Hugo Chow is a current MSc Human Rights student at LSE. Sex trafficking victims are typically found in sex clubs, basement brothels, remote massage parlors and street prostitution. Thais traditionally have an obligation to secure their family’s well-being and status. Thailand has in place a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, which came into effect in 2008. It is estimated to be a $5 to $9 billion-a-year industry. Social attitudes, political interventions and economic realities have shaped the conditions that allow the two practices to continue. From the mid-1300s to the mid-1700s prostitutionwas legal and taxed by the Thai government. Kate Healy 4.06 FOREIGN POLICY: ASSESSMENT HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THAILAND CASE STUDY ORIGINS Human trafficking is the trading of humans. Poverty is an enormous issue in Thailand, as it is in other South-East Asian countries, and can drive children to enter the sex industry. For comparison, a fifteen minute deal in Amsterdam costs around 50 euros ($56) whereas in Thai brothels, prices are at 600-1,000 baht ($16-$27) for 20-30 minutes. Three years ago in The hotel industry has taken initiative in combating this issue – A French multinational hotel group … In Thailand, close to 40,000 children under the age of 16 are believed to be in the sex trade, working in clubs, bars, and brothels. People are sold, bought, traded much like slaves , and are even sold to couples who don't have children. Sex Trafficking. They were slaves, and so had to follow the bidding of their masters or face punishment. However, organized trafficking groups such as the yakuza in Japan and Russian gangs have slowly emerged in the country. The Anti-Human Trafficking and anti Child Abuse Center (ATCC) in Pattaya, Thailand, has recently launched The Child Protection and Development Life Skill Center (CPLC) run by Mr. Ja in coordination with a national foundation called Fight Against Child Exploitation (FACE). Sex Trafficking. According to the ILO, the average monthly salary in Thailand is just below $500; adult sex workers pass that amount and become important – if not the main – wage-earners in their families. Human trafficking (or Trafficking in human beings) is a way to exploit people. A. Various waterways along with porous borders also facilitate trafficking. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons defines human trafficking or trafficking in persons: 1. Many uneducated, rural women find that working in the sex industry is the best way to do so, and they move to more metropolitan areas. Thus, to be born rich and powerful indicates that one performed good actions in the past and is closer to the ultimate spiritual goal of nirvana. These significant numbers remain to be considered an underestimation due to the hidden nature of the crime. A group of foreign women rounded up by police from karaoke bars in Thailand’s southern province of Narathiwat are taken to city hall during a campaign against human trafficking on … Many of them are Thai, but there are also a number of Burmese, Laotian and Nigerian people who are prostituted. In its annual report on the issue, the U.S. State Department says Thailand isn't doing enough to fight human trafficking. Indeed, almost no country in the world is exempt from the new and unacceptable forms of forced labour and sexual exploitation associated with human trafficking. It’s most commonly used for the purposes of forced labor, sexual slavery, or commerical sexual exploitation for the trafficer or others. Though that debate never led to legalization, prostitution in Thailand today is largely seen as a financial transaction and is widely tolerated. [1] This multi-billion-dollar seafood industry has come under the international spotlight since 2015, however, when January 11th is National Human Trafficking Awareness Day. Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in Japan i Worldwide, more and more attention is now being given to the problem of trafficking in human beings. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime adopted by the General Assembly in 2004, defines “trafficking in persons” as: The recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Once there, they are unable to leave because they usually do not have other job options. Thai fishing boats that operate in the Gulf of Thailand are generally In the 1980s, Thailand saw a boom in sex tourism as the government poured millions of baht to promote tourism in the country. The EU human trafficking policy framework largely provides for a comprehensive approach to address human trafficking, although some aspects are not yet fully developed 21 - 43 The EU human trafficking policy framework is set out in a number of interlinked documents 21 - 30 The EU policy framework is supported by a variety of tools: Human rights Thailand is one of the many places were human trafficking is practiced. New report sheds light on the phenomenon of human trafficking into Thailand. Human trafficking, the third largest international crime, following illegal drugs and arms trafficking, is believed to be worth billions of dollars each year. These girls, poorly educated and unskilled, often end up taking lower-paid jobs which prove to be insufficient for supporting both themselves and their families. Pimps face a 20,200 baht ($555) fine and could be imprisoned for one to ten years. Prostitution and sex trafficking