Sex trafficking has been an apparent problem in Thailand since 1965, and it has both equally and negatively affected women, children, and homosexuals. An intertwined combination of social, economic, and political factors in Thailand contribute to the incredible growth of sex trafficking within the country since 1990, when 80,000 women and children were sold into Thailand’s sex trade. Although poverty is often portrayed as the leading factor in the expansion of sex trafficking in Thailand, political prejudices and discriminatory arrest of trafficking victims also aid to its development.
The global economic crisis has given rise to new, dangerous ways of objectifying and demeaning women. Poverty is undoubtedly at the root of the sex trafficking problem in Thailand, where the sex tourism industry is more dangerous than ever before. In the 1960s, rural poverty led women to migrate to the cities, where more and more rural daughters sought work in the new sex industry in order to provide for their families. The declining economy not only affected women but young children as well, who were forced to join their mothers in the sex industry. Although recent Thai society was very conservative and traditional, Thailand increasingly became more accepting of homosexuality, especially in Bangkok, where homosexuals also found themselves joining the sex industry in order to earn a living. As women, children, and homosexuals alike migrated from the countryside to Bangkok, they quickly realized that work in prostitution could provide an income twenty-five times greater than the median level of other occupations in which migrant women found themselves. Another shift took place in the 1970s and 1980s when military prostitution was transformed to accommodate to a growing civilian market, and the dynamic changed from voluntary economic migration to cities to women and girls being trafficked into prostitution (Thailand Journal of Lawn and Policy).
Poverty alone is not at fault for the intense development of sex trafficking in Thailand, and it should be known that the government and political policies also play a major role. For decades, neighboring Burma has been the source of the hundreds of thousands of women taking part in the sex industry and children working on construction sites and in sweatshops (Thailand Trafficking). Many of the people from Burma fled to Thailand in search of better economic opportunities as well as escape from human rights abuses in their own country. However, the Burmese and Thai kingdoms have been political enemies for quite some time. Due to their longstanding prejudice and fear that the Burmese will become too great, Thailand restricts the number of immigrants that may enter the country from Burma. This puts numerous people suffering from abuse and poverty in Burma in a tough situation and makes them vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and trafficking because they are so desperate to enter Thailand in search of a better life.
Discriminatory and arbitrary arrest of sex trafficking victims cannot be overlooked as a leading factor to Thailand’s growing predicament. The government has failed to arrest brothel owners, recruiters and clients involved in forced prostitution and sex trafficking, yet it has engaged in a routine practice of arresting the female, child, and homosexual victims of such abuse (Sex Trafficking in Burma and Thailand). The country has an Anti-Prostitution law that penalizes prostitutes, who are predominately female, but exempts their male clients. This is clearly discrimination against women. Thailand also has an Anti-Trafficking law, which explicitly exempts trafficking from imprisonment and fines, but the government rarely applies this law. As a result, many women and children have been wrongfully arrested, but the clients who take part in these forceful sex trafficking actions serve no penalty. This only motivates the clients, who know they will not get in trouble, to offer more and more money to the trafficking victims, who are too poor and distraught to resist the offers.
All in all, Thailand’s sex trafficking crises has continued to expand from 1965 until present day. It affects women, children, and homosexuals alike, and the victims not only come from Thailand itself, but are also immigrants from neighboring countries. All of the victims desperately seek to find better lives, but unfortunately cannot seem to find any better source of income than the sex industry. Thailand’s political prejudice against Burma highly contributes to the harsh treatment of the helpless and hopeless Burmese immigrants who enter Thailand. The Thai government wrongfully arrests sex trafficking victims rather than helping and guiding them to safety.
