- Education - Remaining longer in school may reduce early entrance but with the lack of jobs related to what is taught most resort to prostitution.
- Birth Position - The middle child in Thai culture is usually responsible for supplying the financial need of the family thus increasing the likelihood of early entrance and participation in prostitution.
- Familial Roles - Thai culture believes the children are responsible for caring for the family as a repayment to the parents for giving birth and caring for them when younger. Such a task is usually given to the girls since it is expected that the boys will marry and leave the household. Thus the older daughters usually manage the house which reduces the likelihood of them entering and participating in prostituting.
However, the middle children supply the financial need and because there is limited access to morally acceptable jobs they resort to prostitution. The younger girls stay home and manages the house as the oldest has, by the time the youngest assume their position, already married and left. - Gender - Girls are more likely that boys to participate though they may start later. The extension of their participation, however, are longer than boys as the boys seek other jobs and/or marry when older.
- The Number of Younger Sisters - Since boys leave the family when married, the need of the family is dependent on the amount of daughters in the household. If there are many it is more likely that the older siblings will enter early and participate in prostitution to support the need.
- Wealth - If the family has some wealth it is unlikely that the children will enter prostitution early however, it does not deter later participation as some may feel that what wealth they have is not enough to meet their wants.
- Parent's Marital Stability - If the parent's marriage is stable it is unlikely that their children will enter early and participate in prostitution however, if they do divorce it becomes likely. It is said that every time parents divorce children's likelihood of entrance and participation increases by 5. This may be due to the possible unwant of the step-parent to care for the children leading them to prostitution.
Monday, September 29, 2008
Things To Know:
There are numerous factors that influence the likelihood of early entrance and participation in hazardous work in Thailand:
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In reading of child prostitution specifically in Thailand, I have come to realize the specifics of the booming industry. Reasoning behind the volume of children or youth joining the sex industry has much to do with their families. In Thailand, children are born to support the mobilization of their families. It is interesting to note, that every child given their birth position has a duty to fulfill. Females especially have more obligations as opposed to male siblings. In many cultures, we are accustomed to males dominating family responsibilities, yet in Thailand it is the exact opposite. As previously mentioned, given a birth position determines the role of that particular child. Taylor (2005) states first-born children are the “home helpers,” attending to obligations of the home where as middle-born children are the “financial helpers,” whom are more likely to navigate towards the sex industry. Last-born children are likely to become involved in hazardous labor consisting of excessive or severe work.
Although employment alternatives are available, the sex industry promises financial stability (due to its demand) in comparison to other forms of employment. In addition, many children volunteered to join the sex industry do to abuse at home, poverty, and the inability to attend school. In reading Sorajjakool (2003), the importance of financially helping the family is extremely crucial for many of the children. The ability to provide for brothers, sisters and their parents at home, allows them to morally accept their positions as sex workers. I found this understandable but hard to take in. I ask myself what the roles of parents are within the family. Are parents simply to reproduce children for the main reason of finding financial security through them? It’s difficult to swallow the idea of mothers selling the virginity of their children for money or forcing them to join the industry. What do such actions say about the economic struggle of Thailand and other cities condoning children as prostitutes?
Montgomery (2007) mentions in the 1990’s child prostitution became an embarrassment to Thailand causing the government to finally attack the issue. By 1993, children (anyone under the age of 18) were strictly forbidden within sex industry. As everything else, owners of brothels were able to find loopholes and continued to exploit children. Given the protection of children, the sex industry is a never ending business in high demand of youth. A sigh of relief comes with the finding of Sorajjakool (2003) in stating the request for very young girls is minuscule (pg. 51). However, girls under the age of 18 are still partaking in such activity.
Regardless of the reasoning behind each girl’s motive to join the sex industry, I strongly believe education and job skills are crucial within areas of poverty. Children should have the opportunity to have a normal childhood and grow to fulfill their dreams. Shelters should also be built to accept children who are abused at home or anyone outside the home. Attention to such issues can reduce and hopefully eventually eliminate child prostitution.
Montgomery, H. (2007). Working with child prostitutes in Thailand: Problems of practice
and interpretation. Childhood, 14, 415-430.
