View source for EMPOWER

{{Short description|Thai non-governmental organization}}
{{other uses|Empower (disambiguation)}}
{{Infobox Organization
|name         = EMPOWER
|image        =
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|alt          = <!-- alt text; see [[WP:ALT]] -->
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|map          = <!-- optional -->
|msize        = <!-- map size, optional, default 200px -->
|malt         = <!-- map alt text -->
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|abbreviation =
|motto        =
|formation    = 1984
|type         = NGO<!-- GO, NGO, IGO, INGO, etc -->
|status       = <!-- ad hoc, treaty, foundation, etc -->
|purpose      = Support of sex workers<!-- focus as e.g. humanitarian, peacekeeping, etc -->
|headquarters =
|location     =
|coords       = <!-- Coordinates of location using a coordinates template -->
|region_served = Thailand
|membership   =
|language     = <!-- official languages -->
|leader_title = Founder and Director
|leader_name  = Chantawipa Apisuk<ref name=thenation/>
|main_organ   = <!-- gral. assembly, board of directors, etc -->
|parent_organization = <!-- if one -->
|affiliations = <!-- if any -->
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|website      = http://www.empowerfoundation.org/
|remarks      =
}}
'''EMPOWER''' ("Education Means Protection Of Women Engaged in Recreation"), also known as '''Centre for Sex Workers' Protection''' or '''Moolniti Songserm Okard Pooying''' ({{langx|th|มูลนิธิส่งเสริมโอกาสผู้หญิง}}), is a non-profit organization in [[Thailand]] that supports [[sex worker]]s by offering free classes in language, health, law and pre-college education, as well as individual counselling. The organization also lobbies the government to extend regular labor protections to sex workers<ref name=thenation>{{cite news|title=Night workers must be protected by labour laws, union and NHRC say|url=http://nationmultimedia.com/2006/05/17/national/national_30004193.php|accessdate=16 November 2013|newspaper=The Nation|date=17 May 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121017232113/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2006/05/17/national/national_30004193.php|archive-date=17 October 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> and to decriminalize sex work.<ref name=bp>{{cite news|title=Empowering 'bad girls'|url=http://www.thai-100.com/Empower_Foundation.html|newspaper=Bangkok Post|accessdate=16 November 2013|author=Tunya Sukpanich|date=11 March 2007}}</ref> The organization maintains centres in [[Patpong]] ([[Bangkok]]), [[Chiang Mai]], [[Mae Sai District|Mae Sai]]<ref name=farang>{{cite web|title=Sex Work|url=http://www.untamed-travel.com/print_article.asp?art=520&city=&origin=The%20Big%20Read|work=Farang Magazine|publisher=www.farangonline.com|accessdate=16 November 2013|author=Jim Algie|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20071019143923/http://www.untamed-travel.com/print_article.asp?art=520&city=&origin=The%20Big%20Read|archivedate=19 October 2007|date=August 2003}}</ref> and [[Patong]], [[Phuket Province|Phuket]].<ref name=bp/>
==Philosophy==
EMPOWER is an organization that represents and provides services exclusively to sex workers. Unlike some Thai organizations operating in this field, EMPOWER's guiding principles include a non-judgmental stance on sex work and the belief that sex workers should not be pressured to leave the trade.<ref name=interview>A Wilson, [https://www.academia.edu/5319705/When_Sex_is_a_Job_Interview_with_Chantawipa_Apisuk_of_Empower_Thailand_ When sex is a job. An interview with Chantawipa Apisuk of Empower.] In: ''Learning about sexuality: a practical beginning'', edited by Sondra Zeidenstein and Kirsten Moore. New York, New York, Population Council, 1996. Pages 333-342.</ref> Partly because of this, EMPOWER receives minimal financial support from the Thai government; the bulk of donations come from abroad.<ref name=farang/>
==History==
After graduating from the Faculty of Sociology and Anthropology at [[Thammasat University]], Chantawipa Apisuk commenced work at the Southeast Asia Resource Center in New York to further her studies and work on human rights issues.<ref name="bp" /> Following her return to Thailand in 1984, Apisuk and a group of sex workers in Patpong, Bangkok, Thailand founded EMPOWER that same year. Apisuk continues to serve as the organization's director and manages the head office in [[Nonthaburi Province]].<ref name=interview/>
As of 2012, the organization operated centers in eleven provinces and reached over 20,000 sex workers on a regular basis. Over the 27 years that EMPOWER has existed, over 50,000 sex workers have been involved with the organization.<ref>{{cite web|title=Empower Foundation|url=http://www.empowerfoundation.org/sexy_file/Hit%20and%20Run%20%20RATSW%20Eng%20online.pdf|work=Hit & Run Report|publisher=Empower Foundation|accessdate=16 November 2013|year=2012}}</ref>
At the 2004 [[XV International AIDS Conference, 2004|International AIDS Conference]] in Bangkok, EMPOWER set up a mock go-go bar complete with a dancer to highlight efforts to increase [[condom]] use among sex workers. This was criticized by then Health Minister [[Sudarat Keyuraphan]].<ref>[http://www.nationmultimedia.com/search/read.php?newsid=102490 XV International AIDS Conference: What they say…], ''The Nation'', 17 July 2004</ref>