The global economic crisis has given rise to new, dangerous ways of objectifying and demeaning women. Poverty is undoubtedly at the root of the sex trafficking problem in Thailand, where the sex tourism industry is more dangerous than ever before. In the 1960s, rural poverty led women to migrate to the cities, where more and more rural daughters sought work in the new sex industry in order to provide for their families. The declining economy not only affected women but young children as well, who were forced to join their mothers in the sex industry. Although recent Thai society was very conservative and traditional, Thailand increasingly became more accepting of homosexuality, especially in Bangkok, where homosexuals also found themselves joining the sex industry in order to earn a living. As women, children, and homosexuals alike migrated from the countryside to Bangkok, they quickly realized that work in prostitution could provide an income twenty-five times greater than the median level of other occupations in which migrant women found themselves. Another shift took place in the 1970s and 1980s when military prostitution was transformed to accommodate to a growing civilian market, and the dynamic changed from voluntary economic migration to cities to women and girls being trafficked into prostitution (Thailand Journal of Lawn and Policy).
Poverty alone is not at fault for the intense development of sex trafficking in Thailand, and it should be known that the government and political policies also play a major role. For decades, neighboring Burma has been the source of the hundreds of thousands of women taking part in the sex industry and children working on construction sites and in sweatshops (Thailand Trafficking). Many of the people from Burma fled to Thailand in search of better economic opportunities as well as escape from human rights abuses in their own country. However, the Burmese and Thai kingdoms have been political enemies for quite some time. Due to their longstanding prejudice and fear that the Burmese will become too great, Thailand restricts the number of immigrants that may enter the country from Burma. This puts numerous people suffering from abuse and poverty in Burma in a tough situation and makes them vulnerable to all forms of exploitation and trafficking because they are so desperate to enter Thailand in search of a better life.
Discriminatory and arbitrary arrest of sex trafficking victims cannot be overlooked as a leading factor to Thailand’s growing predicament. The government has failed to arrest brothel owners, recruiters and clients involved in forced prostitution and sex trafficking, yet it has engaged in a routine practice of arresting the female, child, and homosexual victims of such abuse (Sex Trafficking in Burma and Thailand). The country has an Anti-Prostitution law that penalizes prostitutes, who are predominately female, but exempts their male clients. This is clearly discrimination against women. Thailand also has an Anti-Trafficking law, which explicitly exempts trafficking from imprisonment and fines, but the government rarely applies this law. As a result, many women and children have been wrongfully arrested, but the clients who take part in these forceful sex trafficking actions serve no penalty. This only motivates the clients, who know they will not get in trouble, to offer more and more money to the trafficking victims, who are too poor and distraught to resist the offers.
All in all, Thailand’s sex trafficking crises has continued to expand from 1965 until present day. It affects women, children, and homosexuals alike, and the victims not only come from Thailand itself, but are also immigrants from neighboring countries. All of the victims desperately seek to find better lives, but unfortunately cannot seem to find any better source of income than the sex industry. Thailand’s political prejudice against Burma highly contributes to the harsh treatment of the helpless and hopeless Burmese immigrants who enter Thailand. The Thai government wrongfully arrests sex trafficking victims rather than helping and guiding them to safety.
"Discriminatory and Arbitrary Arrest of Trafficking Victims." Sex Trafficking in Burma and Thailand. Web. 08 May 2011. http://www.lilith-ezine.com/articles/sex/Sex-Trafficking-in-Burma-and-Thailand.html#_1_33.
"Thailand Journal of Law and Policy." Trafficking in Thailand. Web. 7 May 2011. http://www.thailawforum.com/articles/Trafficking-in-Thailand%20.html
"Thailand Trafficking." Thailand - Coalition Against Trafficking of Women. Web. 08 May 2011. http://www.catwinternational.org/factbook/Thailand.php.
Anthony Greenfield
ReplyDeleteIt is evident that Thailand has been struggling with the same issues since 1965. The country seems to be reliving its past, or in some cases, never changing its wrongdoing. The government has been using illegal organizations for their profit since the 1960s according to Jen’s post. My research concludes that the Thai government still uses these criminal associations for their benefit. Not only does Thailand’s problem with Burma cause human trafficking, but their proximity to other nations that also exploit human trafficking works negatively against Thailand. Many neighboring countries, such as India and Cambodia, take advantage of human trafficking, which only influences Thailand more to utilize its accessibility with these nations. Without proper government action, human trafficking will be a problem with the world, especially in Asia, for a long time.
