Child prostitution in Thailand

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Thailand is a centre for child sex tourism and child prostitution. [1] [2] Even though domestic and international authorities work to protect children from sexual abuse, the problem still persists in Thailand and many other Southeast Asian countries. [3] Child prostitution, like other forms of child sexual abuse, not only causes death and high morbidity rates in millions of children but also violates their rights and dignity. [4]

Contents

History

Sexual exploitation of children and women in Thailand dates back many centuries. During the Ayutthaya period from 1351 to 1767, women were circulated amongst men as concubines or treated as spoils of war given to soldiers as rewards. Children and women used as sex slaves had to obey their masters or face punishment. [5]

Sexual slavery continued in Thailand for hundreds of years until the 20th century when King Rama V sought a more Western approach in his policy and abolished slavery. [5] The abolition of slavery left many without any means of subsistence, forcing them to turn to prostitution. [5]

Prostitution was more active during times of war. During World War II, under the occupation of Japan, Japanese forces used Thai women as prostitutes. During the Vietnam War, Thailand was a popular destination for American soldiers on their R&R leave. [6] Although the soldiers preferred women rather than young girls, the sex industry in Thailand developed faster than ever before. [6] There were five US bases in Thailand, each housing up to 50,000 troops. [1] Kathryn Farr makes clear that the correlation between the number of troops in Vietnam and the number of prostitutes in Thailand is of significance. "In 1957, an estimated 20,000 prostitutes were working in Thailand. By 1964, that number rose to 400,000. By 1972, when the United States withdrew its main combat troops from Vietnam, there were at least 500,000 working prostitutes in the country. From then on, the Thai sex industry simply exploded". [1]

Since the 1970s, sex tourism in Thailand has been increasing. In 1973, an estimated 1 million sex tourists were in Thailand which rose to 2 million in 1981. [7] The Thailand government spent millions of baht to promote tourism in Thailand in the 1980s [8] and in 1988 the number of sex tourists has risen to 4 million. In the 1990s, sex tourists were staying longer in Thailand than before, which made sex tourism the highest source of foreign currency revenue in Thailand. More than 7.5 million sex tourists visited Thailand by 1998. [7]

Contributing factors

Economic disparity

In the early-1990s, Thailand became one of several Southeast Asian countries to join the ranks of the NICs, or "newly industrialising countries." [9] The country shifted from a rice-based agricultural society to one of rapid industrialisation, and Thailand's GDP doubled in the following decade. [9]

Some provinces, such as Isan, however, struggled to keep up with the industrialisation of neighbouring provinces. The costs of food, land, and tools all increased as the economy grew, but the returns for rice production and other agricultural practices remained stagnant. [10] The country currently experiences massive wealth inequality, labelled the Gini coefficient, in which the country sees rapid growth in wealthy areas but no growth or even a decline in other areas. [11]

Many families are forced to find other methods of income if their land isn't fit for agriculture in addition to the growing social pressure to keep up with industrialised Thailand. As Bales writes, "Now parents feel a great pressure to buy consumer goods that were unknown even twenty years ago." [10] Traffickers exploit this vulnerability by convincing these families to sell their daughters for money. The daughters are promised stable employment in the city, which could alleviate the families' financial difficulties, and the contracts are often seemingly appealing but false. Moreover, in certain parts of Thailand, parents rely on their children to provide money for the family as they suffer from poverty and cannot earn enough money otherwise. The popular belief in Thailand is that children have the responsibility to provide for the family as a way of repaying parents for giving them a place to live. [12] In turn, due to a lack of self-sustaining jobs nearby, children are sometimes forced into exploitation as sex slaves for money or turn to prostitution, which is highly profitable. Other people have taken advantage of this, especially those from western countries. [12] In addition to economic factors, the ingrained attitude of female commodification in Thai society is a major reason driving children to be sold into the sex trade. [13]

