In this article aims and research questions of the research project on prostitution and human trafficking for sexual purposes in the Nordic countries. The research is carried out by the Nordic Gender Institute and commissioned by the Nordic Council of Ministers.
Author conducted ethnographic fieldwork in 2013, observing the (work) activities of the women working in the so-called 'beer bars' of Lamai in Southern Thailand. Author talked with them on a daily basis. The main business of these bars is not selling beer, but commercial sex. The aim of the research was to find out which conflicts and problems bar girls experience, and what coping strategies they employ to engage with these.