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A Living Hell;
A cultural perspective on Child Prostitution in the Far East.
Jim Blaylock
27 Feb, 2001
In this treatise, we will examine the cultural attitudes and spacial relations regarding
the plague of sexual abuse of children in the Far East. In doing so, we will be comparing
the various views and actions of the Philippines, Japan, Thailand and Cambodia against the
definition that any sexual activity with a child under 18 years of age, or any act that
sexually exploits a child is abusive. This standard is needed, as the age of majority
varies greatly. In fact, "the definition of a child varies so widely as to make it
impossible to have a cooperative effort protecting children from sexual exploitation. In
Tanzania, the Philippines and a dozen other countries, the age of majority is 14. Over 100
countries set the age of majority as 18. However, these same countries have variations on
age of consent to sexual relations. Thus what may be illegal sexual relations or statutory
rape in England may be legal in a Southeast Asian country. A country that prohibits child
prostitution but makes the age of majority 12 has no protection for a teenage child
targeted by an adult exploiter."(Lederer11). As we explore, compare and contrast
these four nations, we will see the common cultural threads that bind them together and
the result of their evolution, namely the sexual exploitation of children in the Far East.
We will start our journey into the dark world of sexual child abuse in the Far East where
60% to 70% of women who have been interviewed claim that they have suffered sexual abuse
(Parekh 34). While records of child abuse in these countries are suspect, and records in
many countries are negligently kept, researchers have concluded that "incestuous
sexual abuse is so prevalent that it is almost the norm; it is something we expect South
Asian girls to go through."" (Parekh 34). Although the reported incidence of
incest is high, it is not the only sign of child sexual abuse we see in the region. Child
prostitution is so pervasive that "1 million children are trafficked into
prostitution each year in Southeast Asia alone, estimating that 10,000 children between
age 6 and 14 are enslaved in brothels in Sri Lanka. Approximately 15,000 children were
sold into sexual slavery in Cambodia between 1991 and 1997, and the Thai government
reports that 60,000 Thai children are sold into prostitution" (Meier 239). As a
result, in South East Asia, "the number of prostituted children range between 200,000
and 800,000". (Meier 239)
In the Philippines "a population of child prostitutes estimated by the United Nations
at more than 60,000 provides a stream of cases like that of young Pia Augustin. She became
a prostitute at the age of 9. An aunt who raised her in a Manila slum rented her to
foreign men with Pia receiving 120 pesos--$3--for each encounter. After three years,
according to a social worker's report, she was sold to a visiting German pedophile."
(Satchell 32) Pia’s story is not uncommon on the island, as one of its most robust
economic sectors is that of providing sexual services. Many factors have helped to spur on
the child sex trade. One major factor was the "huge United States naval base at Subic
Bay, and Angeles City, where the U.S. Air Force operated a large base at Clark Field. Each
had a long established vice trade involving underage girls and catering to American
service personnel. After the U.S. military departed in 1992, aggressive marketing by
Philippine red-light entrepreneurs turned Angeles and Olongapo into two of the Pacific
region's most rancid fleshpots" (satchel 32). This has worked in conjunction with
other factors such as "poverty, the rise of criminal Mafia’s in Russia and
Eastern Europe, the spread of sex tourism, and the Internet pornography boom. Fear of AIDS
is driving men to seek younger partners in the mistaken belief that they are less likely
to be infected. Global child sex trends, says the demand comes not only from pedophiles
but from men eager to push the envelope of carnal exploration." (Satchell 32)
As we saw in the Philippines, the practice of selling children into prostitution is a long
and well-established trade. While there are laws forbidding the practice, there are no
enforcement measures to prevent the tragedy. Part of this pathology comes from the
ideology that children are not people, but property. "After decades of complacency,
Philippine authorities are cracking down on foreigners drawn here by entrenched pedophile
networks, rampant sex tourism, but it is difficult to contain the sexual abuse of children
in the region" (Satchell 32).
While we see that authorities are cracking down on foreigners who are entering the country
for the purpose of sex tourism, there are no equivalent moves to stop abuse of children by
their own citizens. One major reason is the common belief that it is the fathers’
prerogative to have sex with their children first. Children may also be used to pay off
debts or as collateral on loans (Parekh 34). This falls closely in line with the feminist
concept of the male prerogative, which argues that male dominance lead to violence against
women and children (Becket 57). Although there may appear to be some evidence in this
area, we see that in many cases like Pia’s, we actually see that the women are
pimping out the children.
