OPINION

Road to sex work

Re: "Men and their mistresses", (Spectrum, Sept 24).

Your Spectrum article is stereotypical. For 14 years, until it closed, I patronised a sports bar. Since I use my real name, some will remember. It had hostesses available for company if you bought them a ladies drink. If you hit it off, for a bar fine you could leave with any of them.

I only ever went there for the sports, beer and music. Strangely enough, when the ladies realised I had no interest in them, they'd come over and sit and chat if not engaged with customers.

Here's the rub. They all had newer iPhones than I had, or the latest Samsung that put my iPhone 3GS to shame. They dressed well, enjoyed life.

The last 12 years of my career working for others, I was in the consulting business. I visited factories around Asia staffed by women who worked 10 to 12 hours a day at basic wages, desperate for overtime. In Indonesia, I had a factory owner telling me he didn't want to reduce overtime, his workers needed it and he felt he had a social responsibility.

Your article suggests monetary considerations lead to prostitution, or an arrangement as a mistress. I would suggest it is an unwillingness to accept the limitations imposed by the wages of work they are qualified for that really leads to prostitution.

Re: "Men and their mistresses", (Spectrum, Sept 24).

Thanks to Jasmine Chia for analysing the intricacies of infidelity in Thai society. Infidelity is as old as the oldest profession -- prostitution. They are two sides of the same coin.

As long as the women remain uneducated and financially dependent on men, their social and sexual exploitation will live on. In the ancient Mughal, Persian and Turkish era the "harem" was legitimised where scores of women willingly subjugated themselves to powerful men. They were primarily driven by the lure of wealth, comforts and status of their male consorts. This trend still continues in many societies.

It is rather difficult to disregard the social censure around mistress culture in Thailand because it is still accepted as part of tradition and culture. As long as the women are seeking easy money and comfort in the shadow of their consorts, they will be exploited. They may be above the many Thai women that are mainly paid for sex in brothels, parlours and bars but they will continue to remain enslaved. The only way out is to provide the highest possible educational and employment opportunities to all young girls and willing women.

Re: "Mae Ya Nang Needs Help", (Brunch, Sept 24).

I question Andrew Biggs' statistics when he states "At 44 [road accident] deaths per 100,000 people, we [Thailand] are second only to Namibia ... they have 45 deaths per 100,000".

I do not know what set of statistics Andrew is relying on, because the statistics vary a lot, depending on who you quote.

But the World Health Organisation statistics for 2013, the latest year for which they are available, puts Libya at No 1 with 73.4 deaths per 100,000 and Thailand at 36.3, which still puts Thailand in second place in the global ratings. Namibia is way down the list at 23.9.

That aside, as Andrew points out, Thailand's record is still shameful.

I'm not sure who is making the world more nervous between the wayward, reckless, callous, eccentric and deranged Kim Jong-un and the wayward, reckless, callous, eccentric and deranged Donald Trump.

Mr Kim is just a barking dog who suffers from ADD and wants the world's attention. Mr Trump is authorised by US law to launch nuclear attacks at will via the "nuclear football", which is by his side 24/7.

We can tell if that order comes from the president -- but not if it comes from a sane one.