A thesis submitted in patial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Gender and Development Studies

Thesis (M. Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2023

Many debates on the prostitution law have been created so far in Thailand and are still going on now. Even though the Thai government tried to amend the law leading to decriminalization, the law has not been amended yet, because each person and each group has different objectives. Their opinions are shaped by their experience and background, and experience raises fear in daily life including fear of sexuality. The research approaches the public argument of Thai prostitution law through fear of sexuality. Data was gathered about Thai citizens who showed opinions of Thai prostitution law. The data clearly suggested fear of sexuality, specifically different types of fear/ fear of sexuality, was strongly linked to the public argument of prostitution law. Fear of sexuality was personalized and conceptualized by various factors such as socio-demographic information (gender, family members, and educational background/ levels), religion (Buddhism), traumatic/ sexual incidents, and sex education. Besides, the study discovered that less fear/ fear of sexuality promoted decriminalization of prostitution law. Namely, in order to promote decriminalization of prostitution law in Thai society, factors that were examined to weaken and overcome fear of sexuality should be ameliorated and approached in further study.