The Face of Tamar
Overview of the Sex Industry in Asia
Keynote Address to the Asha Forum II in Chiang Mai, Thailand.
by Patricia Green, Rahab
International.
18 March, 2005.
It is not by accident that Asha Forum II is meeting here in Chiang Mai, Thailand, which is the point of entry of thousands of women and children who come voluntarily or who are trafficked across borders into the sex industry in Thailand and beyond. On the streets of Chiang Mai you will see many children who have ‘come down’ from their hill villages to make money frequently by ‘selling sex’ or who will work on the streets and become victims of sexual abuse. Children are at risk of sexual abuse by local men, by foreign tourists, and paedophiles maybe for the price of a teddy bear.
The purpose of this conference is to address the issue of sexual abuse of children and produce some plans and processes to combat this problem to help the children of Asia. It is to help restore the lives of those who have been abused and to create a world in which children will be safe from sexual abuse in the future.
To do this we must first examine some of the causes of sexual abuse, and I am speaking particularly of organized sexual abuse, commercial sex abuse (Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children or CSEC), and the sale and trafficking of children for sexual purposes.
Causes of sexual abuse.
Sexual abuse is not new, and in the Old Testament there are several references to incestuous relationships and the sexual use of children in religious practices. What is new is the rapidly increasing phenomenon of commercial sexual abuse of children and the trafficking of children across borders for sexual purposes.
In the Second Book of Samuel, chapter 13, we read of Tamar, a teenager who has been tricked, seduced and raped by her brother Ammon. After he is finished with her the scripture reads, “he despised her and threw her out.”
Tamar wept unceasingly, tore her robe, put ashes on her head and went away. Then in verse 20, Absalom, Tamar’s other brother, in trying to comfort her says:
“Has, Ammon your brother been
with you? Don’t cry,
Don’t take this to heart my sister, he is your brother”.
So Tamar remained a desolate woman in her brother’s house. She was probably about 13-14 years old. She was betrayed; violated and rejected, she was desolate, without hope, and without a future.
Sexual abuse of children — the scenario has not changed a great deal. ‘Don’t worry about it, he is your brother’. In other words: it is all in the family, so keep it quiet. Keep it hidden. Things have not changed much over the centuries. Incest is one of the major factors in children and young women running away, living on the streets and/or entering into prostitution. Sexual abuse in the home. Keep it quiet. It is all in the family. That is what girls are for.
The victim is desolate, without hope, and often without help. I once heard a former street child say at a conference in Yokohama:
“No one knows what it is like to be a sexually abused child until s/he has been beaten, raped and left lying in the gutter in the rain, lying in your own shit and blood and sweat. Hurting. Crying. Crying for someone to help. Crying for somewhere to go. But there is none to help. There is nowhere to go.”
Wann was 14 when she ran
away from her home in an Akka village just north of Chiang Mai.
She had never been to school and there was no future in the village.
After arriving in Bangkok, someone found work for her, in a bar
in Patpong Road. Here she had to dance naked apart from stilettos
and a choker. She had to perform various acts and sleep with customers
when required. Because Wann was underage and had no Thai citizenship
papers, she slept in the bar and was brought food there. She was
woken to perform or to service customers. She was never paid for
her sexual services, but sometimes men gave her tips. Later, her
brother came and the owner, an officer in the Thai police, threatened
that if she ever ran away he would have her mother killed. This
happens enough in Thai society for the threat to be credible.
This
had been Wann’s
life for four years when Rahab Ministries’ Outreach team
began visiting this bar and built a relationship with her. Wann
told us that as a child she had accepted Jesus. She asked for a
cross. On subsequent visits to the bar we would see her dancing,
one hand clutching the cross. Wann was very depressed and frightened
and said that if she had to endure this life any longer, she would
kill herself. Rahab was able to help her escape by paying off her
debt. After paying the money she came back singing and dancing
and saying:
“I’m free, I’m
free, the first time in four years I am free!”
Now Wann is living in a home
for tribal girls here in Chiang Mai. She loves Jesus, has finished
her schooling and completed a hairdressing course. God has given
her a hope and a future.
What is sexual abuse and why Asia?
The Oxford Dictionary defines abuse as ‘overuse’. So millions of children worldwide are being sexually ‘overused’ to satisfy the needs of men — men within their own nations and cultures and men who either buy them, kidnap them, traffic them or visit their homeland to sexually overuse them — children who shouldn’t be sexually used at all — to satisfy their own sexual desires.
Why Asia? For some reason Asian people are seen as ‘exotic’ by the sex hungry and children are perceived as commodities for sale, known as ‘fresh meat’.
