The ABC has run a piece that appears to lament the struggling sex industry in Thailand amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

It wistfully describes the “buzzing party scene” before the pandemic hit, where “pulsating music filled the air and neon lights flashed until the early hours” in the country’s red light districts. Now “bar stools sit atop dusty tables, the odd light bulb flickers and ‘For Rent’ signs hang on bars, nightclubs and restaurants up and down the infamous red light district” of cities like Pattaya. 

It recounts stories of prostituted women who are now struggling to support themselves and their families and who weren’t...