Shortly after the [[2004 Indian Ocean earthquake|tsunami of December 2004]], EMPOWER opened an office in [[Patong]], [[Phuket Province|Phuket]]. The organization published a report that estimated a death toll of over 2,000 sex workers and lamented the lack of support for migrant sex workers affected by the flood.<ref>{{cite web|title=Empower: Update No. 2: Situation of Sex Workers in South Thailand, January 18, 2005|url=http://www.nswp.org/nswp/empower-050118.html|website=NSWP|accessdate=2 April 2018|date= 18 January 2005|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20080625015126/http://www.nswp.org/nswp/empower-050118.html|archive-date=25 June 2008}}</ref>
In September 2005, EMPOWER broadcast a radio program for sex workers in Phuket, Chiang Mai, and Mae Sai to educate sex workers on their rights.<ref name="Cop" /><ref>{{cite web|title=Empowering Sex Workers: Phuket radio helps with rights|url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/tsunami/20nov.php|work=The Nation|publisher=The Nation|accessdate=16 November 2013|date=20 November 2005|archive-date=28 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130728053952/http://www.nationmultimedia.com/specials/tsunami/20nov.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>
In 2024, while a draft bill to legalize prostitution had been under consideration in parliament for five years, EMPOWER wrote a letter to various Thai political parties, demanding that sex workers be treated equally to other workers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Phalaharn |first=Kittisak |date=2024-05-02 |title=Thai Sex Workers Demand Legalization for Basic Rights: Statistics Reveal Thailand in Top 10 Countries for Sex Work |url=https://thepattayanews.com/2024/05/02/thai-sex-workers-demand-legalization-for-basic-rights-statistics-reveal-thailand-in-top-10-countries-for-sex-work/ |access-date=2024-05-03 |website=The Pattaya News |language=en-US}}</ref>
=="Can Do" bar==
In 2006 EMPOWER opened a worker-owned bar in [[Chiang Mai]] named "Can Do". It was designed to be a model of exemplary working conditions in the industry, which include giving workers a day off per week and providing social security benefits. Lek, part-owner of the bar and a Thai sex worker of six years at the time, stated in 2011: "I am very happy here. I practice my profession in a safe and protective environment".<ref name="Cop">{{cite web|title=Empower Foundation|url=http://www.hivapcop.org/community-feature/empower-foundation|work=HIV, Gender and Human Rights|publisher=HIV-APCoP|accessdate=16 November 2013|date=6 February 2011|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140907064111/http://www.hivapcop.org/community-feature/empower-foundation|archivedate=7 September 2014}}</ref> In 2009 the Director of Empower Bangkok at the time, Noi Apisuk, explained:
<blockquote>
We created the Can Do bar as a model for business – an "experitainment": an experiment in entertainment. We are providing a safe and inspiring workplace environment for our workers. We want to demonstrate that even—or especially—in sex work, occupational and safety issues exist and there should be compliance with Thai labour laws. And if so, the employees and the management benefit.<ref>{{cite web|title=Sex Work with Benefits: An "Experitainment"|url=http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/04/sex-work-with-benefits-an-%E2%80%9Aauexperitainment%E2%80%9Aau/|work=TriplePundit|publisher=TriplePundit|accessdate=16 November 2013|author=Elizabeth Toder|date=28 April 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611082556/http://www.triplepundit.com/2009/04/sex-work-with-benefits-an-%E2%80%9Aauexperitainment%E2%80%9Aau/|archive-date=11 June 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref></blockquote>
=="This is Us" museum==
Chantawipa opened "This Is Us", an appointment-only museum that celebrates Thailand's centuries-old tradition of prostitution. Housed in an anonymous building on the outskirts of Bangkok, it attempts to show a different perspective on sex work. Placards dotted around the museum claim that sex work has played an integral role in Thailand's economy since an elite brothel was first opened and placed under royal control in 1680. The fee for services then started at 50 satang, a single coin that would be worth US$28 today. Chantawipa notes that, "it costs about the same" now.<ref name="Vice-20160328">{{cite news|last1=Usher|first1=Pip|title=Inside the Bangkok Museum Challenging Sex Work Stereotypes|url=https://broadly.vice.com/en_us/article/inside-the-bangkok-museum-challenging-sex-work-stereotypes|accessdate=30 March 2016|work=Vice|date=2016-03-28}}</ref>
Of interest are the papier-mâché dolls named "kumjing". Each doll was crafted by a real woman who is working in Thailand's sex industry. Each doll symbolized the aspirations of a migrant with dreams of sex work leading to a better future.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Journey into the Dream with Kumjing's [sic]|url=http://www.empowerfoundation.org/kumjing_en.html|website=EMPOWER Foundation|accessdate=30 March 2016}}</ref>
The museum was opened to the public in 2016.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2016-08-21 |title="This is Us" Sex Work Museum Opens in Bangkok, Thailand |url=https://www.nswp.org/news/us-sex-work-museum-opens-bangkok-thailand |website=nswp.org}}</ref>
==Publications==
Publications in Thai and English are available at https://www.empowerlibrary.online/.
