Thailand sex tourism crackdown targets brothels and underage prostitutes

[webfact]

 

Sex tourism crackdown targets brothels and underage prostitutes

Kirrily Schwarz, news.com.au

 

A woman waits for customers under the red lights of Pattaya, Thailand.

 

SEX TOURISM is more prolific than you think

 

BANGKOK: -- And although prostitution is technically illegal in Thailand, the nation has more than 123,000 sex workers, who contribute up to 10 per cent of the country’s GDP.

 

Hundreds of thousands of Australians crowd into the steamy streets each year, and while some prefer the beach or the buzzing nightclubs, others make a beeline forThailand’s dark underbelly. They seek out the neighbourhoods where women are bought and sold like meat, where even their most sordid sexual desires can be satisfied if the price is right.

 

However, that could all be about to change.

 

‘SEX CAPITAL OF THE WORLD’

Damien May has been living in Thailand for five years. Originally a plumber from central Queensland, he now spends his days rescuing underage sex workers.

 

Full story: http://www.news.com.au/travel/world-travel/asia/sex-tourism-crackdown-targets-brothels-and-underage-prostitutes/news-story/7b10359a7bc70e6ed6574186e214fd01

 

--news.com.au 2016-08-04

[khwaibah]

Every city,town and village in Thailand has a cat house. There called Karaoke Bars.

[Chapelroad]

A bit like clearing a major oil spill at sea.

 

Clean up a small area, to let the masses know something is being done, but, in truth, to eradicate it is an impossibility. 

[ezzra]

Didn't I posted this article like 2 hours ago?

[LazySlipper]

I just love this farang bashing... I am not Australian... but were I, I would be jumping up and down.

 

Minister of tourism should become minister of education and maybe try to educate these girls not to go down this road. However, it is obviously the farang's fault that these people resort to this kind of work.

[Plutojames88]

Destiny Rescue Facebook page has the image below of Baptism -

On its website it suggests $1500 will sponsor a rescue and also says 26 rescues last month.

 

The article says its hard to find underage girls in bars in Pattaya these days.

So , in reality their targets they admit are elsewhere.

 

Which leads us back to the closing of sex industry making them happier?

 

Not that this will happen.

However, the agenda is clearly influenced by dogma .

 

All we need now is their sponsored mouth pieces to turn up here again with the shame tactics.

 

Whilst they may have a role , ( Destiny Rescue) clearly a Christian fundamentalism is at work.

[nontabury]

10% of Thailands GDP, no where near it.

[Emster23]

Don't worry Thais: this is about foreign sex tourists. Domestic consumption will not be impacted.

[cumgranosalum]

By all means do something for the victims but I think they really should be targetting the customers.

[maoro2013]

Why are Australians singled out?? Seems very odd.

 

If prostitution is illegal in Thailand, which it is perhaps not, then what has underage got to do with it?

[northernboy]

If it is not 10% GNP I would be surprised. Of course, if they could stop it there would be an economic shift and the domestic economy would be affected. So the sex workers would have to go work overseas as Massage workers or wives to send back money to make up for the lost family income. 

[Plutojames88]

Putting aside the article was an ex news limited journalist who is actually employed by Destiny Rescue.
And the non disclosure it's a Christian organisation.
The lines are very blurred with the non differential between child sex abuse and adult.
The presumption is they might well grind their axe on gay marriage or indeed sex outside marriage then have mouth pieces here asking the customers be targeted?

Customers of whom?

Given that the Tourist sex trade is between consenting adults the parameters of the debate needs to be set.
You might enjoy selling church packs and sponsorships to grease the projects , but make it clear who the targets are.?

Shutting down vice is one thing.
And pedophiles another.

The Christian Black and white trade mark and general dishonesty is somewhat boring.
People here know ( as even the article admitted) under age girls are almost gone from the scene .
Most of them exist in the Thai to Thai sex trade ( if they were honest enough to say so) 
Then again that would affect donations ( dubiously received on false information) 
The whole article is transparent .
And the same people will turn up with more finger pointing distorted accusations .

[riverhigh]

20 minutes ago, cumgranosalum said:

By all means do something for the victims but I think they really should be targetting the customers.

To Moderators: I could not exit this message without posting. No feature to cancel message.

[zyphodb]

51 minutes ago, LazySlipper said:

I just love this farang bashing... I am not Australian... but were I, I would be jumping up and down.

 

Minister of tourism should become minister of education and maybe try to educate these girls not to go down this road. However, it is obviously the farang's fault that these people resort to this kind of work.

 

There are far more sex workers catering to the Thai market all over the country than there are to the tourist market, only of course they'd rather not mention this & put the blame on the tourists, easy target that doesn't ruffle too many Thai feathers.....  

[harada]

Yeah, well I suppose they may as well shoot themselves in the other foot and knock another 10% off the GDP. 

[Peterw42]

Its an article by news.com.au (Australian). About an organisation who rescues under age girls from being sex workers. The organisation rescues girls from karaoke bars in the golden triangle, and even states that they dont find any or rescue girls in Pattaya etc.

 

Im not sure what this has to do with Australians in Pattaya etc. Other than sensationist news report.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[joboss]

15 minutes ago, maoro2013 said:

Why are Australians singled out?? Seems very odd.

 

If prostitution is illegal in Thailand, which it is perhaps not, then what has underage got to do with it?

