are often ambiguous and unenforced. So how does Messner’s ideal persists in a country that outlawed prostitution over half a century ago.  Some analysts have argued that the high demand for sexual services in Thailand limits the likelihood of the industry being curtailed. The top brass wields great economic and political power in Thailand, where military coups have long been routine. The current prime minister, Prayuth Chan-ocha, is a former army chief who led a coup that ousted a democratically elected government in 2014. Senior army and police officers often hold stakes in nightlife venues and, while prostitution is technically illegal in the predominantly Buddhist nation, officials turned a blind eye to it (Pilcher, 2019). Instead, limiting abusive practices within the industry is the goal of many activists and government agencies that operate in and around the Patpong.

Thailand is not the only country in the world where women and men use sex to earn an income. Although only a handful of countries; Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, Senegal, and Peru  have legalized the practice. The lack of intervention opens the door for nefarious actors to exploit the vulnerable. The problems in Thailand are deep-rooted and even though the practice is illegal and punishable by a fine of 1,000 baht, US$32, and customers who pay for sex with underage workers can be jailed for up to six years. There were approximately 123,530 sex workers in

 

          Thailand at the end of 2014 according to a United Nations program on AIDS/HIV report. In 2019, advocacy groups estimated that number has now doubled. This does not include the tens of thousands of migrants from neighboring Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam (Asia News Monitor, 2019).

 

Capabilities

 

          Under Thailand’s civil law jurisprudence, lawyers are also subordinate to judges as a professional group. Judges are considered bureaucratic civil servants that operate under the legal methodology of statutory construction, where the process of interpreting what a particular statute means, so the court may apply it judiciously often to the benefit of others in the bureaucracy (Cornell Law, 2020). They seldom operate under the broader common law or constitutional mandates. Litigation to make new policy is far less common in the civil law world (Garcia-Villegas, 2006). Finally, as Thailand has never ceased to be a Kingdom, the moral force of the monarchy, patron client relationships, and other customary relationships make establishing the authority of law more complex (Munger, 2015).

 

          The police and military are powerful groups in Thailand. Both have gained significant influence due to long standing relationships with the United States initiated during the Cold War. Both have expanded in power through massive infusions of aid (Baker & Phongpaichit, 2005). Police train alongside the military, but they operate under the supervision of the prime minister. The legal system provides little oversight of the police with prosecutors deferring to the police, who decide criminal investigation methods and adjudicate which cases are referred for prosecution (Munger, 2015).  Even though the police operate under the advisement of the national administration, the district police are subjected to the influence of local power brokers and have a record of corruption. District police are known to favor the politically connected and willfully overlook the lucrative businesses of prostitution and human trafficking (Phongpaichit et al., 1998). “Thai police indifference to trafficking women may be explained in part by the ambivalence in Thai culture about prostitution, condemning women in the trade but accepting men’s use of prostitutes as inevitable” (Munger, 2015).

 

Organizations

 

          As the sex trafficking crisis is growing in Thailand, organizations have been created to help prevent and stop young children from becoming victims of sexual exploitation. One organization that is making great strides is Destiny Rescue, a faith-based non-profit organization of caseworkers, counselors, house parents, and teachers that help end sexual exploitation among young girls.  By working closely with the local police and sending undercover agents searching in areas such as the red-light district and brothels, they have rescued over 4,000 girls (“Rescuing Children,” 2020). Once the girls have been rescued, they develop a plan to help them have a bright future through education, vocational training, and housing. They also conduct preventative work for those girls who are considered at-risk, reducing the likelihood of them being forced into sexual exploitation.  Like Destiny Rescue, Zoe is a non-profit global company with a location in Thailand that focuses on prevention, rescue, and restoration of child trafficking. The prevention portion is conducted by teachers, pastors, and law enforcement officials. Through human trafficking raids children are rescued and victims are placed into safe houses where they are cared for, fed, and educated (“Reaching Every Person,” 2020).