Not only are children forced into prostitution, but they have minimal incentives to run away. Providing support for the family by any means is widely considered a good deed in the country. This teaching is embedded in their religion, Theravada Buddhism, so it is difficult for some children to leave the sex trade because many parts of the country are accepting of it. Even men in these areas often mention that they aren't bothered by their spouse being a former sex slave because it has made them rich. The chances of marriage aren't reduced for these children, rendering disapproval uncommon. [14]

Abduction of children

In some circumstances, children who live in Thailand run away or are abducted from their homes. Vulnerable children are often taken by sex trafficking pimps and then sold to individuals or brothels in Thailand. [15] Traffickers can also sell children to individuals who travel to Thailand for child prostitution and will allow the child to leave the country with the individual who purchased them. [15] According to the United Nations, children are kidnapped from Myanmar, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Laos to be trafficked to Thailand, where they find a better client base. [16]

Individual risk factors

Both girls and boys, as young as ten years old, are prostituted throughout Thailand. Most of these children are exploited by local men in their communities, and others are also prostituted by pedophiles and foreign sex tourists. Some of these children may have five to ten clients per day. Children who are homeless, runaways, or abandoned are the most likely to be forced into prostitution and are actively recruited by pimps and traffickers. [17]

Prostituted children are at a high risk of catching many infectious diseases and sequelae, and they are at higher risk of contracting HIV. According to a study, it has been found that 17% of brothels in Thailand contain individuals and child prostitutes infected with HIV. In addition, prostituted children who have an STD that causes genital ulcers such as syphilis or chancroid are four times more likely to develop an HIV infection. Lack of medical services for children with STDs can increase this risk since they will remain untreated or will self-medicate. Prostituted children who are infected with HIV have a very high risk of developing active tuberculosis.

These diseases can be passed to both their children as well as their clients. The ESCAP study found that STD rates are highest in Cambodia (36%), China (78%), and Thailand (38%). Prostituted girls are also likely to have cervical cancer. Developing cervical cancer is associated with having multiple sexual partners or having sexual intercourse at an early age. Those who have a diagnosis are often unaware until a late stage, making successful treatment unlikely. [17]

Sexually-active adolescents who do not use contraception have a 90% chance of becoming pregnant each year; thus, since many girls in Thailand do not have access to contraceptives, they become pregnant. These girls are also at high risk of pregnancy-related complications, including death. Moreover, many impregnated prostituted children seek abortions, and unsafe abortions place them at a higher risk of injury or death. [17]

Prostituted children in Thailand are likely to have serious, long-term mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and behavioral disorders. Many prostituted children often feel helpless, damaged, degraded, betrayed, and shameful, and they tend to be at high risk of suicide and post-traumatic stress disorder. [17]

Prostituted children may also sustain injuries, including rape, as a result of violence from pimps, clients, police, and intimate partners. Girls who are forced into prostitution may be physically and emotionally abused into submission. These youths are also beaten to induce miscarriages, a process that is illegal but continues to be practiced openly. [17]

Legislation

Child prostitution in Thailand is a controversial topic, and children who are a part of this trade are being compensated by various laws. An act passed in 1996 states that "it is prohibited to engage in sexual intercourse or sexual acts in a 'prostitution establishment' with a person under 18 years of age, regardless of consent". [18] The slightest idea or mention of child prostitution through public solicitation, advertising, or association with another person involved in prostitution would be considered illegal. The World Congress Against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children contributed to this act during its meeting in Stockholm, where they "work[ed] towards combating all forms of commercial sexual exploitation of children." [1]

Prostitution in general is also an ongoing problem, but the Thai government has enacted laws to combat the issue. Thailand passed the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act, which focuses on "the total elimination of entry into the commercial sex business by children of both sexes under 18". [19] [20] The act also finds individuals profiting from prostitution, such as pimps and brothel owners, more culpable than the prostitutes themselves. In addition, any government or law enforcement official involved in prostitution in any way "shall be punished with imprisonment of 15–20 years and a fine of 300,000–400,000 baht". [20]

Government cooperation

There are organisations formed together to help enforce these laws. The Stockholm Declaration has been described as "In accordance with the Stockholm Declaration, close interaction and cooperation between government and non-government sectors is necessary to effectively plan, implement and evaluate measures to combat CSEC." [18] Government officials have set laws in place and intend to follow through with each violation regarding child prostitution. The conference of Stockholm merged the "Agenda for Action," which is a set of strategies used to attack child prostitution globally.