Taylor, L.R. (2005). Dangerous trade-offs: The behavioral ecology of child labor and prostitution in rural northern Thailand. Current Anthropology, 46, 411-431.
Sorajjakool, S. (2003). Child prostitution in Thailand: Listening to Rahab. Haworth Press.
My first thoughts on child prostitution is why are these children prostituting themselves? Do they even know what it means to be a prostitute and what it entails? Reading through the articles I was stunned that most of these children are aware of their actions and some even chose that lifestyle. My first reaction while reading this article is the same as Montgomery's on page 416, " To my mind, and in the modern western ideal, parents are expected to make sacrifices for their children; the child is vulnerable, in need of protection from adults, has the right to an education, should not work and should be protected from sexual relations either with other children or adults before the age of 16."
Despite our own western ideologies, the sex industry in booming in Thailand and Vietnam. One has to wonder why is it booming so much? Why are there so many children involved in it? Reading through the articles you'll find that families play a large role to why children prostitute themselves. The idea that is learned through the articles is that children are told that they owe a debt to their parents for bringing them into this world and must repay that gratitude with whatever they can (Montgomery, 2007.) In Thailand, children are viewed as sources of assistance. Within the family they are expected to fulfill certain household duties and take care of their younger siblings (Taylor, 2005.)
Supporting your family is usually a common duty in any culture, however, what kind of obligation does a child of 6 or 8 or even 12 years old need to fulfill? A 5 years old child in Montgomery's article stated, " I don't like going with foreigners but my grandmother asks me to, so I feel I must" (pg. 422.)
It seemed that most of these children saw it as a duty to support their family and were willing to use their body for economical support. For example a young girl stated, "Just her body, [but] this is my family." Family obligation is of great deal of importance but what about those who choose to join the sex industry because of abuse, poverty, and the lack of education achieved? Is it a better life for them? Perhaps. According to Rubenson (2005) she developed three themes through interviews which explain why children choose to prostitute themselves: 'poverty leaves few choices', 'the
dream comes true’ and ‘abuse breeds prostitution’.
In Montegomery's article, the children that were interviewed stressed that they do not "sell sex" but "go have fun with foreigners." They discuss the relationships that are not omly based on sex and money but those that have gone a bit deeper. The children would never refer to themselves as a child prostitute, they felt that it was an insult.
I have a complete understanding of why these children do what they do despite my ethical beliefs, which leads me to wonder where are the parents in the midst of all this? Are they not worried about the psychological effects it may have on their child? How about their health? Prostitution is a high risk behavior which easily leads to HIV/AIDS or any other STD. Then what would happen if they are not treated early or do not get recieve any medication? How will they then support their family?
Maybe society can not completely stop child prostitution but it can help prevent future children from becoming apart of it by establishing public schools for those who can not afford school, workshops for those who need to work, and create a sense of stability and structure for the future of these children.
Montgomery, H. (2007). Working with child prostitutes in Thailand: Problems of practice
and interpretation. Childhood, Vol14, 415-430.
Taylor, L.R. (2005). Dangerous trade-offs: The behavioral ecology of child labor and prostitution in rural northern Thailand. Current Anthropology, 46, 411-431.
Rubenson, B. (2005). Young Sex-Workers in Ho Chi Minh
City Telling Their Life Stories. Childhood, Vol 12, 391-411.
In the readings from this past week and our discussion in class, I was most struck by two themes: the role of the parent in child prostitution in Thailand, and the role of the Western man in child prostitution. These two themes exemplify a struggle I have with identifying the “line” between what is considered culturally different and what constitutes oppression/abuse.