 

          YWAM Thailand is also a global organization that is positioned in Thailand to prevent and rehabilitate young children from human trafficking. The organization started by going into villages in Northern Thailand for two years to help educate families and build relationships (“Human Trafficking Prevention,” 2019). Their main center in Thailand currently offers care for single mothers as well as job training. It educates young girls on life skills and helps them earn income through their bakery, restaurant, hair salon, and card-making program.  Similarly, Friends of Thai Daughters, FTD, a non-profit in Northern Thailand works diligently to end human trafficking by focusing their efforts on vulnerable and at-risk ethnic hill tribe girls. Unlike other non-profits, FTD extends their services through college and beyond. Their goal is to have empowered adults by the time they complete the program (“Friends of Thai Daughters,” 2018). 

 

          Nonprofits are not only located in rural areas throughout Thailand but big cities like Bangkok. Nightlight is a non-profit that serves victims of the sex industry in Bangkok through counseling, vocational training, employment, child-care, life skills courses, and emergency shelter. The organization is passionate about having women and children grow spiritually strong and develop love for themselves (“Reach. Rescue. Restore,” 2018). Additionally, the organization educates the public on consequences of prostitution and trafficking.

 

People

 

          Human trafficking continues to be a problem in the Kingdom of Thailand, because of multiple factors affecting the ability of the country to properly manage the crisis.  Rabibhadana and Hayami (2013) indicated that a contributing factor to the issue of human trafficking could be tied to the large increase in migrant workers from Myanmar since the 1990s, who are looking for better work opportunities in Thailand.  However, the main cause for human trafficking has been tied to poverty on the part of the victims (Take another look, 2008).

 

          In order to impact change and eventually reduce, if not eradicate, human trafficking from occurring in Thailand, there are several action items that must be completed to address how people communicate and interact about this global crisis. As a part of the process to eradicate trafficking in persons, hereinafter TIP, the United States established the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, and the United Nations Convention developed the Palermo Protocol to combat Transnational Organized Crime, which today is still the most powerful anti-trafficking entity due to its ability to employ economic sanctions (Victims of Trafficking, 2019).  The Kingdom of Thailand needs to contact TIP countries about collaborating efforts to reduce and eradicate TIP, otherwise, economic sanctions need to be assessed for those countries that have been deemed insufficient in their efforts to combat this global crisis.

 

          The Kingdom of Thailand is about the size of Texas in the United States, but has more individuals residing in Thailand.  Currently, there are about 69 million residents in the country, however, the country still suffers from a significant technology divide within the country.  Unlike Texas, there are several factors that impact the digital divide in Thailand, such as education, income, location, age, and gender (Digital divide in Thailand, 2019).  So, the best way to communicate and reach the most people in Thailand, is through the newspapers.

 

          Currently, there are five key newspapers in Thailand, which fall in the category of national and regional newspapers.  The two largest daily newspapers are The Nation and Bangkok Post, and the three weekly, regional newspapers outside of Bangkok are Pattaya Mail, Phuket Gazette, and The Chiang Rai Times (Sobel, 2018).  The readership for the newspapers is large and will cover the Kingdom of Thailand very well. 

 

          This will not be the only source of communication, because the focus will also be tied to the TIP countries that have been identified by the TIP report.  A communication strategy with those countries with a focus from a digital approach, because the countries identified by the TIP report appear to be more technologically advanced and could reach a larger group of people. In order to address the issue, the communication will be geared to five key audiences: the victims and their families, law enforcement within Thailand, the perpetrators, witnesses to the problem, and the countries designated as having TIP problems, based upon the TIP reports (Sobel, 2018).

 

          There are specific strategies to address the five entities identified above about how to implement these changes, as noted below:

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1. Victims/families of trafficking

   • Informational brochures about human and sex trafficking detailing what to look for and behaviors of perpetrators.

   • The brochure will be done in both Thai and English for broader appeal.

2. Law enforcement in Thailand

   • Re-education about the problem and reminder about your responsibilities under the law.

   • Better community policing in the areas that have higher reports of trafficking.

   • The obligation to protect and serve the communities and the Kingdom of Thailand must be upheld.  Lack of action will result in disciplinary action, including and up to termination of employment.

3. Perpetrators of human trafficking

   • Your behavior is illegal and immoral and carries steep prison sentences.