In response to the growing trade of sex tourism, "21 nations have passed laws to
prosecute molesters for crimes committed overseas" (Satchell 32). A prime example of
the new laws is Australia’s response to a trip made in by Anthony Carr in 1994.
"During his visit, he paid a man $45 for his five-year-old niece to perform in a
pornographic video, which Carr taped. It was that tape…[which] an Australian court
used in April to sentence him to two years in prison for aggravated assault. Carr became
the first Australian to be convicted under the country's two-year-old extraterritorial
child- sex tourism law."(Hunter 22).
Although some countries convict their citizens who engage in the child sex trade on
foreign shores where such laws are not enforced, how should it be handled in a country
like Japan where child prostitution is legal? In 1997, "the Tokyo Metropolitan
Government took the first steps to curb "obscene" acts when adults pay for sex
with children below the age of 18. The legal age of consent in Japan is as low as
13"(Butler 44). This was in response to the use of telephone clubs where teens could
meet men and arrange a meeting. The problem is that "Japanese teenage prostitution
did not begin with the telephone clubs and even today it is not the only means girls use
to meet men. According to reports by the National Police headquarters, the number of
teenage prostitutes started to climb around 1974, and by 1984, the number of teenage girls
willingly taken into police custody had reached alarming levels. Nearly all of these girls
willingly became involved in prostitution primarily to earn money" (Morrison 475).
Here we are not faced with children being kidnapped, placed into brothels, being beaten or
raped, nor do we see any law prohibiting the practice. Rather we see raw capitalism
compelled, not by need, but by greed. What is to be done when the child lives in a society
where it is seen as a basic human right for children to sell sex? Can a fourteen-year-old
fully understand the consequences of prostituting herself for a new trinket? "Today's
teenage prostitutes are similar to their predecessors in that their goal is often money,
but they are far more sophisticated in nearly every other respect"(Morrison 475).
While we as Americans might see this as unacceptable, when the Japanese government
proposed to take action to stop teenage prostitution, "the action wasn't endorsed by
everyone: An advisory panel lent its support reluctantly, with some members opposed on
grounds that sex decisions, even for minors, are personal" (Butler 44). There is no
surprise that government intervention in child prostitution fails in Japan. The Japanese
government, Shogun Lyenari tried to outlaw prostitution in 1822, but failed as prostitutes
were still hired by parties and families (Durant 862). Evidently, prostitution, even that
of children is a long and established custom that will not soon disappear.
So, should we accept the old axiom that the tourists follow the traditions of the country
they are visiting, in this case to do as the Japanese do, even if it allows the sexual
exploitation of children? Alternatively, would the abuse of children in the visited
country be reduced if the tourist were held to the legal, moral and ethical standards of
their parent nation? Although sex tourism may slow somewhat, I see no logical stance
showing that the sex industry would change with the new legislation. Laws passed in
America and Europe will not change the long standing attitudes of people in Japan or any
other nation.
While child prostitution is legal in Japan, this is not the case in most of Asia. The
problem is so pervasive that in the Mekong Subregion, kidnapping has become a common
recruitment tool. This has led to actions being taken by the United Nations to help the
victims as "few, if any, resources are available to women and children smuggled
across international borders primarily for sexual purposes. They have no legal status as
illegal immigrants, their social image is scarred by stigma, their health is all too often
imperiled. A three-year, $2.3 million project brings together UNDP and six other UN
agencies in partnerships with government ministries in Cambodia, China, Laos, Myanmar,
Thailand and Viet Nam, to develop community-based initiatives to prevent trafficking"
(United Nations 76).
