Anthony Greenfield
Human trafficking, as defined by wiktionary.org, is a criminal act in which people are recruited, harbored, transported, bought, or kidnapped to serve an exploitative purpose, such as sexual slavery, forced labor, or child soldiery. Thailand is one of the many countries that utilizes human trafficking as a large part of their economy. In 1997, human trafficking skyrocketed in Thailand after the decrease in value of the baht, which caused a rise in the standard price of living, an increase in unemployment, and a lack of interference from the government due to their falling revenue.
Throughout history, the common denominator when inflation strikes a nation’s economy is that the value of money decreases tremendously. In result, the standard price of living must go up in order to balance out the lack of revenue, meaning the average person spends less so prices increase. Asia faced a major financial crisis in 1997, particularly hurting Thailand’s economic stability. The value of the Thai baht decreased, causing the people to struggle to support themselves and their families. In response to this, many parents sold their children into slave labor and in some cases into sexual labor in order to make money to survive.
Once the standard of living increases, the unemployment rate doubles and even triples, causing labor to be cheap. Employers look to hire the cheapest workers who will do the most labor for the least amount of money. The first place to find these workers was with children, who had little power to defend their rights. On top of forced labor, parents had begun to sell their children in order to make a quick dollar, as said in the paragraph before. Along with child labor, the only new jobs to be created were sexually related. Women were sold into brothels and their bodies were used to make money in the crudest ways. Sex trafficking, as well as prostitution, became one of Thailand’s leading enterprises.
The government is always affected negatively during a financial crisis, especially in Thailand’s case. The government devalued the baht in direct response to the debt their received from foreign nations. Usually, a nation’s government would take a forceful approach to illegal acts such as human trafficking. Instead, the government embraced it, mainly because their source of revenue was drastically falling. Human trafficking served as a new supply of profit for the government, and not only did they support it, they also exploited it to their advantage. According to Trafficking in Persons Report of 2010, Thailand is on the Tier 2 Watch list, which means they do not comply with the Trafficking Victim’s Protection acts, although they are making an attempt to.
In essence, one will see that not all countries think and believe as the United States does. Human trafficking is a disturbing act that leads to only negative results. Unfortunately for Thailand, their financial crisis caused them to use human trafficking as a way out. Although human trafficking was always a problem throughout the entire world, the depreciation of the Thai baht caused this problem to amplify dramatically. Families needed money, cheaper labor was sought out, and the government was losing revenue, so their only way to correct these issues in their mind was to use illegal actions. It is an unfortunate case that should never be the answer.
Tim Sakow
ReplyDeleteI agree with many of the statements within this observation. The government is one of the largest problems with the sex trafficking trade within Thailand. After 1997 the failing economy was a large issue and it needed to be reformed, and it obviously still does need SOME form of reformation. The government relied way too much on the illegal trades going on to pull them through slumps and still do. Quite honestly, I find it ridiculous that the nation as a whole over looks the issue just because it has been a successful form of income. Regardless of the businesses success, hasn't the recent health reports of Thailand shocked the nation? HIV/AIDS have become prominent in this region of Asia because of bad hygiene and poor regulation of brothels that are already illegal.
Anthony Greenfield
ReplyDeleteI agree Tim, the government's response to these illegal cartels is ridiculous. Not only is there a lack of effort, there is encouragement from the government so they are able to receive sufficient funding from the human trafficking.
Jennifer Elovitz
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that child labor, sex trafficking, and prostitution all developed more intensely after the value of the Baht dropped and the economy was suffering. Although it is true that Thailand seemed to use human sex trafficking as a way to aid their financial crisis, I do not believe that trafficking grew simply because of economic issues. Poverty alone is not at fault for the intense development of sex trafficking in Thailand. Yes, the government seemed to accept and encourage the trafficking because it was helping their economy, but some political policies also played a major role. The country has an Anti-Prostitution Law and an Anti-Trafficking law, but they seem to either disregard them or use them to wrongfully arrest the victims of sex trafficking rather than the clients who force them into the industry. Instead of pretending not to notice the thousands of people who were suffering from these unsafe conditions and unfair lifestyles, the government needed to step in and take serious action. It’s unfortunate that their government would rather make money than help the people of their own country.
Kate Molinari
ReplyDeleteI feel you explain the economic aspects of the Thai sex trafficking problem perfectly. The economic crisis caused by the fall of the baht had a huge impact on the Thai sex trade. Many faced with unemployment turned to prostitution and trafficking in an attempt to earn a salary. However, I feel you didn't give enough credit to the societal problems involved. Prostitution has long been a part of Thai society, and it was popular long before the economic crisis of 1997. I feel the roots of prostitution's popularity in Thailand began when the United States planted military bases in Thailand, and prostitution brought a lot of American money into the Thai economy. After the troops shipped out with the end of the Vietnam War, Thailand's sex business began receiving new customers (a.k.a. sex tourists). I do agree that women and children were forced or joined the business because of a lack of other forms of employment, but I feel that this was something that had been going on for decades. From my point of view, the 1997 crisis severely deepened the sex trafficking issue, but did not start it. It had long been a part of society and the economy
Andrea Vilchez
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kate's take on the subject. While the economic crisis of 1997 did in fact play a major role in the growth of the sex trade in Thailand, it was not the only cause of said expansion. Prostitution is a widely accepted practice throughout Thailand and has been so, since long before the 1997 crisis. It is not only allowed in Thai society, but it is also often encouraged. I agree with your assessment of the government's role in dealing with the issue at hand. The government is clearly aware of the situation and yet it fails to address it. While there are non-governmental organizations in Thailand working to end the sex trafficking, the government itself has done virtually nothing to stop these horrendous acts. They disregard the existing laws prohibiting the solicitation of prostitutes, and several government officials are even involved in the trade itself. It is sad to see Thailand's government go so far in its corruption as to prioritize a quick buck over the basic rights of any human being.
Anthony Greenfield
ReplyDeleteI agree that human trafficking started way before 1997 and there are more problems than just economic. I just wanted to focus on economics and the recent spike in sex trafficking in Thailand. There are many social and political reasons that were mentioned in Jen's, Kate's, and Andrea's posts that played a huge role in the exploitation of human trafficking.