   • There are examples of individuals who have been caught, imprisoned, and currently serving prison sentences.  

   • What would you do if this was your loved ones?

4. Potential witnesses to the act or behavior

   • If you see something, say something (Anonymous, n.d.)

   • Failure to speak out is the same as supporting trafficking.

5. Countries with TIP problems

   • Contact the Attorney Generals, or similar roles, of each of the larger countries identified as having TIP problems, such as Japan, Germany, U.S., U.K., South Africa, and Australia (Take another look, 2008). 

 

Events 

 

          Many events and circumstances have contributed to the sexual exploitation and the growth of sex trafficking in Thailand. It is based on the intersection of many events that have existed since the mid-1300s and the mid-1700s (Reyers, 2015).  Sex trafficking and prostitution have been part of the economy and the infrastructure of Thailand where the social attitudes, political landscape and interventions, as well as economic realities of the country made it a legal and taxable profession. According to the US Department of State (2018), police investigated more cases of suspected official complicity in trafficking of migrants. As of 1996, the laws changed and under the 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act, prostitution is now prohibited and there are many penalties for breaking the law which include the person soliciting sex, the customers, the pimps and even stiffer violations for having intercourse with children under 15 years old, where violators can even face prison time (Reyers, 2015).  In 2003, there were debates about legalizing prostitution again for tax revenue purposes. This leads to the question as to whether Thailand has the stability, alternatives, and the infrastructure in place to support an economy free of prostitution and the sex trafficking industry, but based on its economic structure and without drastic reform it won’t be able to support the economy.  

 

          Thailand has created many agencies to combat sex trafficking and eradicate poverty, but the country suffers from continued instability which is evident from the two coups it has experienced over the last two decades (Su, 2016). The country had its first general election since the 2014 coup in 2019, on its face, it appeared as though there are efforts in place to eradicate sex trafficking and prostitution by offering support through agencies that are established to tackle trafficking of women and children (Su, 2016). The depletion of resources, increased water scarcity, air and water pollution, global warming will continue to impact Thailand (Reyers, 2015).  Over the long run these events will put a further strain on an already struggling economy, unless these underlying needs are addressed on a global scale. Although the government has made many amendments to the anti-trafficking law in 2015 to provide protection to anyone assisting in the anti-trafficking laws, whether this had a real impact has not been reported (United States Department of State, 2018). Economic factors contribute to increased trafficking and prostitution when both equality and equity are both at a deficit. In order to improve the crisis, there must be drastic, intentional, and systemic changes to get to the root of the problem (Tang, 2016) 

 

          Many factors are evident that impact the perception that Thailand is moving forward in combating sex trafficking; however, as Thailand continues to deplete its natural resources which impacts the environment’s ability to support their growth becomes an apparent challenge. This in turn will make resources less available with increased costs in supplying basic resources to all the country’s occupants (Roengjit, 2019).  As more initiatives are implemented to support Thailand’s ability to address and decrease the sex trafficking cases and to support victims, the factors that will contribute to an overall healthy economy have to be considered. There must be a simultaneous plan to address the growing needs of the economy, while implementing nationally appropriate social protections in order to make a lasting impact to improve Thailand by 2030, and achieve substantial coverage and support for the poor, disenfranchised, and vulnerable (Roengjit, 2019).

 

Conclusion

 

​ The United Nations’ goal of eliminating worldwide poverty by 2030 is an ambitious endeavor. The same can be said for Thailand, however, if the Thai administration focuses on eradicating, or at a minimum suppressing human rights abuses, they will take significant steps in reducing the number of Thai citizens living in poverty.  The Thai administration should focus on two key areas; human trafficking or trafficking in persons and migrant worker abuse. Both issues are widespread, but past actions can be built upon to further each cause. The recommendations that follow are shaped into four categories economic, security, governance, and social. 