Another organisation to help is ECPAT, or End Child Prostitution, Pornography, and Trafficking in Children for Sexual Exploitation, and it has become one of the leading NGOs fighting child prostitution on a global scale. [1] Its website states: "The ECPAT Foundation advocates the implementation and monitoring of the Convention of the Rights of the Child (CRC) and its protocols and engages with networks of human rights and child protection agencies at a national and local level. The foundation supports children and young people who have survived exploitation or are still at risk by encouraging them to participate as key actors to protect themselves and other children in similar situations." [18]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex tourism</span> Travel to engage in sexual activity

Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships in exchange for money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly operates in countries where sex work is legal. The World Tourism Organization of the United Nations has acknowledged that this industry is organized both within and outside the structured laws and networks created by them.

Child sex tourism (CST) is tourism for the purpose of engaging in the prostitution of children, which is commercially facilitated child sexual abuse. The definition of child in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child is "every human being below the age of 18 years". Child sex tourism results in both mental and physical consequences for the exploited children, which may include sexually transmitted infections, "drug addiction, pregnancy, malnutrition, social ostracism, and death", according to the State Department of the United States. Child sex tourism, part of the multibillion-dollar global sex tourism industry, is a form of child prostitution within the wider issue of commercial sexual exploitation of children. Child sex tourism victimizes approximately 2 million children around the world. The children who perform as prostitutes in the child sex tourism trade often have been lured or abducted into sexual slavery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child prostitution</span> Prostitution involving a child

Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child prostitution is illegal as part of general prohibition on prostitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Thailand</span>

Prostitution in Thailand is not itself illegal, but public solicitation for prostitution is prohibited if it is carried out "openly and shamelessly" or "causes nuisance to the public". Due to police corruption and an economic reliance on prostitution dating back to the Vietnam War, it remains a significant presence in the country. It results from poverty, low levels of education and a lack of employment in rural areas. Prostitutes mostly come from the northeastern (Isan) region of Thailand, from ethnic minorities or from neighbouring countries, especially Cambodia, Myanmar, and Laos. In 2019, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) estimated the total population of sex workers in Thailand to be 43,000.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking</span> Trade of sexual slaves

Sex trafficking is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation. It has been called a form of modern slavery because of the way victims are forced into sexual acts non-consensually, in a form of sexual slavery. Perpetrators of the crime are called sex traffickers or pimps—people who manipulate victims to engage in various forms of commercial sex with paying customers. Sex traffickers use force, fraud, and coercion as they recruit, transport, and provide their victims as prostitutes. Sometimes victims are brought into a situation of dependency on their trafficker(s), financially or emotionally. Every aspect of sex trafficking is considered a crime, from acquisition to transportation and exploitation of victims. This includes any sexual exploitation of adults or minors, including child sex tourism (CST) and domestic minor sex trafficking (DMST).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in the Philippines</span>

Human trafficking and the prostitution of children has been a significant issue in the Philippines, often controlled by organized crime syndicates. Human trafficking is a crime against humanity.

Prostitution in Guatemala is legal but procuring is prohibited. There is an offence of “aggravated procuring” where a minor is involved. Keeping a brothel is not prohibited.

Prostitution in the Dominican Republic is legal, but related activities such as brothel-keeping or pimping are illegal. However, prostitution laws are generally not enforced. It is estimated that between 6,000 and 10,000 women work as prostitutes in the country, with many of the sex workers coming from neighboring Haiti. The population of illegal Haitian migrants in the country is particularly vulnerable to exploitation.

