Aussies Help Thai Police Battle Sexual Exploitation

[webfact]

Aussies Help Thai Police Battle Sexual Exploitation

An Australian charity, helping the Thai police fight under-age sexual exploitation, conducted a sting op. Nov16. in Ban Chang, rescuing three 15-year-old females from a bar-brothel. This represents but a pin prick in the war against the exploiters of an estimated 1.2 million women and children that are victims of human trafficking annually.

November 18, 2010: An Australian humanitarian organisation, the Grey Man Charity, largely composed of ex-special forces soldiers and former police, is currently lending a hand in the fight against under-age sexual exploitation and trafficking in Thailand, assisting the Thai Police’s Anti-Human Trafficking Unit. In an ongoing undercover undertaking, three 15-year-old girls were rescued in a sting operation from a bar-brothel in Ban Chang on Nov16 by members of the organisation, most of whom for security reasons wish to remain anonymous.

The bar in question, the Jigsaw Bar, was Western run, a minority among those in the town, but nevertheless a target and a first for the organisation that usually directs its efforts at native-run bars and brothels of this kind.

“We are putting the foreigners on notice that although we are not trying to stamp out prostitution we will intervene wherever we find under-aged girls,” President of the Grey Man Charity, John Curtis, told.

A charity spokesman said that the sting op. had been swift and entirely unexpected on the bar in a red-light street of similar bars catering to Western men’s sexual proclivities. The bar manager was duly arrested, charged with providing under-age girls for sex at a cost of Bt1000 a time.

Full story HERE

PATTAYA DAILY NEWS

-- 2010-11-18

[newsfooter][/newsfooter]

[Tokay]

They saved three 15 year olds?

I can point to 20 bars in Pattaya alone with minors working it. This is a huge problem and a single sting here or there on a select bar is a waste of time. If they are going to drop the hammer, DROP IT!

Of course that would mean "face" would be lost because the locals only karaoke bars are FILLED with underage sex workers in Pattaya. Thus, that sting will never, ever happen. Oh... silly me, I forgot, the locals can have sex with 15 year olds. Carry on then, business as usual. 15 year olds are only "exploited" when foreigners screw them.

The sad fact is, Thailand is never going to even come close to cleaning up child prostitution. It is ingrained into their culture to have sex with young girls. In Udon Thani they fill an entire PARK with school kids after class so older Thai men can solicit their services. No one gives a crap.

[NamKangMan]

"we are not trying to stamp out prostitution"

Is President Mr. John Curtis aware that prositution is actually illegal here in the first place????

Edited November 18, 2010 by NamKangMan

[Tokay]

"we are not trying to stamp out prostitution"

Is President Mr. John Curtis aware that prositution is actually illegal here in the first place????

This is all just an event for some group to get some press about what a bang up job they are doing to rid Thailand of this horrible crime. Arresting three 15 year old prostitutes is laughable. I could have done that in 15 minutes of walking out of my apartment door. I wonder how long they "investigated" the situation first.

[whybother]

What? More foreigners in Thailand trying to set up others to break the law. They must think they are the US DEA or something.

[KhunAussie52]

This is a link to a documentary on this organization.This is a three part series done by ABC Australia.

Keep up the great work lads!!!

[KhunAussie52]

"we are not trying to stamp out prostitution"

Is President Mr. John Curtis aware that prositution is actually illegal here in the first place????

This is all just an event for some group to get some press about what a bang up job they are doing to rid Thailand of this horrible crime. Arresting three 15 year old prostitutes is laughable. I could have done that in 15 minutes of walking out of my apartment door. I wonder how long they "investigated" the situation first.

http://thegreyman.org/blog/

Read this before you pass any further judgment on there work.It saddens me no end, to hear comments like this from expatriates living in Thailand.There investigations into underage sex rings in Cambodia,Burma,Laos and Thailand,are ongoing.they have my total support!!!

[nameless]

I could have done that in 15 minutes of walking out of my apartment door.

So why don't you instead of doing nothing and criticizing everyone else ? We all know the answer...