 

          In order to address poverty, a discussion in regard to the economy should be accompanied.  In Thailand there is a longstanding issue of wealth disparity that exists, especially in the rural and farming communities. Many Thais migrate from smaller communities with little education and accepted substandard working conditions.  Their desperation lead some to prostitution. To tackle this ongoing issue, the Thai national administration will have to develop viable economic alternatives and build infrastructure to support an economy free of prostitution. A plausible solution is through providing a fair and equitable wage across different classes of work.  One area is healthcare workers that are on the frontline working with those victimized in the commercial sex industry. Another opportunity is the taxation of foreign investors, especially those that own properties or businesses associated with the commercial sex industry. Potentially, the higher tax rate is a tool to discourage foreigners from exploiting Thai people for monetary gain. Migrant workers also require protection.  The Thai administration should allow industry trade unions to supplement government enforcement in order to stop human trafficking and migrant worker abuse. They could incentivize the trade unions to monitor their industries by offering rewards-systems, i.e., prorated rebates of fines collected.

 

          Thailand has a history of using force to change the course of their history.  Prayut Chan-o-cha, the current Prime Minister came into power as the result of a military coup that overthrew the preceding administration.  The country has shown evidence that action through show of force is feasible. In an effort to overturn the advances of human traffickers, a recommendation would be to bolster existing border patrol forces to improve monitoring and deterrent effort at ports of embarkation and debarkation. The country has seen an increase of police raids since Prime Minister Chan-o-cha has taken office. The raids are meant to check trafficking of migrants and underage prostitution. However, reports of solicitation of bribes and extortion attempts are rampant.  These actions cannot continue as they discredit the police force and facilitate an environment of lawlessness. 

 

          In combination with avoiding the implications of lawlessness, recommendations aligned with governance are necessary to maintain the authority of judges and prosecutors. One course of action is to implement a judicial review in an effort to improve the rule of law in consideration of crimes that take advantage of the vulnerable populations of Thailand. As a result, an expectation would be the strengthening of existing common law. This activity will facilitate establishing new legal standing that will empower prosecutors. The change in the legal standing will help extinguish the belief system that criminal activities will occur unhindered in spite of existing jurisprudence. To implement change in the policing practices of the national military, regional police, and local police will need to raise the standards expected of their forces to better serve the citizens they have an obligation to protect.  Other actions that coincide with existing jurisprudence is the mandate that ownership of property where criminal acts are committed can be punishable by fines or incarceration, an action that will directly affect Patpong and similar districts.

 

          Some social advocacy groups have pushed to legalize prostitution in Thailand and point to the other countries like Australia, New Zealand, Germany, the Netherlands, Senegal, and Peru, who have legalized the practice as the example.  Despite other countries successfully transitioning to legalized prostitution, the Thai administration have rejected this course of action. Since legalization is not an option, then the Thai administration will need to consider dismantling districts like Patpong. As a starting point in the process to eradicate human trafficking, the Thai Administration needs to take action to de-normalize the practice of prostitution, in addition to abuses against migrant workers. According to the data, the parties that are in the best position to achieve this are the grassroots agencies that are currently working with the populace that are victimized by human rights abuses. Empower the non-government and government agencies to provide victims and those considered vulnerable with healthcare and vocational training. Expand victim care programs to include physical and mental health. The agenda should be established by the Thai administration, but they also have the job of providing oversight for the actions of the non-government organizations. The non-government agencies should be held accountable by requiring them to report measures of performance and measures of effectiveness up to the Thai administration.  

 

          Survivors of human trafficking suffer from depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, and struggle with suicide. The toll that is exerted on people that experience this kind of trauma can be daunting to overcome. An increase in awareness, amplified through global NGO partnerships, can provide a voice to those that are victimized and deter those that seek to exploit women and children through sex tourism in Thailand and other Asian Pacific countries. Domestically, messaging can be channeled through the five English-speaking newspapers in Thailand. The Internet via Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms that are common to specific regions/countries are another medium to use to facilitate the Thai message. In addition, the Consular Services of Thailand must provide information about the regions around the world of tourists entering Thailand, particularly of those within the TIP report. This will aid in determining the medium to use in getting the message out to the specific countries of these tourists that is, newspaper, Internet, social media approach, etc.

 

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UNICEF Thailand (2006). UNICEF supports initiative to tackle trafficking of women and children in                     Thailand. https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/Thailand_33424.html

 

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