What can Thailand do now to stop the sex industry and looming crisis?

Question

If you're in a hurry for two points, scroll down and read the questions in all caps. If you'd rather make an informed answer, then please read on.
Thailand, who's main religion is Buddhism 94%, followed by Muslim 4%, Christian 0.55%, and others 0.63%, main economic industry is the sex trade. In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, Thailand's government, namely one politician who later became known as the "condom man" decided to halt the AIDS crisis before it began, and launched a nation-wide, government sponsored condom and education program targeted directly at prostitutes, sex slaves, and those who purpose those goods (clients). It worked, and Thailand has had a low occurrence of AIDS for the past ten years.
Fast forward to today, where the "condom man" is gone, and birth control methods are wanning. STDs and AIDS are on the rise, and now, the sex industry has received a legitimizing "boost" of validation from it's very own government.

WHAT CAN THAILAND DO NOW TO STOP THE LOOMING CRISIS?
WHAT CAN AMERICA DO TO HELP THAILAND?
WHAT GOOD HAS COME FROM THE CONDOM PROGRAM?
HOW DOES THIS RELATE TO RELIGION AND SPIRITUALITY?

What good has been accomplished if you give a condom to a prostitute and she doesn't get AIDS, but she is beaten to death 6 months later by one of her clients?

What good has been accomplished if you teach a 12 year old about birth control after she is sold into slavery and raped daily?

Answer 1

Criminalizing prostitution
Although prostitution is illegal in Thailand, it is often protected by law enforcement agencies.3 When prostitution is illegal, it often means that it is illegal for a woman to be a prostitute, but not illegal for a man to pay a prostitute. This continues to harm the woman who is in prostitution, instead of helping her find ways out of prostitution. It also gives men free license to continue to find other women to exploit. When making prostitution illegal, the roles should be switched; men should be arrested for purchasing a prostitute, while women should not be thrown in jail for being a prostitute.1

Promoting policies that address prostitution
Governments have a role in prosecuting companies that sell sex tourist packages. For example, in New York, prostitution laws state that: "a person is guilty of promoting prostitution in the third degree when he knowingly advances or profits from prostitution by managing, supervising, controlling or owning...a prostitution business or enterprise involving prostitution activity by two or more prostitutes...." 4 Sex tourism agencies originating in New York could be prosecuted under this law.

The World Bank has a role in addressing prostitution when it is loaning $1.9 billion US dollars to Thailand for projects.5 Its history of supporting sex tourism in Thailand makes it unlikely that current policy critically considers the effects of sex tourism on women in children. In fact, the current World Bank pages on Thailand do not even mention the sex tourism industry or prostitution. Projects to improve the lives of women and children in Thailand cannot work if the role of sex tourism is not addressed.

Increasing opportunities in education and employment
Women and children are not freely choosing the work in prostitution; it is a "choice" based purely on the economics of food and shelter. Girls who work as prostitutes in Thailand can provide for their entire family, while most other jobs cannot. It will take economic change to help women and children seriously considering leaving the sex tourism industry. Jobs must be available that can provide for families, and people must be trained to do them. New industry must replace the current sex industry to enact real change for women and children in prostitution.

Answer 2

The sex industry in Thailand is huge and it is a misunderstanding that this is due to the fact of sex tourists that go there on holiday. These people from Europe, US, Australia and other countries do bring in massive amounts of money when they come and use prostitutes. However it is the Thais themselves who use the largest number of prostitutes. Often boys who come of age are encourage to loose their virginity to a prostitute by fathers. All over Thailand, even in the smallest provinces, there is always karaoke bars which at some stage most men frequent where sex is easily bought. I am sure there are Thai men who don't like or of course use prostitutes but just because it isn't in your face like the go-go bars in tourist destinations doesn't mean that it isn't widely going on. I've been going to Thailand for about 6 years now and lived there for all of last year. An excellent book to read which I'm sure you'd find interesting is 'Sex Slaves' which looks at the sex industry across S.E Asia and really does open your eyes to some of the things that go on beneath the radar.