In 2003 the organization published a report that stated that many anti-[[human trafficking|trafficking]] organizations failed to recognize the important difference between migrant sex workers and women forced to undertake sex work against their will. The report documented a "raid and rescue" operation on a Chiang Mai brothel in May 2003 that was carried out by TRAFCORD, with support from the [[International Justice Mission]] (IJM). The operation was completed without the consent of the sex workers in question and, according to EMPOWER, resulted in numerous human rights violations.<ref>{{cite web|title=A report by Empower Chiang Mai on the human rights violations women are subjected to when "rescued" by anti-trafficking groups who employ methods using deception, force and coercion|url=http://www.nswp.org/sites/nswp.org/files/Empower%20report%20on%20forced%20rescue.pdf|publisher=Global Network of Sex Work Projects|accessdate=16 November 2013|date=June 2003}}</ref> IJM subsequently ended its counter-trafficking work in Thailand.<ref>{{cite news|title=The Crusade Against Sex Trafficking|url=http://www.thenation.com/article/crusade-against-sex-trafficking#|accessdate=16 November 2013|newspaper=The Nation|date=5 October 2009|author=Noy Thrupkaew}}</ref> Apisuk has said that these raids and subsequent arrests only worsen the situation of most prostitutes.<ref name=bp/>
In 2012 EMPOWER published a report, ''Hit and Run: The impact of anti-trafficking policy and practice on Sex Workers' Human Rights in Thailand'',<ref>{{cite web|title=Hit and Run: The impact of anti-trafficking policy and practice on Sex Workers' Human Rights in Thailand|url=http://www.aidsdatahub.org/dmdocuments/HitandRun_RATSW_Eng_Empower_2012.pdf|accessdate=4 April 2012|year=2012}}</ref> in which regional sex workers were surveyed over the course of one year to assess the state of the profession. The report prompted Apisuk to state: "We have now reached a point in history where there are more women in the Thai sex industry being abused by anti-trafficking practices than there are women exploited by traffickers."<ref>{{cite news|last=Bhumiprabhas|first=Subhatra|title=Sex 'trade', not 'traffic'|url=http://www.nationmultimedia.com/life/Sex-trade-not-traffic-30177322.html|accessdate=4 April 2012|newspaper=The Nation|date=6 March 2012}}</ref>
EMPOWER published 26 issues of a Thai-language newsletter called ''Bad Girls'', in which sex workers could express themselves. The final edition was published in 1991.<ref>{{cite web|title=Badgirls News| url=http://www.empowerfoundation.org/badgirls_en.html|work=Empower Foundation|publisher=Empower Foundation|accessdate=16 November 2013|language=Thai, English|year=1991}}</ref>
==Awards==
[[UNAIDS]] and [[UNDP]] announced at the [[XVII International AIDS Conference, 2008]] in [[Mexico City]], Mexico, that EMPOWER was the recipient of one of 25 Red Ribbon Awards. This award, designed to celebrate community leadership and action on AIDS, included a [[United States dollar|US$]]5,000 stipend that allowed EMPOWER to participate in the conference.<ref>{{cite web|title=2008 Winners|url=http://www.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/pr_red_ribbon_award_2008_celebrating_community_leadership_action_on_aids.pdf|work=Red Ribbon Award 2008|publisher=UNDP|accessdate=16 November 2013|year=2008|archive-date=10 June 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150610194714/http://www.undp.org/content/dam/india/docs/pr_red_ribbon_award_2008_celebrating_community_leadership_action_on_aids.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
==See also==
* [[Prostitution in Thailand]]
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
==External links==
*[http://www.empowerfoundation.org/index_en.html EMPOWER homepage (English)]
{{Prostitution in Thailand}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Empower}}
[[Category:Human rights organizations based in Thailand]]
[[Category:Sex worker organizations]]
[[Category:Sex industry in Thailand]]
[[Category:Organizations established in 1984]]
[[Category:1984 establishments in Thailand]]