[KhunAussie52]

What? More foreigners in Thailand trying to set up others to break the law. They must think they are the US DEA or something.

What evidence to you have to support your accusations?

Please take the time to read there Blog.

Watch the 3 part series done by ABC Australia.

[NamKangMan]

This is a link to a documentary on this organization.This is a three part series done by ABC Australia.

Keep up the great work lads!!!

Something doesn't add up here. He works undercover as a pedo, but does interviews on National TV in Australia which, if that doesn't blow his cover, through your links on this forum, his cover must surely now be totally blown in Thailand. That is very unprofessional as an undercover operative and not only puts his own life at risk, but also the lives of his fellow workers.

Another thing is, volunteering is still deemded to be work in Thailand and you can't get a work permit for this sort of thing. Is he breaking Thai law? If so, what "deal" has he done to be allowed to operate these stings.

I in no way condone underage sex, just seems a bit of a strange article with a few things not adding up.

Edited November 18, 2010 by NamKangMan

[whybother]

What? More foreigners in Thailand trying to set up others to break the law. They must think they are the US DEA or something.

What evidence to you have to support your accusations?

Please take the time to read there Blog.

Watch the 3 part series done by ABC Australia.

Read any of the Victor Bout threads and you'll understand what I'm on about.

[witsawakorn]

"we are not trying to stamp out prostitution"

Is President Mr. John Curtis aware that prositution is actually illegal here in the first place????

This is all just an event for some group to get some press about what a bang up job they are doing to rid Thailand of this horrible crime. Arresting three 15 year old prostitutes is laughable. I could have done that in 15 minutes of walking out of my apartment door. I wonder how long they "investigated" the situation first.

I believe that the girls in question are actually 17-18 years old. Still underage according to the law but not quite the attention grabber that 15 year olds are.

[KhunAussie52]

What? More foreigners in Thailand trying to set up others to break the law. They must think they are the US DEA or something.

What evidence to you have to support your accusations?

Please take the time to read there Blog.

Watch the 3 part series done by ABC Australia.

Read any of the Victor Bout threads and you'll understand what I'm on about.

Still waiting for you to read there blog and watch the documentary.Then i would be pleased to discuss this matter further.

Victor Bout is old news!!!

[KhunAussie52]

"we are not trying to stamp out prostitution"

Is President Mr. John Curtis aware that prositution is actually illegal here in the first place????

This is all just an event for some group to get some press about what a bang up job they are doing to rid Thailand of this horrible crime. Arresting three 15 year old prostitutes is laughable. I could have done that in 15 minutes of walking out of my apartment door. I wonder how long they "investigated" the situation first.

O'K, So let us know when you have completed your investigations and you can post your results here.

I believe the 15 year old girls were not arrested as you claim.There just innocent victims, of this insidious trade of young women to the sex industry.

[Buchholz]

"we are not trying to stamp out prostitution"

Is President Mr. John Curtis aware that prositution is actually illegal here in the first place????

This is all just an event for some group to get some press about what a bang up job they are doing to rid Thailand of this horrible crime. Arresting three 15 year old prostitutes is laughable. I could have done that in 15 minutes of walking out of my apartment door. I wonder how long they "investigated" the situation first.

I believe that the girls in question are actually 17-18 years old. Still underage according to the law but not quite the attention grabber that 15 year olds are.

Might we ask what your belief regarding their ages is based on?

.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Buchholz

[wooty]

It is sad that this terrible topic is being used by private and self-declared "humanitarian" organisations to make money. The Grey Man Charity itself stays anonymous, but claims to work with the Thai police. Did you know that they have their annual fund-raiser event coming up in a couple of week? Don't you find it odd that they tout their involvement in a Thai undercover-operation just now? Just a coincidence? What about if they sell their film material for money? How true are their claims? How come they are allowed to work whithin a supposedly highly corrupted system? How are they being financed? And how do they buy their way into the Thai crime business? Why does this Australian organisation not help the cause of the Aborigines? This "humanitarian" stuff smells of a very fishy business. Jumping on the human-trafficking bandwagon just to get some fake glory and to make money does not help the real victims at all...