Because the self righteous knob spanker Damien May is an Australian.

[opouri]

There is no way you will ever stop prostitution! The best approach would be to make it legal then you will have some way of preventing some of the underage girls and boys getting involved. If you try and stop prostitution what will happen it will go underground and increase the number of underage people involved and create worse problems such as the spread of HIV Aids and criminal activity  

[HasipHasip5]

Haha..Dem Australians be naughty boyz!!!

[geriatrickid]

4 minutes ago, zyphodb said:

 

There are far more sex workers catering to the Thai market all over the country than there are to the tourist market, only of course they'd rather not mention this & put the blame on the tourists, easy target that doesn't ruffle too many Thai feathers.....  

 

Are you able to cite any actual facts to back up your claim, or are you just tossing this out because you are uncomfortable with the fact that prostitution is indeed located in key tourist locations?

 

I note that there is criticism of some  faith based groups who attempt to assist sex trade workers. I have one question for the critics: Who else is willing to deal with some rather disgusting and diseased people? I'll be blunt, I won't go near some of them. I have heard too many sob stories that are BS and I have seen far too many hookers in Thailand who are infected with HIV, Hepatitis, Herpes, HPV etc. who willingly spread the disease because they are angry at the world and the customers who infected them.

 

 

 

[bark]

Damn Aussie's 

[riverhigh]

55 minutes ago, Plutojames88 said:

Destiny Rescue Facebook page has the image below of Baptism -

On its website it suggests $1500 will sponsor a rescue and also says 26 rescues last month.

 

The article says its hard to find underage girls in bars in Pattaya these days.

So , in reality their targets they admit are elsewhere.

 

Which leads us back to the closing of sex industry making them happier?

 

Not that this will happen.

However, the agenda is clearly influenced by dogma .

 

All we need now is their sponsored mouth pieces to turn up here again with the shame tactics.

 

Whilst they may have a role , ( Destiny Rescue) clearly a Christian fundamentalism is at work.

 

 

The problem I have with Christian organizations is when they hire "unscrupulous" people (volunteers) to go after the customers. In Cambodia they work with police, and family, to setup foreigners. That's why you see these so-called Christian volunteers drive expensive cars. 

[geriatrickid]

34 minutes ago, cumgranosalum said:

By all means do something for the victims but I think they really should be targetting the customers.

 

Whoa. Do that and Patong and Pattaya will lose most of their foreign residents and visitors. 

[oxo1947]

"My wife just doesn't understand me like you do."

I said to the fourteen year old, Vietnamese  prostitute.....................

[R123]

This Damien May is one of these typical do gooders who should not be allowed in Thailand; if there is a problem with under age workers let the Thai's sort it and these foreigners who are in Thailand on a moral crusade should be in there own countries sorting out problems.

Edited August 4, 2016 by R123

[zyphodb]

2 minutes ago, geriatrickid said:

 

Are you able to cite any actual facts to back up your claim, or are you just tossing this out because you are uncomfortable with the fact that prostitution is indeed located in key tourist locations?

 

I note that there is criticism of some  faith based groups who attempt to assist sex trade workers. I have one question for the critics: Who else is willing to deal with some rather disgusting and diseased people? I'll be blunt, I won't go near some of them. I have heard too many sob stories that are BS and I have seen far too many hookers in Thailand who are infected with HIV, Hepatitis, Herpes, HPV etc. who willingly spread the disease because they are angry at the world and the customers who infected them.

 

 

 

 

Ok lets work it out then, How many medium size & above villages, Towns & Cities are there in Thailand? take away the number of "tourist" towns, villages & cities from that number & how many are left? I think that you can pretty safely say that every medium sized village up to City has prostitutes catering for the local market, as proved by the statistic that a large majority of Thai males first sexual experience was with a prostitute? 

 

 And I have no problem with prostitution in tourist locations or anywhere else for that matter although I don't agree with underaged sex or human trafficking.

 I still believe that the vast majority of prostitution in this country is Thai on Thai, It's the hypocrisy of just going for prostitutes catering for the tourist industry because it creates "good" headlines that annoys me..... 

[arithai12]

the nation has more than 123,000 sex workers, who contribute up to 10 per cent of the country’s GDP

 

is there a reference? this looks like an invented statistics.

 

[smedly]

here's the cycle that I see with a lot of these girls

 

- Leave school early for various reasons and a common one is getting knocked up

- Get knocked up

- boyfriend or other person responsible does a runner - moves on - finds new younger model and takes no responsibility whatsoever - no pressure under law to do so either

- girl looks for job to support child, cannot find anything that pays well without education (see above) and very hard labor, long hours, living in slums

- girl comes to pattaya because a friend of a friend says you can earn good money and it's a blast - easy money and all you need to do is party party party

 

The good lookers in the right place can earn big

 

The above doesn't apply to all but accounts for a lot of them

 

So where does the problem really lie ?  

[jmccarty]

Wow!  123,000 sex workers make up 10% of the countries GDP???

Thailand's GDP was 395.28 billion US dollars in 2015.

So 123,000 sex workers earned 39.5 billion US dollars in 2015!

 

Each sex worker earned on average US$ 321,138 for 2015.

 

What have I been doing in my office job for all these years??

[alexlm]

lol

Is there anything else to say?