Prostitution in Thailand: Myth and Reality

by Lipi Ghosh, Ratnabali Chatterjee (Foreword)

Lipi (Southeast Asian studies, U. of Calcutta, India) uses a feminist viewpoint to assess the prevalence of prostitution in Thailand. The history of Thailand's sex industry is described, as is the opening of the country to tourism and other foreign visitors, especially soldiers, following WWII. The remainder of the volume considers the various issues behind the sex industry, including economic, social, political, institutional and ideological factors; the social background of the prostitutes; the impact of HIV-AIDS and actions to control infection; laws, their lack of enforcement, and efforts by NGOs to strengthen them. Distributed by South Asia Books. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

327 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2002