THAILAND

Locked up women find fresh outlook thanks to royal programme

Spectrum, Suthon Sukphisit, Published on 24/06/2012

» Of Thailand's 25,000 female prisoners, 85% are there due to drug-related offences. Compared to other world prison populations, this percentage is inordinately high, as is that of the rising number of female inmates in relation to male inmates _ some 17% of Thailand's prison population is female. Many are arrested after becoming involved in the drug trade, used as tools by dealers. As young as 18, they are drawn into the wrong kind of company, their gullibility exploited. They tend to be girls with little education from poor families who are desperate for money.