Heather Montgomery in her article “Working with Child Prostitutes in Thailand: Problems of Practice and Interpretation” (2007) explores the role of the parental figure in the propagation of child prostitution in Thailand. Montgomery lived in a village with many young people involved in sex work. In her experience, although parental figures of child sex workers did not explicitly condone child prostitution, they implicitly supported the practice. Culturally, according to Montgomery, Thai children are expected to pay back their parents for taking care of them, often through monetary contributions and the caretaking of parents. Children in this context framed as breadwinners, which means providing a stable income for the family. I continued to think about this topic long after our discussion in class and would like to take some time to reflect here on the role of the parent in potentially ending child prostitution in this specific community in Thailand. Since a five year old child is not developmentally able to actually choose to become a child prostitute, I assert that the choice was truly that of the parent. I do not mean to demonize the parent in any way, however I do believe that parents play a major role in setting up the conditions for young people to become involved in sex work in this community of Thailand. I feel that a key to ending child prostitution is parental education and awareness. If parents in the community in which Montgomery worked no longer condoned child sex work, I believe that fewer children would work as prostitutes. This claim becomes complicated though, when the cultural and economic contexts of the community are taken into account. Child prostitution is an economically stable job for the children in this community. Culturally, they are expected to provide for their families. Thus, it is necessary for an equally economically beneficial job opportunity to exist for young sex workers that would provide them with an alternative to sex work.
The role of the consumer becomes important in the discussion of the economic feasibility of child sex work. As long as adult men (many of whom are western according to the readings) are purchasing these services, they will continue to exist. It then becomes necessary, in my mind, to target consumers of these services and work to change the culture of “exotic” sexual tourism that is in actuality, a form of child abuse.
When we were deciding on topics on the first day of class, I was disturbed that child prostitution was on the list. I did not know anything about this issue, but quickly started learning after beginning Child Prostitution in Thailand” Listening to Rahab, by Siroj Sorajjakoll. This phrase set the tone for me: “Children are supposed to play catch, eat ice cream, and laugh with their friends” (7). This is exactly what I believe. But, I soon learned that girls were being sold into the sex industry by their parents/caretakers. I have a hard time processing that these parents would not to protect their children from this industry.
But why is there even an industry? According to the book people come from all over to take advantage of sexual tourism. The book provided several labels for the people keeping the industry alive. The first “old cows chewing on young grass” is a term to describe men who believe that “having sex with young girls will provide health, longevity, and sexual prowess” (45). Pedophile is the second label provided by the book. We were provided with these statistics: “An American survey of sex abusers found that 67,000 children were victims of 403 pedophiles” (45). This means that one pedophile on average abused 283 children in his/her lifetime (46). Finally, Thai men come into the picture. “According to Chitraporn Vanaspongse of ECPAT, Thai men are the main consumers for sexual services by young girls” (43).
The section on pedophiles is the most alarming, mostly because there is a description of a group of men who meet monthly to have sex with young boys. They are guided by the book A Survival Manual. This book provides the men information on finding the right place, room and time to have sex. It also has, so called, exciting stories, tips on how not to get caught, and if you do get caught, how avoid serious charges (46). When remembering this, the face I see is the doctor that we watched on the video, give tips to the hidden camera on where to find brothels. It is disturbing to know that ANYONE could be supporting this industry.
I also found it hard to learn about the children who wanted to enter prostitution to help support their families. On top of that, there were also accounts of older girls who had an education entering into prostitution because the money was better. If someone asked me: What would be a solution to this? I would not know how to answer.
I focused on Thailand because of the high travel rate to Thailand for the sex industry. I think awareness of this issue would positively affect this issue. As unrealistic and right limiting as it is, I think that having a travel destination to Thailand should at the very least look suspicious. I think that these children are having their lives taken away from them, not through the act of murder but through their sense of self. Because of this anything and everything should be done to stop this.
Learning about child prostitution was especially emotional for me. I don’t have a personal stake in the matter or anything in my past that makes it more difficult than other issues, but learning what I did this week was both enlightening and frustrating for me. During this week’s readings I kept wondering how a parent could allow their child to sell their body this way (poverty) and what can be done to stop child prostitution (as long as there is a market for it, it will continue). I ended up feeling frustrated and somewhat hopeless really, without any good ideas for solutions, or ways of educating children of the dangers of prostitution (physical and emotional).