Prostitution in Costa Rica is legal. Costa Rica's legal system is based on Roman law rather than common law, and so for prostitution to be illegal it would have to be explicitly stated as such in a penal code, and it is not. Nevertheless, many of the activities surrounding it are illegal, as the law forbids promoting or facilitating the prostitution of another, and therefore pimping, brothels, or prostitution rings are illegal. Prostitution is common and is practiced openly throughout the country, particularly in popular tourism destinations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prostitution in Ukraine</span> Overview of prostitution in Ukraine

Prostitution in Ukraine is illegal but widespread and largely ignored by the government. In recent times, Ukraine has become a popular prostitution and sex trafficking destination. Ukraine is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked transnationally for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation. Ukraine's dissolution from the Soviet Union, saw the nation attempt to transition from a planned economy to a market economy. The transition process inflicted economic hardship in the nation, with nearly 80% of the population forced into poverty in the decade that followed its independence. Unemployment in Ukraine was growing at an increasing rate, with female unemployment rising to 64% by 1997. The economic decline in Ukraine made the nation vulnerable and forced many to depend on prostitution and trafficking as a source of income. Sex tourism rose as the country attracted greater numbers of foreign tourists.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Cambodia</span>

Cambodia is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking. The traffickers are reportedly organized crime syndicates, parents, relatives, friends, intimate partners, and neighbors.

Prostitution in Nigeria is illegal in all Northern States that uses the penal code and sharia law also known as Islamic law. In Southern Nigeria, the activities of pimps or madams, underage prostitution and the operation or ownership of brothels are penalized under sections 223, 224, and 225 of the Nigerian Criminal Code. Even though the Nigerian constitution/Nigerian law does not legalize commercial sex work, it is vague if such work is performed by an independent individual who operates on his or her own accord without the use of pimps

Prostitution in Burkina Faso is not specifically prohibited by the law, but soliciting and pimping are illegal. Burkinabe society only accepts sexual intercourse within marriage. In 2009, Voice of America reported that the number of prostitutes in Burkina Faso had increased as a result of the country's poverty. The increase in prostitution has given rise to fears of an increase in the number of Burkinabés infected with HIV and AIDS. UNAIDS estimate there to be 31,000 prostitutes in the country.

Prostitution in Cambodia is illegal, but prevalent. A 2008 Cambodian Law on Suppression of Human Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation has proven controversial, with international concerns regarding human rights abuses resulting from it, such as outlined in the 2010 Human Rights Watch report.

Transnational efforts to prevent human trafficking are being made to prevent human trafficking in specific countries and around the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ECPAT</span> Non-governmental organization

ECPAT is a global network of civil society organisations that works to end the sexual exploitation of children. It focuses on ending the online sexual exploitation of children, the trafficking of children for sexual purposes, the sexual exploitation of children in prostitution, child, early and forced marriages, and the sexual exploitation of children in the travel and tourism industry.

Prostitution in Mongolia is illegal but widespread in some areas. The Global Fund for Tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS and Malaria estimated there were about 19,000 sex workers in the country in 2006. Many women in Mongolia turn to prostitution through poverty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sex trafficking in the United States</span>

Sex trafficking in the United States is a form of human trafficking which involves reproductive slavery or commercial sexual exploitation as it occurs in the United States. Sex trafficking includes the transportation of persons by means of coercion, deception and/or force into exploitative and slavery-like conditions. It is commonly associated with organized crime.

Prostitution in the Gambia is widespread but illegal. Most of the estimated 3,100 prostitutes in the Gambia are from Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea. Prostitution takes place on the beach, in bars and hotels on the coast. Away from the coast, prostitution mainly takes place in bars. The bars are frequently raided and the foreign prostitutes deported. They often return within a few days.