[witsawakorn]

"we are not trying to stamp out prostitution"

Is President Mr. John Curtis aware that prositution is actually illegal here in the first place????

This is all just an event for some group to get some press about what a bang up job they are doing to rid Thailand of this horrible crime. Arresting three 15 year old prostitutes is laughable. I could have done that in 15 minutes of walking out of my apartment door. I wonder how long they "investigated" the situation first.

I believe that the girls in question are actually 17-18 years old. Still underage according to the law but not quite the attention grabber that 15 year olds are.

Might we ask what your belief regarding their ages is based on?

.

My wife works in the same factory as the sister of one of the girls and got the story from her.

[Ulysses G.]

Girls of this age were quite commonly found working in the Thai-on-Thai sex industry 20 years ago, but are very far and few between today. This is not a huge problem anymore. Someone is just looking for publicity.

Edited November 18, 2010 by Ulysses G.

[KhunAussie52]

It is sad that this terrible topic is being used by private and self-declared "humanitarian" organisations to make money. The Grey Man Charity itself stays anonymous, but claims to work with the Thai police. Did you know that they have their annual fund-raiser event coming up in a couple of week? Don't you find it odd that they tout their involvement in a Thai undercover-operation just now? Just a coincidence? What about if they sell their film material for money? How true are their claims? How come they are allowed to work whithin a supposedly highly corrupted system? How are they being financed? And how do they buy their way into the Thai crime business? Why does this Australian organisation not help the cause of the Aborigines? This "humanitarian" stuff smells of a very fishy business. Jumping on the human-trafficking bandwagon just to get some fake glory and to make money does not help the real victims at all...

Alot of rubbish...................read this blog about there fund raising!!!!

http://thegreyman.org/blog/category/fundraiser/

Established in 2004, The Grey Man is an international organization dedicated to eradicating the trafficking and exploitation of children. Based in Brisbane, Australia our activities are focused on the countries of SouthEast Asia.

Our main role is the rescue of children from traffickers. However, early on we realized that rescuing children was not enough. Once they enter sex work they can become socialized to their life there and it becomes difficult to convince them that they deserve something better. Many of them will be physically or psychologically damaged and face the prospect of death from AIDS. We realized that we needed to stop them from entering the sex trade in the first place.

Our website is http://www.thegreymam.org

[Buchholz]

This is all just an event for some group to get some press about what a bang up job they are doing to rid Thailand of this horrible crime. Arresting three 15 year old prostitutes is laughable. I could have done that in 15 minutes of walking out of my apartment door. I wonder how long they "investigated" the situation first.

I believe that the girls in question are actually 17-18 years old. Still underage according to the law but not quite the attention grabber that 15 year olds are.

Might we ask what your belief regarding their ages is based on?

My wife works in the same factory as the sister of one of the girls and got the story from her.

Ok, so it's fourth-hand information.

Thank you for clarifying.

[KhunAussie52]

This might shed a little more light on their operations

Under the heading...... Rescue, Infrastructure, Prevention, Justice

http://www.thegreyman.org/

[KhunAussie52]

AN AUSTRALIAN organisation comprising ex-police and special forces soldiers has rescued four child sex workers from an illegal brothel near the Thailand-Cambodia border.

The team of volunteer operatives from The Grey Man, a Brisbane-based charity, staged the successful operation at a brothel in the Thailand town of Aranyaprathet, 1km from the Cambodian border, on Saturday.

Organisation president John Curtis said the brothel trafficked girls from Vietnam and Cambodia to Thailand where they were being offered to customers for sex.

"The Grey Man team in an initial investigation obtained video and audio and then called in the Royal Thai Police force for assistance," Mr Curtis said.

"The Thai unit was briefed on the location and a plan formulated.

"The Grey Man operatives then re-entered the brothel with police nearby ready to conduct a raid."

