Male Prostitution at Myanmar Massage Parlors on the Rise

Sauna Spa MassageJacuzzi by Thomas Hawk is licensed under CCBY-NC 2.0

The male sex industry servicing mostly homosexual men out of massage parlors has significantly grown in Yangon, Myanmar through the use of social media, according to the Asia News Network.

Owners of male massage parlors advertising as men-only health and beauty spas reportedly take advantage of advertising their services and available employment via Facebook.

Asia News Network reports the Yangon Regional Police regularly investigate and crackdown female sex workers and massage parlors but “countermeasures against male hustlers are relatively seldom.

The Thai criminal attorneys at Chaninat and Leeds are experienced trial lawyers, fluent in English who handle most criminal offenses.

Referencing the Prostitution Act Section 3 (b) and the Police Act Section 30 (d), lawyer Kyaw Win said the prostitution law only covers female prostitutes, but that the criminal law is applicable to anyone “involved in abnormal sexual intercourses.”

According to Asia News Network, at least one politician, MP Khin San Hlaing, has vowed to address the situation in parliament, stating that the situation “goes against Myanmar tradition and customs.”

Read the full story here.

Northern Ireland Makes Paying for Sex a Crime in New Law

According to The Guardian, Northern Ireland passed a controversial law on Tuesday, October 21, 2014 targeting prostitution clients by making it illegal to pay for sex.

The legislation outlawing buying sex is found in one clause in the Human Trafficking and Exploitation Bill, and was subsequently approved in the Stromont assembly’s affirmative vote on the overarching bill.

According to The Guardian, at least one politician, Justice Minister David Ford, opposed addressing several different issues in one piece of legislation, stating that he didn’t believe “the complexities of prostitution can be adequately addressed in a single clause in a bill.”

Chaninat and Leeds’ Thailand prenuptial attorneys are internationally recognized experts in the field of international prenuptial law.

A recent survey of Northern Ireland sex workers revealed that an overwhelming majority of sex workers also opposed the new law and didn’t believe criminalizing their clients would serve to “protect” them, but would actually have the opposite effect. According to The Guardian, “about 17,500 men pay for sex in Northern Ireland every year.”

Keep reading:

Northern Ireland: 98% of sex workers oppose new law criminalising clients

Northern Ireland ban on paying for sex is approved by Stormont assembly

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“Right to Virginity” in China is Worth $5,000

China: Raw Story reports that a woman was awarded $5,000 after suing a man—whom she dated and had a sexual relationship with—that she didn’t know was married.

The Chinese court ruled that the law protected the woman’s “right to virginity” as a “moral right” relating to “sexual freedom, sexual safety and sexual purity,” according to Raw Story. The court granted the plaintiff $5,000 in damages, versus the $81,000 she originally sought.

Alternatively, in Thailand, virginity is a property right as applicable to the practice of a groom giving a bride’s family a dowry. The bride’s virginity is one determining factor for the price of a dowry, which can be upheld under Thailand Family Law if the price is set in a formal agreement.

Read the full story here.