in Thailand are highly visible and strongly discussed topics in the contemporary antislavery field. Women, men, boys, and girls are sold as slaves and used for unimaginable acts. End Slavery Now is brought to you in proud partnership with the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, © As revealed in a 2014 National Geographic documentary, these girls are often financially controlled, forced to live in filthy conditions and, in many instances, brutalised by their pimps. The late 1700s to the 1850s witnessed an influx in the number of Chinese labor workers and sex workers coming to Thailand. Trafficking in persons is a serious crime and a grave violation of human rights. As Patricia D. Levan has observed, young girls in rural villages are forced to seek opportunities in major cities like Bangkok and Chiang Mai as there are simply no prospects in their localities. Those born in poverty, those who have diseases and those who are born female are assumed to have committed wrongdoings in the past and, therefore, deserve their lower status. Operations of Thai fishing fleets and incidence of human trafficking Thai fishing fleets can be categorized according to the fishing grounds in which they operate: Thai territorial waters or elsewhere. Human trafficking exists throughout the world. John Pepper Notify me of follow-up comments by email. If prostitution is a way to ensure these, then prostitution is more or less seen as a job. Thailand is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. He is currently working as a part-time Research Intern for the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. If no desirable targets around Bangkok were found she would hire a van and drive to remote villages to “collect” boys. The Thai trafficking networks bought the migrants by the boatload. January 06, 2015 The hierarchy is a result of the belief that good karma (good works) leads to a higher position when one is reborn. One form of exploitation made possible by trafficking in persons is sexual exploitation. One contributing factor, identified here, is the lack of citizenship for hundreds of thousands of hill tribe villagers. A person soliciting sex may receive a 1,000 baht ($27) fine. Origins- Human trafficking takes away the basic human rights of the people who are victims of it. These individuals were either lured through false pretenses or were sold by brokers. To find out more about cookies and change your preferences, visit our, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, 2011 US Department of State Trafficking in Persons report for Thailand. Today is the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons. Sadly, human trafficking has been happening for way too long all around the world, but I am going to focus ni Thailand. During Ayutthaya period from 1300s to 1700s, human trafficking in the form of prostitution was legal and taxed by Thai government (Betz, 2009). Women are used as slaves Few subjects elicit greater moral outrage than human trafficking. August 20, 2014 Traffickers in Thailand profit from Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar, Bangladeshis seeking work, and women and girls sold into the sex trade. The human trafficking is basically a modern form of what we call slavery those affected by it are no longer free but they are the property of someone else. Most human trafficking in Thailand occurs with visitors and people with no official documentation. Site Map | Privacy Policy, U.S. NATIONAL TIP HOTLINE: 1-888-373-7888, 1996 Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act, 10 Things You Should Know About Modern Slavery, What It Takes for Real and Lasting Progress in Eradicating Contemporary Slavery, Switch to Companies That Are Actively Against Child Sex Trafficking, Demand Congress Reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act. They are typically purchased by brothel owners or other brokers for $200-$875 and must pay off their “debt.” The location of Thailand plays a key role in the success of the sex trafficking industry. This chapter will begin by defining human trafficking and by tracking Thailand’s human trafficking ranking throughout the years. Thai victims of trafficking and some of the estimated three to four million migrant workers in Thailand are forced, coerced, or defrauded into labor or sex trafficking. Human Trafficking in the Thai Fishing Industry: A Call to Action for EU and US Importers Giulia Cretti* Thailand is one of the world’s largest fishery exporters. He completed his undergraduate study at Chinese University of Hong Kong, with a major in Government & Public Administration and a minor in German. This was a rough approximation and no further figure was released after 2007. On the 4th of March, Deputy Prime Minister General Prawit Wongsuwan chaired Thailand inter-agencies Anti-Human Trafficking Committee meeting to review the feedback and suggestions from a multiagency meeting attended by anti-human trafficking NGOs, multinational organisations, and the Ministry of Social Development and Human … “He has got a much better life with me than he ever had at home or on the street,” she said, as she told the interviewer about the story of a Cambodian boy she trafficked to Bangkok. Officials disagree with the article stating that women should have equal rights to education, employment, property and inheritance. Demand its reauthorization. VIENNA, Jul 9 2020 - Two-day