“A nice piece
of fresh lamb, washed down by a glass of red
wine, that will do the trick to pep up the jaded sex tourist,”
says Frances Swartzel in his book The Price of Lamb.
Sex with a child
is always rape.
UNICEF estimates that one third of sex workers in Southeast Asian countries are children. In the Mekong region alone, 30-35% of all sex workers are 12-17 years of age.
In addressing sexual abuse and exploitation it is necessary to look at the whole issue of child abuse, dysfunctional families and family abuse, child trafficking, and exploitation for illegal labour. The latter often involves or leads to sexual abuse either within the work situation, as a means of escape, or as a means of survival after escape from slave labour. Usually it is the only means a child (or woman) has to escape non-sexual slavery. Her only bargaining or negotiating asset, with or without her full understanding, is her body.
UNICEF figures indicate that 10 million children are victims of today’s sex industry and over 2 million children enter prostitution every year. Figures for Thailand alone vary upwards from 300,000 children, but who can know?
‘Phuangthong
was 15 when brokers took her from her Akka village north of Chiang
Mai and trafficked her to Sydney.
She
was locked in a brothel for 13 years, kept on drugs and abused
daily. The brothel was raided and Phuangthong locked in the police
cells. Three days later she was dead. No-one has ever been charged.
She did not exist’.
(Sydney Morning Herald,
2002?)
There are many causes or contributing factors to child sexual abuse, child prostitution, and trafficking of children. First it is important to clarify the term ‘trafficking’. The US State Department estimates that between 700,000 and 2 million women and children are trafficked annually internationally, the majority for sexual purposes. This is an US$12-18 billion business. 500,000 are trafficked within Asia. UNIFEM estimates that 225,000 children are trafficked. The UN lists trafficking for sexual purposes as one of the worst forms of violence. However, not all children or women who enter prostitution in their own country or another are trafficked. Too often, prostitution and trafficking become synonymous.
The UN definition of trafficked persons is:
“The illicit and clandestine movement of persona across national and international borders … with the end goal of forcing women and girl children into sexually or economically oppressive and exploitative situations for the profits of recruiters, trafficker and crime syndicates, as well as other illegal activities related to trafficking such as forced domestic labour, false marriages, illegal employment and forced adoption.” It may be added that trafficking includes one or all of the following - coercion, debt bondage, threat of force or the abuse of authority. This movement may be for forced labour, unpaid labour or the person may also be kept in slave-like conditions.”
For some children, crossing borders and entry into the sex trade or life on the streets, which usually includes (especially for girl children) being sexually abused or exploited, seems preferable to what they have left behind.
Faa (meaning
sky) and her friends Mom and Kem sell flowers in a sex tourist
area in Bangkok, which is patronized by tourists from the West
and from the Middle East. Faa also sells her body because she
must make 6,000 baht ($150) per day to meet the family’s financial needs — more
money than she can earn by selling flowers and begging. Faa’s
mother paid high fees to the broker to bring them to Bangkok from
Cambodia. Faa keeps a list of foreigners’ hotel rooms, names,
and telephone numbers. Her mother is her agent. Faa is 13. Last
year Faa and her friends were picked up by the police, placed in
a Welfare Home and eventually repatriated to Cambodia. Within six
months they were back on the street in Bangkok. They ran away from
the home and bribed the border guards with their bodies. Faa commented:
“I don’t want
to go back to Cambodia. They promised schooling, but there was no
school. Here I can earn money. It’s more fun here and here
I am free!”
So what are some of the root causes of commercial sexual abuse of children?
Contrary to common assumptions, poverty is not the major cause of prostitution, child or otherwise. Many poor people do not sell their children. In many Southeastern Asian studies, poverty is not always listed as a cause, but consumerism is. In many economically strong countries such as the USA, Japan and I think Korea, CSEC is rife as is the trafficking of children for sex. These countries may be either sending or receiving countries. However in some areas, poverty does play a major part and measures to combat prostitution must look at the causes of poverty. Early marriage and divorce is often connected to poverty and can be a reason for the entry of young women into prostitution.
‘Saeng was forced by her family to marry a man whom she did not love when she was only 15 years old. The family needed the money that the ‘bride price’ would bring. After her the birth of her second child Saeng could bear it no longer. She ran away and came to Bangkok. She found work in a bar selling drinks and her body. A friend brought her into Rahab Ministries. Saeng soon accepted Jesus into her life and Rahab provided sponsorship for her to learn hairdressing. Four years later Saeng is a radiant Christian, has a good job in a Beauty salon and is able to support her children and help her parents.’