Related Coverage

• Aussie charity frees girls from brothel NEWS.com.au, 8 hours ago
• Perth brothels 'lowest health standard' Perth Now, 5 Oct 2010
• Couple charged over running brothel Adelaide Now, 22 Sep 2010
• Cambodia arrests Thais after bomb attack NEWS.com.au, 3 Jul 2010
• Aussie charity busts child-smuggling ring NEWS.com.au, 26 Jan 2010

End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.

Mr Curtis said 20 Thai police officers were involved in the raid with the Grey Man team - all of whom had a background in the police force or in Australian special forces.

He said four Cambodian girls aged between 14 and 15 were rescued from padlocked rooms with bars on the windows.

"Thai police made multiple arrests including the Mama San (brothel manager) and a number of Thai males assisting in the operation of the brothel," Mr Curtis said.

The girls are currently being cared for by Thai government officials before spending a year at a Khmer centre for vocational training in Cambodia.

The Grey Man's team leader for the operation, who asked not to be identified, labelled the operation as a good outcome.

"Working with the Thai police has shown us that the Thai government is serious about tackling the problem of human trafficking," he said.

In January, Grey Man volunteers also rescued two Vietnamese girls, aged 10 and 14, from a brothel in Cambodia.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/world/aussies-rescue-four-child-sex-workers/story-e6frfkui-1225921000307#ixzz15ddiFNkm

[KhunAussie52]

An interesting article on the global sex trade.

http://the-diplomat.com/2008/12/22/rescuing-child-sex-slaves/

Edited November 18, 2010 by KhunAussie52

[geriatrickid]

The alternative is to do nothing.

The activity serves the purpose of making some people think twice before engaging in a harmful act. The people that exploit these girls are also the same people that dabble in extortion, (oh, those photos of you naked with the 15 year old boy/girl won't make their way to your wife if you pay XXXXX baht etc.), and they have a hand in cloning credit cards and cleaning out bank accounts, (oh, you lost your wallet when you took Trixie for a romp?, tsk tsk)

[reason1]

My view is that although the effort is wellintentioned the publicity probably does more harm than good, in that many willthink that the effort makes a difference in reality they are just peeing in theocean and the saved girls won the lottery

[asiawatcher]

From what I can see any action from the Aussies, is far better than no reaction from all other countries. So why whinge? Good one guys, keep at it. And I just love comments such as age disputes, he says, she says, and then mother hen who says he can arrest many within 15 minutes of his apartment! <deleted>, go do it hero!

[Tokay]

http://thegreyman.org/blog/

Read this before you pass any further judgment on there work.It saddens me no end, to hear comments like this from expatriates living in Thailand.There investigations into underage sex rings in Cambodia,Burma,Laos and Thailand,are ongoing.they have my total support!!!

Read it for what? They came in to do a sting and saved THREE 15 year old prostitutes? They could "save" 100 15 year olds on Soi 6 alone. If they came to Pattaya and three is all they can find, then they wasted their trip. Also, considering those same girls will be right back in that same bar or the one next door within 2 or 3 days, they did just waste their time. hel_l, I could save three of them on my lunch break tomorrow if I was given the authority to do so.

My point is, these stings are just like the Thai police doing a bust, taking pics, and then releasing them back into the wild.

NOTHING will change until THAILAND gets serious about it. Period!

[Tokay]

By the way, I'm not saying they don't have great intentions. My point is 1) three of them is a joke. 2) As soon as they get in their van to head to the airport, it's business as usual.

They need to go save children where they can actually make a difference. Thailand is not one of those places.

[bristolgeoff]

a drop in the ocean really.you can never stop what goes on.being going on for centuries.you may stop a few,but they is always someone else who wants to take they place

[Tokay]

Girls of this age were quite commonly found working in the Thai-on-Thai sex industry 20 years ago, but are very far and few between today. This is not a huge problem anymore. Someone is just looking for publicity.

That is actually not true. 15 - 16 is still very much an issue here. It gets swept under the rug and expats never want to admit it, but it's here.