Tim Sakow
ReplyDeleteNot only has the government set up acts and laws to prevent the trafficking of prostitutes, but prostitution has been illegal for about 3 or 4 decades within the region. I'm sure that part of the reason why the government avoids penalizing male clients when interacting with prostitutes and brothels has its root in the sex tourism. 10% of money spent by tourists is spent on prostitutes, and as we all know the market is more so geared towards men rather than women. From a realistic standpoint if the government started to enforce laws on the males that partake in buying from these sex services the economy which the government seems to value would decline rapidly because tourists and natives alike would be more likely to avoid prostitutes and brothels, damaging their multibillion dollar business.
Jennifer Elovitz
ReplyDeleteRE: Tim Sakow
Tim, you make a very good point about the sex tourism. I did not address sex tourism in my essay, and I should have. I had no idea that 10% of the money spent by tourists is spent on prostitutes, but now this fact only further convinces me of the extreme corruption within the Thai government. Yes, prostitution has been illegal in the country, and it's extremely unfortunate that they use their Anti-Prostitution Law to wrongfully arrest trafficking victims.
It's absurd that the goverment cares more about revenue than people. They fact that they refuse to enforce their Anti-Trafficking law because of the revenue it brings them is disgusting. Although many of the clients who partake in buying these sex services would probably continue to do so in secret even if the government enforced punishments on them, you are right in saying that the economy would definitely decline rapidly. I do not think trafficking would disappear of these laws and punishments were rightfully enforced, but I agree that they would definitely be more likely to avoid taking part in sex trafficking.
The government seriously needs to set their priorities straight. They need to enforce their acts and laws to prevent prostitution and trafficking in the correct manner. They need to decide what's more important: losing the 10% of money spent by tourists on prostitutes, or saving the lives of thousands of their own native people. They need to make changes immediately.
Jennifer Elovitz
ReplyDeleteRE: Anthony Greenfield
You made a good statement, Anthony. Thailand does seem to be reliving its past and never changing its wrongdoings. Sex trafficking in Thailand is not a new issue. It has been around for quite sometime, and it continues to grow each year. Rather than working to prevent this issue over the past few decades, the government has basically endorsed it while watching it get more serious over time.
You're right. Thailand, although very influential in this matter, is not the only country in the area with a sex trafficking problem. The neighboring areas, especially Burma, all take part in sex trafficking. The trafficking does not only affect women, but children as well. In 1996, almost 200,000 foreign children, mostly boys from Burma, Laos and Cambodia, were thought to be working in Thailand. The fact that Thailand accepts these young children and forces them to work on construction sites and in sweatshops.
The Thai government needs to stop taking advantage of all the adults and children that enter their country. They know the people are vulnerable and searching for an escape from their home countries, so they utilize them in absurd manners to make revenue. The government should seek proper action now to ensure that trafficking does not continue to grow even more rapidly in Asia's future.
source: http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/thailand.htm
Kate Molinari
ReplyDeleteI agree with you wholeheartedly that the Thai government has done little to combat sex trafficking. It has been using faulty law and policy that punishes the prostitutes and lets the ones who use the service go without even a reprimand. Quite frankly, it seems to me that the prostitutes are the victims in this situation. It is they, after all, who are forcefully trafficked or have little other occupational choice. The truth is that the sex trade pays well. Most of the women who enter into it are from poverty-stricken backgrounds with little education and have no other way of earning that much money except through selling themselves.