With the influx of funds and support, one would hope that there would be a change in the
status of child prostitution in Asia. Unfortunately, as we examine attitudes on this
problem we find that they are well entrenched. In Cambodia for example, we find that
"unlike Thailand or the Philippines, pedophiles in Cambodia have had little to fear
if caught. Cambodia's problem goes beyond foreigners, though. Activists say sex tourists
are tolerated in part because many locals find it acceptable to buy children for
sex"(Penh 29). Even with aid, child exploitation in Cambodia will not be reduced as
it is the attitudes, customs and traditions of each culture that transcend the laws,
allowing community standards to reign. The problem that we see with these cultural traits
is that "The country's brothels are filled with an estimated 20,000 child
prostitutes. The youngest--usually in their early teens but some as young as 10--are sold
to those wealthy enough to pay a premium. According to activists, buying a young virgin
has become popular with certain rich and well-connected Cambodian men. New wealth and
power, coupled with a fear of AIDS, is fueling the desire for younger and younger
girls" (Penh 29). As we can see, it is in the popularity, the societal demands and
the willingness to trade children as commodities, which are the factors that create the
problem. Although poverty may play a role, the underlying ideology makes child
prostitution an acceptable practice within the culture. Lunacy is the concept that laws
preventing sex tourism will eradicate the problem, as Cambodian men see having a virgin as
a status symbol. It is like owning a particular car, living in a certain neighborhood, or
having the best seats at a sporting event.
Despite Cambodian laws designed to stop the sex slavery, "the girls the men buy are
often prisoners: as many as half may have been sold into the business. Sovannara, a
15-year-old with wide-set eyes and a soft voice, was looking for a part-time job when a
woman took her to a brothel…"(Penh 29). Again, we see that this is not about the
male prerogative, but the culture of child trading. "Before she realized what was
happening, she had been sold and locked in a room. "I cried and I cried, but the
mama-san said she would have me beaten to death if I refused,"" (Penh 29).
Sovannara had a reason to be scared. While her captivity was only a month, she lives in a
society were this practice is known and condoned regardless of any laws drafted to stem
the problem. We know that she would have received little or no help from authorities as
"rescued sex workers report that many of their clients are uniformed military or
police. Those cops who aren't corrupt find it hard to take on the powerful forces behind
the traffickers" (penh 29). And they are fighting entrenched attitudes as well: in
1996, police students at an evidence-gathering seminar chuckled during a case study of a
14-year-old girl sold to a brothel. He [the instructor] realized most of the class didn't
view this as a serious crime. "When I said under 16 was rape, they laughed because 14
to 16 is considered the best age in the brothels" (Penh 29).
The attitudes of these cultures are understandable only in the light of history. The sex
trade in the Far East is well established as "Marko Polo described the courtesans of
Kublai Kahn’s capital as incredibly numerous and ravishingly beautiful" (Durant
790). Prostitution is seen in the region as a necessary evil. While women need to stay
chaste, it has been the historical attitude in China and the surrounding region as
"it was considered normal and legitimate that he [an unmarried man] should visit the
brothels; sex (in the male) was an appetite like hunger, and might be indulged in without
any other disgrace…" (Durant 790). With such ideologies having such a long
documented history and such entrenched attitudes, combined with willingness by the people
to sell or rent children, it is unlikely that any law or amount of aid will arrest the
problem. It is incomprehensible that there will be any quick changes in these societies.
While we see that inadequate action is taken in the Philippines, and none is taken in
Cambodia, some countries like Thailand seem to promote child prostitution. "For
years, child-welfare organizations have criticized Thailand's tourism industry for often
helping to promote the image of Thai women and children as passive sex objects. The
symbols are almost everywhere: in Pattaya, one bar dresses its teenage strippers in school
uniforms" (Thailand).
However, the businesses are not the only ones to blame. When Thailand did pass laws,
everyone quickly learned that there would be no effective laws regulating child
prostitution in the country. Therefore, "officialdom must also share the blame.
Policemen and Judges can be bribed to release foreign sex criminals" (Thailand). Two
perfect examples are that of "two alleged pedophiles, one Japanese and the other
British, were caught by Pattaya police in hotel rooms with under-age boys. Neither was
convicted. The Japanese man later alleged he had paid 600,000 baht for an acquittal"
(Thailand).
With such high levels of corruption in the various law enforcement bodies combined with
cultural legacies of child prostitution and the perceived financial benefits of the sex
trade, we can expect the exploitation of children in the Far East to continue. It is
unfortunate that the attitudes are as shortsighted as they are. If the nations of the Far
East were able to divert their resources from prostitution and into education, they could
soon see the economic growth that would enrich the lives of the people. This is
unfortunately a case of cultural possibilism gone ary. Nevertheless, even with a wealthy
and highly educated nation like Japan, we see that the cultural attitudes will continue to
condone child exploitation regardless of economic status. Therefore, we must conclude that
child exploitation will continue to be a pervasive issue in the Far East.
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