Rescuing boys from Thailand's northern sex trade

[Scouse123]

There are many reasons for the decline of gay bars and straight bars and the customers who frequent them.

 

There are changing attitudes where younger Thais and their families are more affluent, jobs are more easy to come by as the country moves forward, the rise of the internet, gay and straight dating apps which are in abundance and on your mobile phone, Planet Romeo,  Grinder, Gay Romeo, Blued to name but a few.There seems less and less reason for youngsters to parade around in underwear on a stage and far easier and more respectable ways to earn a living. THOSE REMAINING IN THE GAME AS HOOKERS AND PROSTITUTES HAVE OPTED TO EVEN ' CLEAN UP THEIR ACT '  so to speak but meeting their clients at the airport and referring to them as boyfriends and girlfriends, for the few weeks they are here at least! Why dance on a stage when you can have ready-made partners to be collected directly from the airport to wine and dine you without the distraction of eye candy on a platform vying for their affections (money) in competition?

 

Gone are the days where you, the customer, wake up the following morning to find your clothes washed and ironed and put back in the wardrobe of your hotel room. Most of them these days, don't even want to hang around more than is absolutely necessary after the deed and want 2,000-3,000 for their time and trouble. It is also no longer the cheap pastime that it once was. Bar fines at 400-500 baht, expected tips as mentioned, drinks varying depending on the type of establishment but even the cheapest go-go bars want between 170-200 baht a drink. It has now become an expensive night out unless you are here going crazy with your tax-free earnings from the oil industry. Even the standard of hookers has taken a nosedive, with the high-class ones available online and wanting big money and the ones in the beer bars well past their sell by dates but still wanting top dollar.

 

Younger gays from the West that visit now that travel is so much cheaper, are not interested in paying for sex and many will visit Thailand with their partners from their home countries. The ' old men ' who used to be the prime source of income for these bars are a dying breed and are not being replaced. Habits are changing as is the customer base. With the large influx of Asian and especially Chinese tourists, gay bars of old in Bangkok are opting to reinvent themselves and become a cabaret or show bar for the tour groups. They charge far more for a drink these days, in the 400-500 baht range but they know that one drink is usually all they will get from these types of tourist.

 

The Army and police have also become very greedy in their ' payoffs ' regarding these types of establishment and this has seen many close especially the seedier types. Thais themselves now feel that they are ' above ' this sort of behavior hence the influx, in Bangkok and Pattaya, of many prostitutes from Vietnam, Myanmar, and Cambodia when it used to be limited to Laos and Thailand.

 

Improved and better education of the rural poor, restricted travel for Paedophiles and travel bans forcing them further underground and out of countries which they used to think were safe havens. Australia has recently introduced removal of passports and travel rights for Paedophiles and the USA is going to put it in their passports if they have any conviction for sex offenses.

 

Regards the NGOs, although there are some very respectable and hard working people amongst them, many are scratching around with ' fake news ' in attempts to justify their existence and salaries by sensationalizing problems that just are not there.

Edited December 16, 2017 by Scouse123

[sanemax]

On 12/14/2017 at 11:35 AM, simoh1490 said:

Once again, prostitution is the worlds oldest profession and authorities in every country have been trying to manage it, mostly unsuccessfully. To think that the problem has simply evaporated and/ort that nobody is taking the place of the ones who grew up is naive at best.

I dont think thats its being naive at all .

In previous times , bars were paying off the police and therefore the clients received some sort of protection , the police turned a blind eye to anything that went on .

   Those days have gone , so theres no protection from the police .

Also, these days , Western Countries also prosecute people for crimes committed abroad .

Previously people could do as they wanted with impunity , these days , if they get caught , they will be in big trouble in Thailand and also when they get back home .

[balo]

My impression is that CM alredy been cleaned up. This is a bigger problem in Pattaya and Bangkok. I remember I visited CM back in 2009 , and was shocked , just like Russel to see old men with young boys, walking around in the bar area next to D2. Also old men and young girls , underage all of them.

I am happy to hear that the work she and other volunteers did have helped.