To add to the laws that you mentioned, did you know that Thailand's anti-trafficking law didn't even include men at first? It wasn't until 2008 that this was changed, and only after Thailand received pressure from the international community. Even with this change, I'm not too sure that the law will be enforced effectively. Which leads me to agree with you on another point; the police are NOT enforcing these laws. In one gruesome instance in 2008, the police encountered a shipping container full of dozens of Burmese migrants being trafficked into Thailand. 57 of them died from suffocation. With the few that survived, the police refused to qualify them as trafficking victims, jailed them and deported them. This is truly horrific and the police clearly aren't doing their jobs.
Andrea Vilchez
ReplyDeleteIt is clear that while poverty is a major cause of the growth in sex trafficking in Thailand, it is not the only contributing factor. Thailand's political relationship with Burma do, as you say, affect the situation regarding the expansion of the sex trade. Thailand has not only set restrictions on the number of Burmese immigrants allowed into the country, but it has also in many cases refused those immigrants any legal status. Many come into this country seeking relief from the poverty in Burma. Rather than aid the Burmese and take in the refugees, the Thai government considers them illegal, and does not allow them any rights. Viewed as outcasts in Thai society, the Burmese immigrants must turn to sex market to make a living. The Burmese leave their povert-stricken homeland, only to enter into the horrors of the sex trafficking industry in Thailand. And the Burmese aren't the only ones facing such abuse from the Thai government. Even the hill-tribe ethnic group in the northern part of the country itself face the same injustices. However, rather than due to a political rivalry, the discrimination faced by the hill-tribe peoples is due to their darker skin complexions, which is hardly a reason for such mistreatment.
Jennifer Elovitz
ReplyDeleteRE: Kate Molinari
I completely agree that the prostitutes are the victims in these situations! The majority of people would argue this statement and instead insist that the prostitutes choose this lifestyle. Many people tend to be narrowminded and just believe that these people should "get real jobs," and that it is their faults that they're in this business. But the truth of the matter is that they truly do not have any other options. They really are forcefully trafficked or have little other occupational choice. They know that they would not be able to support their families if they were not in this business. In a sense, it's as if they sacrifice themselves just so that they can feed their families and get by on a daily basis.
No, I did not know that Thailand's anti-trafficking law didn't even include men at first! That's horrible. It's good to hear that they finally listened to the people of the international community and took action in 2008 to add men to this law. However, now the government needs to take some real action. It's easy to put something like that in writing and add it to the law, but the law is no good if they never actually enforce it. They might as well not have this law at all, because they sure aren't following through with it or helping sex trafficking victims in any way.
The fact that people try to leave Burma and enter into Thailand for better lives but end up being forced into sex trafficking or prostitution is horrible. The fact that there could be such a situation, as you state, where 57 people die due to suffocation before they even get there is even worse! These people are clearly victims, and if the police cannot see that, then truly must not even have consciences! The government needs to set their priorities straight and save these victims rather than arresting them.
Jennifer Elovitz
ReplyDeleteRE: Andrea Vilchez
It's extremely unfortunate that Thailand is not willing to help out their neighboring regions, especially Burma. It's slightly undrstandable for Thailand to set restrictions on the number of Burmese immigrants allowed to enter the country for economic reasons. However, it is completely unfair for them to refuse to grant any legal status to those immigrants who are rightfully there. Thailand needs to put aside their political prejudices with the government of Burma and stop taking out their anger on the Burmese citizens. It's very sad that they come to Thailand searching for relief from Burma, yet they end up in even worse situations in Thailand.
While these unjustices against the people from Burma seem to be the most known, Thailand is definitely forcing other vulnerable people into sex trafficking and prostitution as well. The hill-tribe has done nothing wrong to Thailand politically; they have no political prejudices against them. They should not be treated in such horrible manners because of their skin color. The discrimination they face is absurd!
It cannot be said enough that the Thai government is largely at fault for the intense growth of sex trafficking within the past few decades. Their government seems to be outrageously corrupt and out of control. All countries have their own political prejudices, but Thailand is taking this to an extreme! This needs to stop immediately.