Trailing in the polls, a conservative Thai party has decided to spice up its campaign for next month’s general election by proposing to legalize sex toys, officially banned in the kingdom.
Despite its reputation for sexual freedom, Thailand, which is predominantly Buddhist, remains very conservative and vibrators, dildos and other intimate devices are illegal there.
Trading in it is punishable by up to three years in prison or a fine of up to $1,800.
They are still freely sold on street stalls in Bangkok’s red light districts.
Ratchada Thanadirek, a member of the Democratic Party leadership, said the government was missing an opportunity to collect taxes on imports.
“Sex toys are useful because they could lead to a decrease in prostitution, divorces due to libido imbalance and sex-related crimes,” Ratchada Thanadirek said in a statement Monday.
The royalist Democratic Party is Thailand’s oldest party, having given it 4 prime ministers, but it flopped in the 2019 election and is down in the polls for the May 14 ballot.
The party says that in addition to reducing prostitution and the divorce rate, legalizing erotic stimulators will also boost public finances through taxes on imported devices.
Although sex toys are considered “immoral” in some quarters in Thailand, many continue to enter the kingdom illegally from abroad, the party said.
Ms Thanadirek noted that there is currently no quality control on these imported accessories and that some of them are at risk of short circuiting, which poses safety concerns.
The party was embroiled in a sex scandal in April last year when 14 women filed formal complaints against former leader MP Prinn Panitchpakdi. He denies the charges, but the case is still before the courts.