The Asian Context

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Social and economic conditions in the region are the foundation from which the commercial exploitation of children grows. Despite recent economic gains, the vast majority of the Asian population lives close to the poverty line. Growing prosperity, in fact, has thrown the difference between rich and poor into sharper focus, projecting materialism and consumer values into traditional ways of life and value systems.

The generally low status of girls and women and their limited access to education and employment also leave them extremely vulnerable to sexual exploitation. The status of girls is so low that female infanticide is practiced in many countries; in others, they are perceived as little more than sexual commodities.

Wars in the region over the past several decades have also disrupted economies and traditional social patterns. The stationing of military troops, with large numbers of single men concentrated in one area, has been another factor in the growth of the commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Many customers are local rather than foreign, and customers from countries in the immediate vicinity are also visible, such as Malaysian tourists in Thailand.

Children are sold into the sex trade by families or friends, sometimes knowingly, sometimes in the mistaken belief that the children will become domestic servants or will otherwise earn money for the family. Sometimes the children are kidnapped, trafficked across borders or from rural to urban areas, and moved from place to place so that they effectively "disappear". Another group of children enter the sex trade "voluntarily" and work in bars where they are free to come and go as they wish. They earn money through commissions on drinks bought by customers and by providing sexual services on the premises or in their home or a hotel room. Still others are engaged in prostitution activities in the streets. These children may be completely on their own or under the control of pimps. Children as young as five are lured by material goods or"affection."

Tragically, girls forced into prostitution are sometimes arrested and placed in prison pending their return to their country of origin. Various legislative anomalies discriminate against girl victims of prostitution, and at times procurers even offer bail to the authorities under the guise of wishing to help the girls who have ended up in prison. If released, the girls fall back into the hands of the procurers.

Data is more complete in countries such as India, Thailand and the Philippines, where groups have been active against the commercial sexual exploitation of children for a longer period. These are also countries with an extensive market for child prostitutes, with India and Thailandacting as both demand and supply countries for child prostitutes within the region as well asabroad.

Provisions relating to the sexual exploitation of children exist in the criminal and penal codes of such countries as Bangladesh, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand. Specific legislation on children and sexual exploitation can be found in several countries, for example, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Some traditional practices which may lead to children being used in child prostitution, such as the Devadasi custom of deifying young girls (who ultimately fall into prostitution), have also been banned by law, for example, the Indian Devadasi Prohibition of Dedication Act. However, the custom persists. The problem in Asia is not that of a lack of laws to protect children but rather the implementation of existing laws.

Because of the criminal nature of the commercial sexual exploitation of children, it is difficult to collect accurate data. Despite the scarcity of data, there is overwhelming evidence that children are sexually exploited for commercial purposes throughout the world. In the words of the General Rapporteur at the Stockholm Congress, Mr Vitit Muntarbhorn, "there can be no more delusions -- no one can deny that the problem of children being sold for sex exists, here and now, in almost every country in the world."

Next: The World Congress Against
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children

Introduction | Definition of Terms | The Asian Context | The World Congress | The Declaration and Agenda for Action | Recommendations | Links