How can you help?

When I was ten years old, I played outside with my friends, ate big meals with my family, and went to school everyday. I never starved. I was never isolated. I was never sold. Children born into poor families in Thailand do not beg their parents for a new toy, or go to the cinema to watch a movie. They work. They farm the land, wash clothes, and help their parents. Young girls are forced to grow up way too fast. They enter the adult world of sex, corruption, and illegal activity at the tender age of 10 or 11.

These girls are locked up in brothels where they must service 20-30 men per day depending on their age. For every customer they service, they earn less than the price of a meal. They are forced to perform bizarre and threatening acts. Acts that no 10 or 11 year old should even witness. I am deeply saddened by this issue. I imagine myself or my sister or my best friend forced to live a life like this. The thought is unbearable. These feelings do not change simply because I do not know the victims. I can't imagine how traumatizing it is to be a child prostitute. It makes me angry that foreigners, likely from the Western world, take advantage of the lack of education and poverty in developing countries. It makes me question humanity.

However, there are steps that we can all take to stand up to child prostitution in Thailand.

1. Watch this eye-opening documentary on Child Prostitution in Thailand. It stars a man that has dedicated his life to resolving this issue.

2. The same man mentioned above created his own non-for-profit called Daughters Education Programme. Please visit the website to gain more information on how you can donate and/or volunteer.

3. Please click here to be taken to change.org, where you can sign a petition to stop child prostitution in the world.

4. Please comment on any of my posts! I want to hear from you. Offer suggestions, or simply just comment on anything you found interesting! Send this blog, any of the links, or the documentary to your friends and family to spread awareness!

Child prostitutes don't have a voice. But you do. 

A sex worker. A child sex worker.

Hello! In this blog post, I will discuss the various factors that push young girls into becoming involved in the sex trade. Before we move on, I want to clarify something. Although the majority of child prostitutes in Thailand are young girls, young boys are also trafficked into this industry. This is important to keep in mind.

 I want to share my views on child prostitution and encourage you to share yours as well. But first, let's explore the reasons as to why this issue is so prevalent in Thailand.

The blinding lights of Bangkok’s red-light district, the illegal exchange of money, the fake smile of a pimp, and the rough hands of customers. You are not alone in thinking why young girls accept this lifestyle. Illegal immigrants make up a large percentage of the people living in the poor villages of Thailand. These people have no ID cards and as a result, their children cannot attend school. The boys of the household farm the rocky land. Young girls also help with household chores up until a certain age. Unfortunately for these girls, the security of a family and a home often ends at age 10 or 11. Pimps from the city visit the rural areas of Thailand promising families of a glamorous lifestyle for their little girls. They speak of foreigners who will pay triple for a young virgin rather than an older woman. This makes me absolutely sick. A child is a child. There are not toys or objects and do not deserve to be treated like this. In my opinion, I believe no child is a "prostitute". They are forced into this work by their parents, pimps, or for fear of no alternatives. Click here to read about a former child prostitute's experiences. 


The parents, struggling to eat one meal a day, agree to send their daughter(s) to the city to work. At such a young age, the girls do not know what any of this means. All they know is that they are helping their family in some way. But, we have heard this story before, haven't we? Poverty is prevalent in many countries. So what makes Thailand's child prostitution rates substantially higher than other countries? 

Immemorial Thai customs show that prostitution is regarded as a way of life in Thai culture. Christian churches and Buddhist temples remain inactive in this matter, taking the position of  “Hear no evil; See no evil; Speak no evil”. Click here to read more about this stance. 

                                               

If the government and religious organizations in Thailand are refusing to recognize this issue, it is up to us to take action. I am deeply passionate about this subject and hope that you will join me in raising awareness. 

Child Prostitution: The Issue

Hello! Welcome to my blog! This main purpose of this blog is to raise awareness for an issue that is very close to my heart: child prostitution and sexual trafficking. For this blog, I chose to focus specifically on child prostitution in Thailand. This blog is an opportunity for me to share my knowledge with you and express my feelings about this sensitive subject.

First things first, what is child prostitution? Child prostitution is defined as a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. Now, many people get mixed up between prostitution and sexual trafficking/slavery. When people think of the word "prostitute", they often think of a woman who works independently for her money. However, children in Thailand are lured into the commercial sex industry and are forced to work in a brothel. Although they are labelled "child prostitutes", it is very unlikely that you will hear any of them say that they enjoy their job. In my next blog post, I will go into further detail about the living  and working conditions of child prostitutes.

According to therichest.com, Thailand is the most popular destination for “sex tourism” in the world. In other words, it has the largest sex trade in the world. Of the 3 million sex workers in Thailand, one third of them are children. Let's just take a moment to take that in: one third of all the sex workers in Thailand are children. There is something seriously wrong with this statistic. 25% of Thailand's national economy is based on child prostitution. When I read these staggering statistics, I thought to myself, "Is prostitution legal in Thailand?" "Could this be the cause?" And the answer shockingly, is no, it is not. Although the government made prostitution illegal in Thailand, they do not enforce this law. In fact, they turn a blind eye to the country's shocking prostitution rates. 

                             The Famous Red-Light District in Patong, Thailand

In my next blog post, we will dig deeper into what pushes young girls in Thailand to pursue a career in sex work. We will also explore the conditions they work and live under. 
To find out more information on this topic please, click here.