Inside the Bangkok museum dedicated to Thai sex workers Chantawipa Apisuk, 68, is the Director of Empower Foundation, a charity that supports Thailand’s sex workers and also runs This is Us museum in Nonthaburi, a little-known space dedicated to the history of prostitution in Thailand.
Ahead of World Women’s Day on Mar 8, BK chats with this Harvard Law School-grad about the by-appointment-only museum and the current state of Thailand’s notorious sex industry.
Why isn’t the museum open to the general public? Thais love sex but hide it. Because Thai tradition isn’t open about sex, it contributes to cases of sexual abuse, rape and even murder. Sex work is a sin in the eyes of many and prostitutes are always discriminated against. Simply put, this museum isn’t like Ripley’s in Pattaya where you go see weird stuff.
Here, we provide information on the value of sex workers and the development of the sex industry in Thailand. Four-hundred years ago, Thai prostitutes sold sex for 10 kilos of rice.
Surprisingly, that’s about the same price as today.
Who are your visitors? It’s a real mix and includes people from the media, activists as well as science and medical students from around the world.
They come here to study about humanity, because we all have sex. Also, when people think of the sex industry, many think about Thailand, for obvious reasons.
It’s up to us to show people there’s more to the country than that.
What got you interested in the sex industry in the first place? Back in the early ‘70s, I was upset at being repeatedly questioned by customs officers just because I was a Thai woman and our country was infamous for prostitution, drugs and sex trafficking.
As I had studied at Boston College, I always had foreign friends come visit and they would want to see Patpong, which was then the red light district of the world.
I gradually became friends with some prostitutes who inspired me to found the Empower Foundation in 1985.
My aim was to provide help for sex workers through programs such as English classes.
Why is our sex industry still going so strong? It’s all about money. Police, public servants and soldiers allow it to live because they get money from it every month.
There are billions of baht circulating in the industry—and let’s not forget, these police, soldiers and public servants are all customers too.
What is the scope of the Empower Foundation nowadays? We just provide fundamental help and knowledge to those who need it. When we started 30 years ago, people would ask us why we were supporting prostitutes by teaching them English.
We responded that if that was the case, AUA and the British Council had supported prostitution much longer than us.
We just believe that people have the right to choose the best path in life. It’s about getting the right information before making life decisions.
We aim to build confidence and empower. Nowadays they don’t need these services so much as they have easy access to the internet on smartphones.
Have you seen any change to Thailand’s sex industry over the course of those 30 years?Not really. For every sex worker who retires there is a new one. But the new generation can be smarter and do it as a second job.
Even without higher education they can make as much money as doctors, so why not? They still want to have a good life.
They want a home, car and money for the family just like anyone else. I have seen many sex workers live happy, successful lives and start new businesses with their savings.
This Is Us Museum, 57/60 Tiwanon Rd., Nonthaburi, 02-526-1294,
www.empowerfoundation.org