Answer 3

You should ask an informed question to get an informed answer. The main economic industry is NOT the sex trade. Meechai's condom campaign was directed towards everyone in Thailand - not just the prostitutes. When did the government legitimize the sex industry?

Have you ever been to Thailand?

Answer 4

Well, the government allow this industry to be opened for tourists only since the major of tourists are westerners and they love this kind of stuff. The Thai men is forbidden to go in these things.
Not all people believe in religion - the one, who fall into this dark corner of society, has no belief.
To stop this, western countries must educate their people that do not take sex for pleasure and religious leaders must increase the religious activities here to save the people form their idiocy.

Answer 5

It all comes down to poverty.

Poverty is what making parents sell their four year daughter for sex to freaks who are taking advantage of this.

Poverty is driving people to become prostitutes.

Help these people by helping the government turn their country into a place where people can get an education and jobs for their family.

Tackle poverty and you will solve many problems that come with it.

Answer 6

A Spiritual awakening of God in Christ Jesus (Christian Revival) combined with about 1 million missionaries serving there for about 20 years (preaching, making disciples, and interceeding for the nation) and the existing Christians that are already there get 'on-fire' for Jesus's commands will surely transform Thailand in a few years.

Answer 7

Reducing the massive inequality of income distribution would offer poor rural women far more career choices.

Like drugs, though, prostitution is most certainly here to stay.

Answer 8

Thailand was a looming crisis 30 years ago!

Answer 9

I'm not sure that this has anything to do with religion and spirituality directly...I don't think that Buddhism is related to this occurrence, if that's the link you're trying to make.

That being said, this is a tough issue for me. I have three different friends, all gay men ages 25-36 (one of the three is Deaf), and they all were sex workers in Thailand growing up. One started as young as 15, one at 16 one at 18. All three said they found it a good way to make money, none of them were ever beaten up or mistreated and none of them ever acquired an STD. I asked was it demeaning or did they feel like they had low self esteem.

Two worked for a "house" and one of them said he wished he had worked on his own because he could have made more money. The other worked on his own and said he wished now he had worked with a house because they handle the customers. (It seems he sometimes had problems with people wanting to short change him).

I asked about this being a demeaning way to earn money or if it caused low self-esteem and they all had a positive view of it.

As for the age I asked about them being minors. They said it wasn't uncommon to be sexually active by the mid-teens so what's the difference. (I know I regularly sexually active starting at 12 and I grew up in the Midwest.)

None of them had acquired STD/STI's, none of them felt raped or taken advantage of or had been beaten up.

The reason they got out of the business varied. The oldest said he got out of the field and moved here when he became about 28 and said he wasn't able to "earn top dollar." Another left when his family immigrated to the US and he moved with them (he said his family never "sold him into slavery" or forced him into the business. In fact he was doing it for a couple of years before they even knew). The third actually fell in love with an American vacationing there. He was never a customer but they met and ended up dating while he was there and two years later moved to the US to be with him. They've been a couple for 3 years now.

I think there are several issues here. First, our Puritan background has left us with a culture that deems everything sexual as bad or evil (or at least something to be ashamed of). Second, this view of sex has narrowed our views of the sex worker industry. Third, we cannot separate the difference between legitimate sex industry from abuse (I do believe there IS a problem with the abuse of children in this industry, but it's not all of the sex trade) and finally our cultural views make it difficult in general to see this in any other light. Even after hearing the stories of my friends (I've known them all between 4-6 years) I still have trouble seeing it as a positive thing, but I also know my view of the world is limited to my own experiences so I can only try to expand that view by increasing my own experiences or trying to understand the experiences of others. .

Answer 10

I'm not sure what CAN be done at the present. There are so many poor who unfortunately depend upon the money earned by prostitution. I'm not condoning it, just stating a fact.
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