1 Mar 2018 at 06:57
WRITER: PENCHAN CHAROENSUTHIPAN
BANGKOK POST

The number of homeless people taking shelter in public areas of Bangkok rose by 175, or approximately 10%, last year, according to Achara Sorawaree, manager of the Issarachon Foundation, an NGO that serves the underprivileged.

Of that group, about 60% of those older than 40 have resorted to selling sexual services to survive, she added, citing the results of the foundation's latest survey.

The NGO surveyed 3,630 people last year, 40% of whom were over the age of 60, she said. Ms Achara said the number of prostitutes selling sexual services on the streets in certain parts of the city was estimated at between 800 and 1,000, according to the results of another study commissioned by the Disease Control Department.

The department ran the survey while distributing free condoms to street walkers occupying the Rattanakosin Island area in the capital, she said

They comprised both sexes and transgender people, and they mostly fell into the 30-70 age bracket, she said.
The majority of those aged 40 and over who had voluntarily entered the flesh trade planned to continue selling sexual services including erotic massages, Ms Achara said, adding that not all engaged in sexual intercourse with customers.

"A number of elderly women sell 'sex therapy', which should never be referred to as part of the 'sex trade'," she said. "Their customers include men who suffer from erectile dysfunction or young men who are desperate for physical affection or who just want to touch a woman's breasts. Some of them just crave intimacy because they never got that as kids." She said the women, some of whom resorted to this work after losing factory jobs, can earn between 100 baht and 1,000 baht a day.

Ms Achara said she hopes Thai society can become more accepting of this type of work, which she described as being "not exactly legitimate or illegitimate". She urged people to leave the workers and their customers alone to enjoy moments of intimacy, which in some cases can be as innocent as just holding hands, she said. The Thai welfare system provides up to 1,000 baht a month for elderly people who are eligible to receive such benefits.

But Ms Achara calculated they need nearly three times this amount just to scrape by. Most of those who sleep rough in public places in Bangkok come from the North and Northeast. They venture to the capital in search of a better-paid job but often end up homeless and resort to whatever means possible to generate income, she said.

Some change their name so often in a bid to remain anonymous they forget their real name, she added.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1420050/elderly-hobos-plan-to-keep-selling-sex