The Rise Of Sex Tourism And Sex-Trafficking In Thailand

Thailand is among the many countries spanning the vast expanse of the Southeast areas of the Asian continent. It just recently officially acquired the designation the Kingdom of Thailand. Thailand is a developing country having diverse cultures, with remarkable white sand beaches, numerous historical sites, and friendly people. The beauty that is vested in this country’s geographical aspects and key defining features has, over the years, attracted millions of tourists from around the globe to this country yearly, thus enabling Thailand to rank among the most famous international tourist destinations in the world. For this developing country, tourism is the major source of income. In 2007 alone, the country attracted over 14 million international visitors and subsequently earned US $16,000 million. Astonishingly, a significant part of the revenue generated by tourism in Thailand derives from sex tourism, with the country being depicted as earning approximately US $26.2 billion from international sex tourists. This industry, however, has contributed to numerous social problems being witnessed and experienced by the communities in Thailand, including the frequent cases of HIV/AIDS transmission and an upsurge in criminal activities throughout the country. These social impacts of sex tourism in Thailand constitute far more complex and far-reaching consequences, especially for the women involved in this trade.

This paper, in light of these controversial social consequences of the sex industry in Thailand, will attempt to compare and contrast the lives of women from when sex tourism was introduced in Thailand during the Vietnam War to that witnessed in the present-day lives of the women involved in the sex industry in this country. This central objective will be actualized by way of providing the historical context of sex tourism, followed by a discussion of how it became a modern-day profit, then how it affected the lives of women from both Thailand and its neighbouring countries, followed by a comparative analysis of the lives of women in the past and present of this industry. The paper will conclude with a discussion of how Thai laws and human rights activist groups safeguard women within this industry.

Sex Tourism as a Historical Context

Sex tourism, although not an official part of Thailand’s tourism sector, can be defined as "trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary purpose of effecting a commercial sexual relationship by the tourist with residents at the destination". In Thailand, there is evidence that tends to suggest that prostitution was a lawful and taxed practice in this country from as early as the years 1350 to 1767. The trade began to flourish within this country from 1782 to 1809 as the country witnessed a surge in the immigration of Chinese men around this period. The pioneer settlements where prostitution took effect included Sampeng, a Chinese neighbourhood in Bangkok. This early settlement remained the most famous location for prostitution in Thailand from 1852 to 1868. The trade witnessed further expansion to operate in various other provinces in this country during the Thailand economic boom that was witnessed around the year 1868 to 1910. This was further augmented by the continued influx of Chinese workers into Thailand in addition to the development of the slave trade during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

Since the 1960s, the industry has grown exponentially, and this growth has been attributed to the advent of the Vietnam War in coalition with two very strategic and memorable acts by the then-Thailand authorities. These two acts include the Prostitution Suppression Act of 1960, which saw to it that prostitution was rendered illegal in the country, and the Entertainment Places Act of 1996, through which all entertainment establishments were regulated, especially those that employed women to attend to male customers. During the Vietnam War, the government of Thailand reached an agreement with the United States that allowed Thailand to function as the rest and recreation (R&R) centre for the US military. Following this agreement, the US soldiers alone had spent over US $20 million in Thailand by 1970, in addition to contributing significantly to the development of prostitution within the country. In the aftermath of the war, sex tourism expanded to other markets, including those in Europe and Japan. Despite being rendered illegal, the trade continued to spread within the country, a growth spurt that resulted in the institution of Bangkok and Pattaya as the sex tourist’s paradises.

How Sex Tourism Became a Modern-Day Profit

Sex tourism in Thailand was supported for most part of its history by key social and economic factors. The social factors that drove this industry to become a modern-day profit include the social structure in the country, gender roles, the social construction of sexual behaviour, and the advent of poverty. The economic drivers of this industry stem from the significant economic development and growth in Thailand that has been witnessed in the last three decades, in addition to the fact that the demand for this commodity is ever-increasing and, especially, demand from Thai men and other international sex tourists. This is augmented by the corruption and support that the industry has received from the government and other politicians, coupled with the thriving tourism industry in the country that has created a conducive environment for the growth and development of sex tourism. Exploring the social factors in detail, the social structure in Thailand is such that there is a lot of pressure being exerted on the young girls as they come of age to provide for their families and to give back to their parents where they have been provided for.

This, coupled with the fact that women have a very low social status that derives from the tradition in most cultural setups in the country, creates the enabling factors that push women to engage in prostitution in a bid to actualize their societal acclaimed duties. This is specifically true for women in the lower classes of society as research depicts their counterparts from the upper class as sharing no obligations that are rooted in offering their families economic support; instead, they are more inclined to please their husbands. This depicts the lower-class men as being economically dependent on women, which pushes the women from these setups to engage in prostitution. This further highlights the kind of role that poverty plays in enabling this industry to grow into a modern day profit. The majority of women who chose to participate in prostitution have been depicted as being driven by economic necessity, such as that of helping to provide for their families. This is further augmented by the large gap between the haves and the haves not in Thailand, which depicts most of the population in this country as living below the poverty line. This increases their needs, which pushes most women residing in rural areas to engage in prostitution.

