Child Prostitution Reported To Be On The Rise In Bangkok

[Jai Dee]

BMA reports child prostitution on the rise

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration admits that the rate of child prostitution in the city area is increasing.

The deputy governor of Bangkok, Mr. Puthipong Phunagan (พุทธิพงษ์ ปุณณกันต์ ), said that the city administration is conducting an urgent meeting with the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security to discuss the issue of child prostitution. Mr. Puthipong said that a recent survey revealed that children from the age of 12-15 are increasingly being lured into prostitution, especially in the Sanam Luang area.

The deputy governor reported that in the past the average age of postitutes was 20 years, but this number is rapidly decreasing, due in part to the excessive spending and materialism of youths.

The Bangkok deputy governor admits that solving the problem would be difficult as prostitutes are devising new methods of meeting with patrons.

Mr. Puthipong blamed society for instilling the wrong values in children, and urged that parents adhere to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej's self-sufficiency principles.

Source: Thai National News Bureau Public Relations Department - 12 February 2007

[Scott]

Yes there does seem to more of this stuff going on. I've been propositioned--quite out of the blue-- recently in a low class department store in an industrial area of Bangkok by two relatively young girls (16-18 maybe). They wanted me to go with them for 200 baht each/400 baht for both.

Sometime back the same sort of thing happend with two young boys who made some lewd gestures and wanted 100 baht. They came out of a video arcade. They were quite young (as in 14-16) and in school uniforms.

[kmart]

Yes there does seem to more of this stuff going on. I've been propositioned--quite out of the blue-- recently in a low class department store in an industrial area of Bangkok by two relatively young girls (16-18 maybe). They wanted me to go with them for 200 baht each/400 baht for both.

Sometime back the same sort of thing happend with two young boys who made some lewd gestures and wanted 100 baht. They came out of a video arcade. They were quite young (as in 14-16) and in school uniforms.

[atlastaname]

As with all things where there is supply and demand you will never solve , stop or even reduce the problem.

It is really no different to drug addiction or alcahol addiction . There will always be a demand because there will always be a percentage of the population who demand it , and there will always be a supply all the time the commodity we all call MONEY exists, which is forever.

The logical conclusion is that governments all around the world can have as many meetings and draft as many laws as they like , but this problem and that of drugs and alcahol, will never change .

Sad but can anyone argue its not the case?

[blaze]

As with all things where there is supply and demand you will never solve , stop or even reduce the problem.

It is really no different to drug addiction or alcahol addiction . There will always be a demand because there will always be a percentage of the population who demand it , and there will always be a supply all the time the commodity we all call MONEY exists, which is forever.

The logical conclusion is that governments all around the world can have as many meetings and draft as many laws as they like , but this problem and that of drugs and alcahol, will never change .

Sad but can anyone argue its not the case?

I wonder. Certainly that is a convenient arguement- but if it is the case, the child prostitution hot spots should be areas in Africa where people are starving. Or Iraq, where there are a lot of very horny and lonely young foreign men. Cultural norms, social approbation/approval must play some role.

Every woman in the world, as the boys used to say, is sitting on a gold mine. Yet relatively few chose to maximize the earning potential of that gold mine. And that was, I think because they chose not to- based on the moral code that their community and culture imbued them with. Any community that says, well, can't be helped, supply and demand,you know- is asking for this kind of thing. I agree though, laws are not the sole answer. Especially when the laws don't reflect a certain tolerance in the culture.

[tuky]

I remember a female friend of mine telling me how stupid one of her friends are for giving away free sex. Why give it away when you can charge? Unfortunately this was also the view of the parents of my female friend.

What thoughts does a young girl have when growing up in an environment like that?

[chownah]

How can the gov't know that child prostitution is on the rise and not be doing something about it at the time the data is being collected....do you take a poll and ask people if they are child prostitutes and if one admits to it you just say "OK, then..go about your business."?

Chownah

[britmaveric]

[dog412]

would be interesting to see the statistics of the arrests of Thai nationals in this so called problem. from what i understand, unless money(farang) is involved, the age would be much lower, than in the P4P arena. say what you will, but the true underage sex situation is thai and other asian culturally based, in general.

[Ijustwannateach]

How can the gov't know that child prostitution is on the rise and not be doing something about it at the time the data is being collected....do you take a poll and ask people if they are child prostitutes and if one admits to it you just say "OK, then..go about your business."?

Chownah

Sanam Luang (the area mentioned in the article) is primarily a Thai Rent Thai zone, and on my one and only nighttime visit there a few years back I saw some sad, sordid, and pathetic people indeed, including a 12yo boy on a park bench making clearly suggestive obscene motions at all passersby. Maybe their evidence is similarly anecdotal? But then again, as you say, if they knew it was happening couldn't they, uh, DO something about it? Like, if they wanted to?

"Steven"

[AlexLah]

Last year I was meeting some friends in Isaan and the topic came up.

They told me it was very common for Thai teachers to have payed sex with girls as young as 12.

They did not understand my reaction when I told them it was wrong to do so.

They replied that the girll/boy is offering this service so it is consensual, the teacher not ask for it.

[ColPyat]

But then again, as you say, if they knew it was happening couldn't they, uh, DO something about it? Like, if they wanted to?

"Steven"

It is very difficult to do something about it. A lot of underage and child prostitution nowadys goes via internet. If you watch Thai news, you see that constantly people are arrested, but that is only the tip of the iceberg.

Rarely it is nowadays the brothel or bar that has underage staff on their premises, or street walkers like you mentioned you saw at Sanam Luang.

[astral]

Is this by comparison with the 1970' and 80's when just about anything was possible........

and the age of consent was only 13??

[Inspector 2211]

Last year I was meeting some friends in Isaan and the topic came up.

They told me it was very common for Thai teachers to have payed sex with girls as young as 12.

They did not understand my reaction when I told them it was wrong to do so.

They replied that the girll/boy is offering this service so it is consensual, the teacher not ask for it.

So true.

During my most recent visit to Bangkok (several years ago), I met a Thai guy who claimed to be a teacher from Chiang Mai.

Asked what he plans to do in Bangkok, his answer was:

"Pray in some of the big temples and f*** some underage girls, because their **** is very tight."

I was just blown away by this answer, mentioning praying and f***ing underage girls in the same sentence.

[sunreader]

Hasn't this all been going on for 100's of years?...have people only just become aware?.....I know people freak about Garry Glitter...but if this behavious is a cultural norm in areas of SE Asia who are we to go storming in and try and change things?...what are we the moral police or something?....if its not OK in the Uk it can't be OK anywhere else?.....don't we as a society create 'problems' to suite our own cause of what is and isn't socially acceptable?