Sex Tourism
Every year millions of Americans travel to countries in the Caribbean, Asia, and South America for the scenic beauty and exotic food. A less glamorous aspect of the tourist industry, however, consists of thousands of tourists and businessmen who travel overseas in order to engage in sex with or take pornographic pictures of children. Sex tourism, or, more specifically, traveling to a foreign country in search of sex, has become a well-developed component of the commercial-sexual exploitation of women and children. Although there is some commercial sex abuse of young people in the United States, it is much more prevalent in developing countries where brothels can employ girls (and sometimes boys) ages 7 to 17. More than a million children enter the sex trade each year.
Prevalence of Sex Workers
In 1994, ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography, and the
Trafficking of Children for Sexual Exploitation) provided the following
estimates on the number of children involved in the sex industry.
- 500,000 children in Brazil
- 400,000 children in India
- 200,000-850,000 children in Thailand
- 100,000 children in Taiwan
- 200,000 children in Nepal
- 100,000-300,000 children in North America.
Destinations for Sex Tourists
Cheap airfares, the opening of countries once closed because of
war or politics, and the advent of the Internet have provided more
opportunities for tourists looking for underage sex partners. Countries
such as Cambodia and Vietnam have been well-known destinations for
such tourists, but now Thailand, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka are
gaining similar reputations. This epidemic is quickly spreading
to other poverty-ridden areas of the world, such as Latin America
and Eastern Europe, as well. Offenders are increasingly coming from
within Asia itself, particularly Taiwanese, Korean, and Japanese
tourists and businessmen working abroad.
The Internet and Sex Tourism
The rapid growth of the Internet has become a highly effective tool
in promoting the development of the child-sex industry. Web sites
on the Internet provide an international forum where individuals
can promote and sell sex-tours online, sometimes advertising packages
for travelers complete with airfare, hotel, and directions to local
brothels. More than 100 web sites promote teenage commercial sex
in Asia alone. The web site owners may charge an average of $100-$150
in membership fees and offer extensive information about the sex
industry in specific locations.
Motivations of Sex Tourists
- While abroad, sex tourists may feel free from the social
constraints of their home countries, and thus be more likely to
perform inappropriate or unacceptable behaviors.
- Travelers may view the children of third world countries
as inferior, or justify their behavior by convincing themselves
that there are no social taboos regarding having sex with children
in the country they are visiting.
- Sex tourists may harbor the misconception that children are less likely to contract sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV. There also exists a distorted belief in some Asian and African countries that having sex with a virgin will cure HIV. (These notions are unfounded and false. In fact, the average rate for HIV infected children rescued from brothels is 50 percent, and some rates are as high as 90 percent.)
Also, poor countries are often under strict economic pressure to develop tourism as a source of income. Sadly, sometimes those governments "turn a blind eye" toward this devastating problem in pursuit of that income.
Treatment of the Sex Workers
Children are often trapped and exploited through the sex industry
in various ways. Some are lured away from broken homes by "recruiters"
who promise jobs to poor children in the city. After being removed
from their families, the unfortunate children are forced into a
life of prostitution. Others are forced into prostitution by their
own parents in a desperate attempt to earn extra money. Poverty
often creates intense desperation, and parents sometimes sell their
children in exchange for food, shelter, and other necessities of
life.
Many of these children are beaten, tortured, or, in extreme cases,
murdered. Children involved in sex work commonly contract sexually
transmitted diseases or die of AIDS-related illnesses. To endure
their misery, many of the enslaved kids turn to drugs or alcohol.
Those who do survive often have emotional scars and are left incapable
of loving, trusting, or enjoying the warmth of a human embrace.
Risks to Sex Workers' Physical Health
- Increased risk of HIV/AIDS
- Risk of sexually transmitted infections
- Risk of unwanted pregnancy
- Vaginal tearing
- Violence
- Rape
- Physical abuse
- Confinement
Risks to Mental Health
Prostitution is a violation of women's human rights and treats
women as objects. The emotional pain of being treated this poorly
can lead to depression and resignation. The grave state of girls'
mental health is illustrated well by Poppy, quoted on http://www.equalitynow.org/action_eng_12_1.html.
"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."
Solving the Problem
Child-sex tourism is a complicated obstacle to overcome, especially
because of its wide-reaching international scope. A heightened awareness
of this heinous violation of children's rights may help to curb
this growing problem. Also, there needs to be a two-fold effort
between the consumer countries and the host countries. Many countries
affected by this problem have passed extraterritorial legislation
making it illegal for its citizens to travel abroad to have sex
with minors. Prosecution of these crimes will then occur in the
countries of the offenders, so that the penalties will perhaps be
considered more seriously.
Unfortunately, this extraterritorial legislation cannot be entirely
effective until destination countries increase the enforcement of
their laws against child prostitution. But bringing offenders to
justice remains tricky because of difficulties in compiling a court
case using child witnesses, who are often either poor or homeless.
However, if efforts were made to increase educational and employment
opportunities, fewer women and children would be forced into dangerous
and undesirable sex work.
ECPAT Australia. ECPAT Development
Manual. Melbourne, Australia, 1994, p. 37