Lastly, the social construction of sexual behaviour between the two genders in Thailand is still shrouded by the belief that men need sex and that the deal woman, the "good", is one that remains a virgin until marriage. In a bid to find a go-around to this system and in a bid to satisfy the needs expressed by the men in Thailand, then prostitution offers an asymmetrical arrangement that best addresses these needs and helps men cheat the system. Consequently, prostitution, despite being rendered illegal by the laws in the country, is socially accepted, and the rationale for this acceptance stems from the fact that prostitution offers men sexual relief, thereby protecting women from being raped.

How Sex Tourism Affects the Lives of Women

Prostitution is one such activity that is associated with a lot of negative health implications, especially for the women engaged in this trade. For starters, it predisposes women to a myriad of sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, which is seen as having increased in prevalence rates in Thailand as the incidence of sex tourism and the significant expansion of this industry first became evident in this country. Secondly, prostitution is a form of violence against women that has greatly enhanced the propagation of gender inequality in this system through the kind of male dominance that is rooted in this industry. Subsequently, it is an unequal and negative representation of sexuality for young people, which reduces their choices in matters of sexuality. Thirdly, it enhances the propagation of rape culture, in which case the women will be unable to defend themselves through law as the trade itself has been rendered illegal in the country. Thus, the women are not protected at all from men who take advantage of this situation to exert their ill will on the women engaged in prostitution.

Lastly, all these acts of violence directed at women bear serious consequences where their mental health is concerned since the impacts of prostitution are not exactly visible, and they tend to be intangible, which makes it hard to address these issues effectively. The institution of rape culture, disadvantaged economic conditions, migration paths, and sexual violence in general that is evident throughout the platforms where prostitution is highly prevalent significantly predisposes children to childhood sexual violence, which presents another threat that this industry presents, which is rooted in the increased vulnerability of the youth to the sex industry. The effects are far worse for women who are from neighbouring countries who are trafficked into Thailand and other established sex industries as they do not enjoy the state’s protection or are accorded any rights at all. This predisposes them to extremely harsh treatments, including sexual violence and other physical abuses that go unpunished, hence having severe consequences for the women in Thailand's sex industry.

Comparative Analysis of the Lives of Women When Sex Tourism Was Just Being Instituted in Thailand versus Their Lives in the Present Day Sex Industry

Similarities

Women in both eras have suffered a lot of trauma that can be attributed to the amount of sexual violence that is rooted in prostitution. They have been subjected to rape and physical abuse that has left a lot of mental scars as they have left physical scars. It is estimated that most women who have been victims of such long-term sexual abuse tend to develop psychological disorders such as Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). In addition, they all bore significant disease burdens as a result of engaging in this industry, such as those from highly infectious and sexually transmitted diseases. Besides, both the women in these eras have witnessed some form of infringement of their rights at one point in time, especially for those who have fallen victim to sex trafficking. This significantly reduces their dignity as fellow human beings and as result a violation of the human rights principles that have been instated on an international scale. This kind of violation is the ultimate form of victimization of women in this industry. As a conclusion, women in the sex industry, despite the era in which they engaged in this form of trade have suffered similar consequences and negative impacts as those of rape and other forms of sexual violence in addition to having their rights denied and this is especially true for those engaged in sex trafficking.

Differences

The main difference in the lives of women in this industry between the era when it had just been introduced in Thailand, and the modern-day women in this industry are that the present-day sex industry enjoys a lot more freedom and protections as compared to those in the past. Today, the women in this industry have been educated on how to defend themselves first by encouraging the use of protective gear while indulging with multiple partners to be accorded legal protection in the face of sexual violence directed against them. These are benefits the women in this industry in the past could only dream of, thus protecting the present-day women involved in the sex industry. This is a result of prostitution possibly gaining popularity to warrant its legalization as countries such as Thailand are debating on whether the practice should be legalized throughout the country. The protection awarded to the present-day women in the sex industry is the main difference that denotes what differentiates this practice today from when it had just been introduced in the country in question.

Thai Laws and Human Rights Activists

Lastly, there are ongoing debates about whether the practice should be legalized in the country, with numerous human rights activist groups erupting to defend the application of the human rights clause to this group of women and men engaged in the trade. The laws in Thailand, however, are still against the institution of this practice, and as such, by law, prostitution is still rendered illegal in this country. In terms of safeguarding women and young women, the laws protect against the advent of rape and other sexual violence on occasion that they are committed outside the settings of prostitution. If committed while the women were engaged in prostitution, it then becomes a subject to debate as the law is governed by certain maxims of equity, which depict that "he who seeks equity must come will clean hands." In such a setting, the human rights activist group comes in to defend the case of these women who were involved in prostitution and have been wronged in such circumstances. There is a call for the government in the country to recognize the industry as legal and to apply the principles of human rights to all, including these women, without discrimination of whatever form and especially in administrating justice and fairness to all as these women are just fellow human beings whose socio-economic crises forced to engage in this industry. There are many other laws that have been developed in a bid to fight prostitution and its associated negative effects, including the Child Protection Act and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, which, coupled with the Witness Protection Act, help to uphold the rights of women and other vulnerable groups susceptible to sex-trafficking.

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