In some Asian cultures -
- prostitution of both adults and children is deeply rooted in cultural traditions (old and new), in hierarchical structures within cultures, in patriarchy, in paternalism and in power. Prostitution is also rooted in idolatry. As in Old Testament times, when a nation turned away from God, idolatry and the use of children in worship and as sacrifices in religious practices became prevalent. A modern example is the Devadasi, child temple prostitutes in India. I am sure there are many other examples. Prostitution is inherent in traditional Thai society. In the former times of nobility and peasants, poor people gave their daughters to the nobility to care for. They became concubines, or if not so fortunate, slaves. There would be some remuneration like land or food for the family. I think it was the same in China. Today in China young girls are sold to poor farmers as wives.
Other causes of CSEC and other sexual child abuse include militarisation. The Philippines is a good example of this with the former US Olongapo and Clark Naval and Air Bases. Huge numbers of women and children have flocked to or been brought to these areas. Prostitution can be a result of war. The nation becomes a society of women and children. There is no work, no income, and no options. Women are vulnerable, vulnerable to traffickers and pimps and often can see no option but to sell themselves or their children. This then becomes a way of life and a way to make money and to exploit others. Cambodia is an example of how militarisation can lead to the increase of prostitution since there has been much more of it there after the presence of UN Peacekeeping Forces than there had been before those forces came.
Consumerism and the desire for material goods is a major cause of CSEC in what are termed Third World countries. The increase in availability of consumer items in the 17 years that I have been in Thailand is incredible and this has changed the face of rural and village life.
Development which often is taking natural resources for developing infrastructure, such as logging for building, taking farm lands for highways, and flooding rice fields and forests for hydro-electricity dams. This causes a loss of food sources and income. Natural disasters, such as floods, climatic changes, tsunamis, all contribute to loss of lifestyle, income, and options.
Changing values also contribute to the sexual abuse of children, whether it be CSEC or in the family. There is a high rate of family abuse and incest in Thailand. These children may leave home and become vulnerable to abusers and traffickers. Changing values within the family systems and changing values as a nation transitions from a rural/agricultural economy to an industrial economy contribute to the entry of women and children into prostitution. Added here is the lowering of the value of the girl child to where she is often perceived merely as a means of making an income whether this is by labour or sex.
The culture of beauty.
In Asia and indeed all over the world little girls are being groomed for sex. Asian girl children are taught from an early age that outward beauty if of high value. They are to ‘please the man’. On special occasions they are dressed, made up and learn to act provocatively. Adult ‘sexy’ dressing is now becoming a trend for children and teenager in the west also.
Pornography is a huge contributing factor. I shall not address this in detail; it is a subject on its own. But I will say that both the making and selling of pornography, including child pornography, is big business in many Asian countries. There is a proliferation of freely accessible pornography on the Internet and for sale on the streets of Bangkok and other Asian cities. 'End Child Prostitution and Trafficking'(ECPAT), New Zealand and Japan, have excellent preventative materials for children and young people regarding this.
Globalisation.
Prostitution and Trafficking are said to be the ‘dark underbelly of globalisation.’ The easy movement of the rich and the powerful who have the ability to take whatever they want for gift or money from the poor makes exploitation easier. Along with this, tourism has increased and tourists are constantly in search of new experiences and new pleasures. Humanism and self-actualization has something to do with this too. One must do what ‘feels good’ regardless of the devastating effect on the feelings of the other. So too has globalisation affected the new and rapidly growing phenomenon of ‘Sex Tourism’.
Last year more than 10 million tourists came to Thailand. Immigration figures show that 70% were male and the Tourist Authority of Thailand as well as NGOs estimate that around 70% of all males over 18 years of age come specifically for sex with women, young men, and girl and boy children. That is more than 4 million men! Some child victims are as young as 8 or 9. Others are babies used for pornography.
‘Oo was 14 when I first
met her in Patpong. She told me that she had been working in a bar
for 4 weeks and in that time she had been ‘used’ by
eleven foreign tourists!’
Sex with a child is
always rape.
However not all sex abusers are tourists.
Research by ECPAT in 2004 showed that in Thailand 80% of child sex abusers were local men. The figure for Cambodia was 90%. Whether the reasons for abuse are for sex for pleasure or for power are immaterial. The fact is men sexually abuse children and in so doing are destroying their spirits, their hearts, and their minds. They are destroying their hopes and dreams, their future, and frequently their lives through violence, disease and death.
Child exploiters fall into two categories. ‘Situational abusers’ are those for whom the product is accessible, cheap, and seemingly willing or complying. But what choice does the child have or what power to bargain or refuse? This group includes the sex tourist and the person who may be swept into this situation unwittingly, perhaps as the guest of Asian businessmen where children are provided. The second group is paedophiles; people of all walks of life who have a predilection for sex with children. I was shocked to discover that 1% of paedophiles are women! Also, 25% of all child sex abusers who have been arrested in Thailand are US citizens.
