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Prostitution & Sex Tourism
What are Prostitution & Sex Tourism?
Who is affected by Prostitution & Sex Tourism?
How do Prostitution & Sex Tourism affect health?
Why do Prostitution & Sex Tourism affect Third World Women more than others?
How are people working to solve the problem of Prostitution & Sex Tourism?
What is being done right now about Prostitution & Sex Tourism?
I. What are Prostitution & Sex Tourism?
Prostitution and sex tourism fall under a more general category of sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation happens when one person (or persons) receives sex or money through abusing another person's sexuality.1 For an example of prostitution, a man may receive sex and a pimp may receive money by using a woman as a prostitute. In sex tourism, an American man may pay a sex travel agency for a trip to Thailand which includes airfare, hotel, food, and women for sex. Prostitution can include traditional forms of prostitution (through a brothel, the military, or on the streets), and also sex tourism, sex trafficking, and mail order bride selling.1
II. Who is affected by Prostitution & Sex Tourism?
It is difficult to estimate how many people are working in prostitution because so many women working as waitresses, hotel maids, salesclerks, bar girls, and golf caddies are forced into prostitution as part of their work.2 In Thailand, it has been estimated that at least 200,000 women and children work in prostitution.3 At least one-third of Thai prostitutes are under the age of 18, and most adult prostitutes started when they were only children.2 Children as young as six years old work in prostitution.2 Prostitutes are primarily women and girls, although some men and boys also work in prostitution.
Many of the children who work in prostitution come from extremely poor families -- the child's work as a prostitute may feed her entire family.2 Women and children may also be illegal trafficked from one country to another under the belief that they will find work in another country. Their traffickers force them to pay a high price, and to work in prostitution on their arrivals in order to pay for their travel.2
III. How do Prostitution & Sex Tourism affect health?
- Physical Health
The sexual health of women and children in prostitution is severely harmed in many ways:
- Increased risk of HIV/AIDS
- Risk of sexually transmitted infections
- Risk of unwanted pregnancy
- Vaginal tearing
- Violence
- Rape
- Physical abuse
- Confinement
- Mental Health
Prostitution is a violation of women's human rights, and treats women as objects. The pain of being treated so poorly can lead to depression and resignation. The state of girls' mental health is best illustrated by Poppy, quoted in The Child and the Tourist by Ron O'Grady:
"I found myself dancing at a club at the age of 11... I have had different kinds of customers, foreigners and Filipinos. I tried suicide but it didn't work so I turned to drugs. I want to die before my next birthday." (Quoted on http://www.equalitynow.org/action_eng_12_1.html)4
- Women's Health
Prostitution teaches men to view women as objects. Thus not only are women and children who are prostitutes harmed, but all women are harmed by prostitution.
IV. Why do Prostitution & Sex Tourism affect Third World Women more than others?
Prostitution has become an industry in Thailand with the major help of the United States military and the World Bank. During the Vietnam War, the U.S. Department of Defense had a contract with the Thai government to provide "Recreation & Relaxation" for U.S. soldiers.2 With money from the U.S. government, local Thai prostitution organized and expanded into a major industry. In 1975, the World Bank built an economic plan for Thailand around the sex tourism industry, which helped turn sex tourism into the country's number one export.2 Prostitution has now become such an important industry, that work to end prostitution must also support the growth of new industries.
V. How are people working to solve the problem of Prostitution & Sex Tourism?
- Criminalizing prostitution
Although prostitution is illegal in Thailand, it is often protected by law enforcement agencies.3 When prostitution is illegal, it often means that it is illegal for a woman to be a prostitute, but not illegal for a man to pay a prostitute. This continues to harm the woman who is in prostitution, instead of helping her find ways out of prostitution. It also gives men free license to continue to find other women to exploit. When making prostitution illegal, the roles should be switched; men should be arrested for purchasing a prostitute, while women should not be thrown in jail for being a prostitute.1
- Promoting policies that address prostitution
Governments have a role in prosecuting companies that sell sex tourist packages. For example, in New York, prostitution laws state that: "a person is guilty of promoting prostitution in the third degree when he knowingly advances or profits from prostitution by managing, supervising, controlling or owning...a prostitution business or enterprise involving prostitution activity by two or more prostitutes...." 4 Sex tourism agencies originating in New York could be prosecuted under this law.
The World Bank has a role in addressing prostitution when it is loaning $1.9 billion US dollars to Thailand for projects.5 Its history of supporting sex tourism in Thailand makes it unlikely that current policy critically considers the effects of sex tourism on women in children. In fact, the current World Bank pages on Thailand do not even mention the sex tourism industry or prostitution. Projects to improve the lives of women and children in Thailand cannot work if the role of sex tourism is not addressed.
- Increasing opportunities in education and employment
Women and children are not freely choosing the work in prostitution; it is a "choice" based purely on the economics of food and shelter. Girls who work as prostitutes in Thailand can provide for their entire family, while most other jobs cannot. It will take economic change to help women and children seriously considering leaving the sex tourism industry. Jobs must be available that can provide for families, and people must be trained to do them. New industry must replace the current sex industry to enact real change for women and children in prostitution.
VI. What is being done right now about Prostitution & Sex Tourism?
- Ms. Magazine recently compiled a list of resources to stop sex trafficking, many of which appear here (or lead to resources that appear here).
- Coalition Against Trafficking in Women "works internationally to oppose all forms of sexual exploitation." Actions include support for policy against trafficking and prostitution; statements on the United Nations and governmental roles to work against traffikcing; and a report of a protest against one company that provides sex tours. Based in the United States
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/
catw/catw.htm - Coalition Against Prostitution, Child Abuse & Trafficking. Gives Thai-based organizations space to document their work on poverty, prostitution, and child labor, in order to compel people to take action. Based in Thailand
http://www.capcat.ksc.net/ - The Center for the Protection of Children's Rights: Advocates for abused children, and works to stop trafficking. Based in Thailand
cpcr@internet.th.com - Empower: Provides services such as health education, job training, and literacy classes to sex workers. Based in Thailand
Mail: P.O. box 1065; Silom Post Office; Bangkok 10504; Thailand - Foundation for Women: Helps women vulnerable to trafficking by creating economic alternatives to prostitution. Based in Thailand
FFW@mozart.inet.co.th - Equality Now: Advocates for women's human rights. Recommends actions directed at United States officials to prosecute sex tourism companies. Based in the United States.
http://www.equalitynow.org/
References:
- Coalition Against Trafficking in Women. Philosophy.
Retrieved July 2, 2000 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/catw/philos.htm - Rogers, B. (Oct/Nov 1999). Bitter harvest. Ms. Magazine, 9. New York: Liberty Media for Women.
- U.S. Department of State. (1999). Thailand Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1998.
Retrieved July 2, 2000 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/
1998_hrp_report/thailand.html - Equality Now. (December 1996). Women's Action 12.1: Sex Tourism: "Real sex with real girls, all for real cheap"
Retrieved July 2, 2000 from the World Wide Web:
http://www.equalitynow.org/action_eng_12_1.html - The World Bank Group. (September 1999). The World Bank and Thailand.
Retrieved July 2, 2000 from the World Wide Web:
http://wbln0018.worldbank.org/eap/eap.nsf/
7a4109e5442319dc852567c9007162e0/
6cfed203c337dcd0852567d7007c7630?OpenDocument
Dawn Haney, July 2000
Last Modified: 1/4/2001
Contact: Dawn Haney haneydaw@arches.uga.edu