One of the pervasive overarching themes of all the youth issues we have discussed so far is poverty. Poverty can lead a child to sign up for the military, poverty can effect educational opportunities and therefore education about HIV and/or affording prevention methods or drug treatment, and poverty can lead children to sell their bodies to support their family. I feel blessed to be born in America, to a lower middle class family that didn’t need me to work or sell my body so we could eat. I really feel hopeless, I wonder how in the world can poverty be reduced so children don’t have to work in fields or sell their bodies, or not get an education or the medicine they need to live.
I also wonder what can be done to stop the demand for child prostitutes. As long as there are people who will pay to have sex with children, there will continue to be a child sex trade. I honestly don’t think that even a very severe punishment for those caught soliciting child prostitutes or pimping children will completely stop the problem. If someone is willing to go great lengths to find a child prostitute, maybe traveling across the world and risking prison upon return to America if caught, I really don’t think there is a penalty that can dissuade someone that sick from getting what they want. Even if there were no child prostitutes in the world, if someone really wanted to be with a child they would kidnap a child and hold them captive, whatever it takes to fulfill their perverse desires.
Listening to the stories in our readings of the young people, mainly girls, who risk their lives, health, and mental well being to support their family makes me so sad. I really is almost unbelievable that young girls can survive that trauma and have a normal life afterwards, especially if they have contracted HIV during their time working as a prostitute. I really do not know what can be done to prevent a child from choosing that path if their family needs the money to survive, especially if its culturally accepted for the children to help provide for the family. Obviously the cases where girls are kidnapped or made into slaves are obvious crimes that must be stopped, but what do we do about those girls (and some boys) who choose to do the work? I really have no answers to that tough question.
I have mentioned in previous classes and blogs that I spent some time in Mexico several years back, working with children’s programming in an impoverished “sub” community of Saltillo that was primarily made up of displaced and abandoned children. I will never forget the day when a little girl came up to one of my teammates holding a smaller girl by the hand and asked her, in Spanish, if she could teach her English. My teammate, excited that the girl was interested in education, quickly replied “I’d be happy to!” The little girl smiled her and then pushed her little sister forward and asked, “Can you teach me to say ‘Do you want this girl?’ in English?”
The girls were Mari and Elia, and they were 7 and 4 years old. Their father had abandoned them in the Valley the year before, and Mari quickly found out that she could get meager food and shelter on a day-to-day basis if she allowed men to touch her. But no one would offer the same for her sister, and the rations were so meager that it was difficult to share, so Mari essentially became a “madame” for Elia, as well. She wanted to learn how to offer her sister to men in English, hoping that better things might come their way from Americans passing through. It was shocking to me to learn this, but it was as natural as anything to Mari, which perhaps shocked me even more.
For me, this week’s reading raised issues of the meanings of “victimhood.” In Child Prostitution in Thailand, Sorajjakool (2002) reveals a disturbing fact: in Thailand, the supply of young girls in the sex industry is greater than the demand. On page 10, he asserts that “about 450,000 Thai men visit prostitutes every day. The number of prostitutes estimated by CPCR was approximately 2 million. Of this figure, 800,000 were below the age of 18, and 200,000 were 12 or younger.” Even more disturbing is that 80% of all child prostitutes in Thailand enter the trade voluntarily, without being coerced or sold. It was and is something that they do to make ends meet, to take care of their families, to buy the things that they want and need to make their lives “better.” As Rubenson (2005) writes, poverty and abuse breed prostitution, but so also does opportunity. If some girls enter the trade voluntarily, as they would any other job, can they be viewed as victims—or at least victims in the same way that those who are sold or forced into prostitution are? Tough question. Perhaps they are not necessarily sexual victims, but, rather, victims of the modern notion of “human commodification,” as Sorajjakool calls it. I think it’s fair to say that many of the youth injustices that we study in this course are centered in this notion—that children are not citizens, or even people, but, rather, tools that make ends meet. And when they are no longer children, who is there to tell them that they matter now? No one, which is why these injustices continue over and over again, throughout generations. For all adults were children once.
References:
Rubenson, B., Hanh, L.T., Hojer, B., & Johansson, E. (2005). Young sex-workers in Ho Chi Minh City telling their life stories. Childhood, 12, 391-411.
Sorajjakool, S. (2002). Child prostitution in Thailand: Listening to Rahab. Haworth Press
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