online expert meeting to discuss recent developments and policy gaps in combating trafficking in human beings for the removal of organs concluded yesterday evening. Sex trafficking victims are typically found in sex clubs, basement brothels, remote massage parlors and street prostitution. It is the leading exporter of canned tuna and one of the world’s top exporter of frozen shrimps. Human trafficking by boat is common – First up in this list of facts about human trafficking in Thailand is the method of transportation. Human trafficking resulted from demand, said Melissa Farley, a San Francisco based psychologist, who has studied the intersection between human trafficking and prostitution. She graduated from Bradley University with a Bachelor's degree in International Studies and a minor in Women's Studies. These high-end establishments and major tourist areas in Bangkok are not necessarily the grounds of sex trafficking in Thailand. Then, the Japanese occupation during World War II popularized sex massage parlors. The fishing industry is a major asset to Thailand’s economy, so many ships go out to sea to fish. “Trafficking in Persons”… mean[s] the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another perso… These views become evident when considering that Thailand refuses to sign and ratify the 1985 International Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. July 30, 2016 Human trafficking, also called modern slavery or trafficking in persons, has no place in our world. Among those … Cazzie Reyes is a Researcher for the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center's Anti-Trafficking Programs. Strict interpretations of the Buddhist doctrine in Thailand put females at a much lower status than men. Disturbing as it may be, her rationale is not uncommon. In a 2007 interview with the BBC, a human trafficker in Thailand, who herself was trafficked as a child, described how she would “collect” and traffick underage boys domestically. Kevin Bales addresses the role of religion and gender stratification in sustaining the practice of prostitution. Human trafficking has become sensationalized in many films and TV shows, and can show American anxieties that are based in historical narratives. As with other South-East Asian countries, problems of child prostitution and sex trafficking in Thailand are highly intertwined. They are always individually based and don’t seem to suggest that trafficking is a system that relies on power structures of gender, race, and class. Prostitution of trafficked and native peoples is a very lucrative business. Bangkok (Thailand), 10 August 2017 - To tackle human trafficking from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar into Thailand, governments must first better understand it as part of the broader phenomenon of irregular migration from those three countries, according to a new report launched today by UNODC and the Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ). Topics: This is what you need to know. Women have been considered the property of men since the 15th century, and as codified by law, husbands could beat or sell their wives without sanctions. October 08, 2015 Human trafficking has been one of the most challenging problems of nation states across the globe since the 20th century. Women are used as slaves The Prime Minister expressed honor to chair the event and underscored the importance to create awareness on anti–human trafficking. In Thai society, grown children are responsible for taking care of their parents. The report, "Trafficking in persons from Cambodia, Lao PDR and Myanmar to Thailand", is the first joint report of its kind to explore human trafficking … Additionally, only men can be monks; so, the best women can do to achieve religious merit is to bring honor and finances to the family. Research on human trafficking in Thailand must be strengthened in sectors other than commercial sex industry, in order to obtain a more accurate picture of human trafficking in the country. While The Slave Next Door focused on America, this book takes a more global view with stories from Pakistan, India, Thailand, Brazil and other countries. The fact is that Thailand and several other countries are leading fisheries because of illegal, human-rights violating practices.This includes human trafficking. Human trafficking Human trafficking has received increasing global attention over the past decade. When polygamy became illegal in the 1930s, the prostitution industry provided an outlet for those who could no longer have slave wives. As both a grave crime and a human rights abuse, it compromises national and economic security, undermines the rule of law, and harms the well-being of individuals and communities everywhere. Thailand’s red light districts offer options that cater to every type of demand, and prices are kept comparatively low. This lower value placed on women plays out through the history of prostitution in Thailand. Prostitution then becomes the most viable option to earn an income. Moreover, better-focused research is needed to further improve and strengthen counter-trafficking … Initially, trafficking of women and girls for forced sex work and, to a lesser extent, domestic servitude, were the sole focus of advocacy and assistance. There are steps the Government of Thailand can take to end human trafficking in Thailand. 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