Child prostitution in Ukraine has been described by Juan Miguel Petit, Special Rapporteur on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography for the United Nations, as a major problem in the country.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 Farr, Kathryn (2005). Sex trafficking: The global market in women and children (Paper ed.). Portland: Worth Publishing. ISBN   978-0-7167-5548-7.
  2. ↑ Singh, J.P.; Hart, Shilpa (23 March 2007). "Sex Workers and Cultural Policy: Mapping the Issues and Actors in Thailand". Review of Policy Research. 24 (2): 155–173. doi:10.1111/j.1541-1338.2007.00274.x.
  3. ↑ "Strengthening Thai laws to fight travellers who sexually abuse children". UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). 14 March 2012. Retrieved 9 May 2015.
  4. ↑ Willis, B. M.; Levy, B. S. (2002-04-20). "Child prostitution: Global health burden, research needs, and interventions". The Lancet . 359 (9315): 1417–1422. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(02)08355-1. PMID   11978356. S2CID   10141488.
  5. 1 2 3 Hulme, Kyle (23 August 2017). "The History of Prostitution in Thailand". Culture Trip. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  6. 1 2 Sorajjakool, Siroj. (2003). Child prostitution in Thailand : listening to Rahab. New York: Haworth Press. ISBN   9781315865027. OCLC   657971859.
  7. 1 2 Harrison, David (2001-01-01). Tourism and the Less Developed World: Issues and Case Studies. CABI. ISBN   9780851994338.
  8. ↑ "History of Prostitution and Sex Trafficking in Thailand – End Slavery Now". endslaverynow.org. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
  9. 1 2 Jackson, Peter A; Cook, Nerida M., eds. (1999). Genders & Sexuality in Modern Thailand. Silkworm Books. ISBN   978-9747551075.
  10. 1 2 Bales, Kevin (2004). Disposable People: New Slavery in the Global Economy (2nd ed.). Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN   978-0520243842.
  11. ↑ Mikkelson GM, Gonzalez A, Peterson GD (2007) Economic Inequality Predicts Biodiversity Loss. PLoS ONE 2(5): e444. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0000444
  12. 1 2 Montgomery, Heather (2009-04-24). "Are child prostitutes child workers? A case study". International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy. 29 (3/4): 130–140. doi:10.1108/01443330910947507. ISSN   0144-333X.
  13. ↑ Nishizaki, Yoshinori (November 2011). "Prostitution and Female Leadership in Rural Thailand: The Story of Phayao Province". Modern Asian Studies. 45 (6): 1535–1597. doi:10.1017/S0026749X11000047. ISSN   1469-8099.
  14. ↑ Lisa Rende Taylor, "Dangerous Trade‐offs: The Behavioural Ecology of Child Labor and Prostitution in Rural Northern Thailand," Current Anthropology 46, no. 3 (June 2005): 411–431. https://doi.org/10.1086/430079
  15. 1 2 Ahan, Farnoosh Rezaee; Rezaee Ahan, Farnoosh (2013). "Child Prostitution in Thailand". SSRN Working Paper Series. ISSN   1556-5068.
  16. ↑ "Thailand Quick Facts". UN-ACT.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 Willis, Brian M; Levy, Barry S (April 2002). "Child prostitution: global health burden, research needs, and interventions". The Lancet. 359 (9315): 1417–1422. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(02)08355-1. ISSN   0140-6736. PMID   11978356. S2CID   10141488.
  18. 1 2 3 "www.ecpat.org" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-05-10. Retrieved 2019-04-11.
  19. ↑ "PREVENTION AND SUPPRESSION OF PROSTITUTION ACT B.E. 2539 (1996)" (Translation). International Labour Organisation (ILO). NATLEX. 1996-10-14. Retrieved 16 October 2016.
  20. 1 2 Lim, Lim Lean, ed. (1998). The Sex Sector: The Economic and Social Bases of Prostitution in Southeast Asia (PDF). Geneva: International Labour Office (ILO). ISBN   978-92-2-109522-4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 October 2016. Retrieved 16 October 2016.


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