School of Social Sciences Department of Peace and Development Studies 2FU31E Bachelor Thesis Female Prostitution in Thailand - looked upon a victim-agent framework Sandra Neuman [email protected] September 2012 Tutor: Anders Nilsson Abstract Prostitution in Thailand has increased over the last decades and the topic has made frequent appearances in the academic debate with discussions about whether women in prostitution are victims or agents. Victim is defined in this study as someone who is powerless in society and has no control of their lives, whilst agent, is someone who is confident, has a clear goal and can act accordingly. However, less frequent are the voices of the women themselves and how their perceptions correspond to the academic debate, regarding the discussed concepts victim and agent. The purpose of this study is to try to understand how women’s perceptions of their self-image correspond to the academic debate and to two organizations, working to respond to the needs of women in prostitution. This study draws on a field study in Bangkok and Patong, Thailand, and has been conducted with semi-structured interviews and observations as part of an ethnographic approach. Interviews were made with women in prostitution working in bars or the streets, members of the sex workers’ organization EMPOWER, and women previously involved in prostitution but now working at the organization NightLight. The findings were analyzed in relation to a conceptual framework where the concepts victim and agent were linked to the theoretical positions of a conventional structural and rational choice analysis. The findings show that the women’s ‘choice’ to move from their villages and enter prostitution seem to be a rational economic decision wherein the women are agents. Although, when the women arrive to the cities they become tied to the socio-economic structures and lose their agency, and instead become victims. Some of these women are able to reclaim their agency by turning to the organization that best mirrors their self-image. The outcome of the study shows that it does not help to discuss the concepts regarding whether women are victims or agents, because the results show that it can be seen as the women can carry both concepts, but that they appear in different time periods of women’s lives. Keywords: Thailand, Prostitution, NightLight, EMPOWER, Victim, Agent II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS My two months in Thailand were amazing in many ways. It was an interesting experience from which I learned a lot, and it expanded my view of Thailand. First, I would like to thank SIDA (Swedish International Cooperation Development Agency), for their financial support. I am also very thankful to Emily Chalke, for your friendship, patience and encouragement during my time in Bangkok. With your help I was able to conduct my research and complete my study. I would also like to thank everybody at NightLight and especially Annie Dieselberg for her warm welcome and for sharing her stories and experiences. Many thanks, to all women who opened up and shared their stories with me. And finally, a special thanks to my tutor Anders Nilsson, who has supported and guided me through my thesis to make sure that I was kept on the right track. Sandra Neuman, September 2012 III Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................... II ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .......................................................................................................... III Table of Contents ........................................................................................................................ IV List of Figures .............................................................................................................................. VI List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................................ VII 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Topic and Problem Formulation .......................................................................................... 1 1.2 Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................. 2 1.3 Research Questions............................................................................................................... 2 1.4 Relevance of the Study ......................................................................................................... 3 1.5 Method and Conceptual Framework in the Local Context ................................................ 3 1.6 Presentations of the Organizations EMPOWER and NightLight ...................................... 4 1.6.1 EMPOWER ................................................................................................................... 4 1.6.2 NightLight ...................................................................................................................... 5 1.7 Limitations ............................................................................................................................ 6 1.8 Delimitations ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.9 Disposition ............................................................................................................................ 7 2. RELEVANT LITERATURE .................................................................................................. 9 2.1 Different Approaches to Prostitution................................................................................... 9 2.2 Women activism in the Thai context ................................................................................. 11 2.3 Conclusion of Relevant Literature ..................................................................................... 12 3. CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK ......................................................................................... 13 3.1 Definitions ........................................................................................................................... 15 4. METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK ............................................................................ 17 4.1 Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 17 4.1.1 Minor Field study ........................................................................................................ 17 4.2 Method................................................................................................................................. 18 4.2.1 Ethnographic approach ............................................................................................... 18 4.2.2 Pre-understanding ........................................................................................................ 19 4.2.3 Stakeholder analysis .................................................................................................... 19 4.2.4 Primary Data ................................................................................................................ 20 IV 4.2.5 Semi-structured Interviews ......................................................................................... 20 4.2.6 Selection of Interviewees ............................................................................................ 21 4.2.7 Individual and Group Interviews ................................................................................ 21 4.2.8 Observation and participation ..................................................................................... 23 4.2.9 Secondary data and literature ..................................................................................... 24 4.2.10 Triangulation ............................................................................................................. 25 4.3 Ethical Considerations ........................................................................................................ 25 4.4 Critical analysis of methods ............................................................................................... 25 5. BACKGROUND ..................................................................................................................... 27 5.1 The History and Laws on Prostitution ............................................................................... 27 5.2 The Status of Women in Relation to Buddhism ............................................................... 29 5.3 Tourism in Relation to Prostitution ................................................................................... 30 6. FINDINGS .............................................................................................................................. 31 6.1 Background of the Women ................................................................................................ 31 6.2 Perceptions from the Women in Prostitution Working in the Bars and the Streets ....... 33 6.2.1 Self-image and Life Circumstances ........................................................................... 33 6.3 EMPOWER’s Perceptions on Prostitution and themselves ............................................. 35 6.3.1 Approaches and Working Strategies .........................................................................