New methods being used by child sex exploiters are the internet and internet chat rooms, and travel and tour companies. ‘Bali Spice Trade’ travel is a cover term for prostitution of boys. The majority of these clients come from highly organized paedophile networks, mostly in the Washington State area of the US.
Research shows that those who sexually exploit children are comprised of tourists, businessmen, expatriates, aid workers, and military. Migrant labourers — for example Burmese girls in Southwest Thailand — are used mainly by Burmese fishermen. And Thai women are trafficked to Singapore to service Thai construction workers. Other abusers include employers of domestic workers, and expatriate social workers and English teachers who enter a country and have easy access to children.
Child sex tourism often invites cultural misunderstanding. Child abusers justify themselves by saying that they are helping the children and their families financially and that Asian children (and women) enjoy this and want sex!
The major cause is demand.
However I believe that the major cause of child prostitution and commercial sexual abuse of children and adults is demand. In any attempt to combat CSEC, demand needs to be recognized and addressed. Prostitution of children and adults is not a moral issue, or the moral failure of women and children. It is an issue of demand and supply. If it is a moral issue, then it is mainly a moral issue of men. As long as there is demand there will be supply. As long as there is demand and along with demand for sexual services an element of remuneration, whether it be 20,000 baht for a teenager to sell her virginity in Pattaya, or a good meal and a teddy bear for a child, or 500 baht for the family, there will be supply.
If a gathering such as this is to make any difference to the teenagers working in the bars in Chiang Mai, in Penang, in Hong Kong, and to the children locked in prison-like brothels in Chiang Rai, in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. If it is to mean anything to the children from Cambodia, from Laos, and from Vietnam begging or selling flowers on the streets of Bangkok and Pattaya and being raped, to the children in Svey Pak, on the streets and in the brothels of Ho Chi Minh City, the issue of demand must be addressed. It has been estimated (by ECPAT Asia) that profits from boy prostitution increases the economy of Sri Lanka, Goa and India by about US$5 billion annually.
Plans of action must be formulated and carried out. I have been to many wonderful conferences, and met wonderful people with wonderful vision, but little changes. There must be well-formulated plans for action and the energy and determination to carry them forward. And, need I say it – the issue of demand must begin by addressing men, because the demand issue is a male issue.
Let me repeat that — the issue of demand needs to be confronted by men because sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children is predominantly a male issue. Women may set the scene, sell children, be brokers, traffickers or agents but it is men who use and abuse both boys and girls. For a woman, addressing male issues is not easy. For years I have tried to do this and have been perceived, particularly by the church, as ‘hating men,’ ‘spiritually out of line,’ and so on. So I appeal to the men here, Godly and righteous men. You know what to do. Start with your friends, your colleagues and your neighbours.
We need Christian, faith-based recovery programs for men who are addicted to sexually abusing children. These are also a measure of prevention. There are some good programs particularly in the US, for men. One is ‘Avenues’. ‘John’s Schools’ are also effective though not Christian.
Legalization of prostitution does not provide the answer. Research in countries who have legalized it shows that children become more at risk of being sexually abused, sold and trafficked, as perpetrators require younger ‘victims’.
So what can we, at this 2nd Asha Forum, do to combat the sexual abuse of children?
Child sexual abuse and child prostitution are about power and powerlessness. This needs to change to empowerment of the children and disempowerment of the perpetrators. We must work at ways in which children at risk and those who have already been abused can be empowered.
The following must be addressed if this horrifying sexual abuse of children is to stop.
-
The issue of demand needs to be addressed.
-
There must be a focus on prevention. Empowerment and training of at-risk groups and tackling the root causes are essential.
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More programs need to address the restoration and healing process of children who have been abused. These must deal with every aspect of the child’s life, which have been destroyed not only physically, but spiritually and emotionally. People need professional training in these areas.
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Advocacy. We must be clear in what we are advocating for and to whom. The most effective advocates are the children themselves; listen to what they want to say.
-
Support national governments, UN programs and other NGOs who are working to combat the sexual abuse of children. We can learn much from the experience and expertise of others.
Finally, it has been said:
“When goods
are sold they do not know how to cry.
When a child or a woman is sold, no matter how hard and how long
she weeps,
the one who sold her will never hear”.
And:
“It is not the
dreams we share that are important, but the work we do together.”
(Committee of Women Religious Against Trafficking in Women)
As a result of the work that we do together at this Asha Forum II, may the tears of the children be turned to shouts of laughter.
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