I.

Introduction

“In the process of selling my body, I was shot five times, stabbed more than 13 times, beaten

unconscious several times, had my arm and nose broken, had two teeth knocked out, lost a child

that I will never see again, was verbally abused, and spent countless days in jail.”1

Human trafficking is a gross violation of human rights and a serious crime that inhumanly

abuses women, children, and men for numerous purposes, most commonly for sexual

exploitation and forced labor. The United Nations defines human trafficking as:

“…the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of
force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power of a position of
vulnerability or of giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control
over another person for the purposes of exploitation.”2

In relation to this, the United States further defined trafficking in persons as ‘The use of

force, fraud, or coercion to compel a person to provide labor, services or commercial sex. This

includes elements of recruiting, harboring, transportation, providing or obtaining a person for the

purpose of exploitation.’3 Meanwhile, President Obama and many other world leaders considered

human trafficking as a form of modern slavery that violates human rights, country security,

economies, and public health in every state. It is a complex system that encompasses a wide

variety of behaviors and actions.

On the other hand, sexual exploitation, which is a form of human trafficking, is defined as a

practice by which a person achieves sexual gratification or financial gain or advancement

through the abuse of a person’s sexuality by abrogating that person’s human right to dignity,

equality, autonomy, and physical and mental well-being.

1
“Sex Trafficking and Prostitution,” August 25, 2015 <http://www.ksufreedomalliance.org/sex-trafficking.html>
2
Shrestha, Roman, Karki, Pramila, Suwal, Asha, and Copenhaver, Michael, “Sex Trafficking Related Knowledge,
Awareness, and Attitudes among Adolescent Female Students in Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study,” PLoS
ONE, July 15, 2015, August 25, 2015 <http://web.b.ebscohost.com>
3
Hannah Collins, “Human Trafficking in the Indo-Asia-Pacific Region,” Defense Institute of Security Assistance
Management Journal, 2014, August 25, 2015 <http://web.b.ebscohost.com>
1
 According to the Report on Trafficking in Persons in February 2013, sexual exploitation is

the most common form of human trafficking which reached at around 79%. The victims of

sexual exploitation are predominantly women and children.4

In the present time, new forms of sex trafficking emerged. First, commercial sexual

exploitation includes pornography, prostitution and sex trafficking of women and girls, and is

characterized by the exploitation of a human being in exchange for goods or money. Each year,

an estimated 800,000 women and children are trafficked across international borders while

additional numbers of women and girls are trafficked within countries.5 The victims of sex

trafficking are usually involved in the most exploitive forms of commercial sex operations.

Second, Sex trafficking operations can be found in highly-visible venues such as street

prostitution, as well as underground systems such as closed-brothels that operate out of

residential homes. Sex trafficking also takes place in a variety of public and private locations

such as massage parlors, spas, strip clubs and other fronts for prostitution. Victims may start off

dancing or stripping in clubs and then be coerced into situations of prostitution and

pornography.6

In this term paper, the researcher aims to extensively illustrate the following: (1) the

Southeast Asian countries that have the highest rates of sex trafficking; and (3) the international

conventions and treaties that protect women and children against sex trafficking.

II. Sex Trafficking among Women and Children in South East Asia

4
Gugić, Zrinka and Pravni Vjesnik, “Human Trafficking Under the Veil of Sex Trafficking in Thailand – Reactions
of EU,” University of Osijek PhD School for Social Sciences and Humanities Journal, 2014, August 25, 2015
<http://web.b.ebscohost.com>
5
“Sex Slavery/Trafficking: Frequently Asked Questions,” Soroptimist, 2012, August 25, 2015,
<http://www.soroptimist.org/trafficking/faq.html>
6
“Fact Sheet: Sex Trafficking,” Office of the Refugee Resettlement, August 2, 2012, August 25, 2015,
<http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resource/fact-sheet-sex-trafficking-english>
2
 Human trafficking is considered as one of the greatest issues that the international

community has been facing since time immemorial, and such issue, particularly sex trafficking,

has become most rampant in the Southeast Asian Region.7

Incidents of prostitution in Southeast Asia has increased in recent decades that the sex

business has been consistent in its contribution to employment and national income in the region,

as stated in a new report published by the Geneva-based International Labour Office. The report

stated that in spite of economic crisis that Asia has been facing for several years, the economy of

the sex industry show no signs of declining.8

According to Ms. Lin Lim, the ILO official who directed the study, "If the evidence from the

recession of the mid-1980s is any indication, then it is very likely that women who lose their jobs

in manufacturing and other service sectors and whose families rely on their remittances may be

driven to enter the sex sector." As to the prospect of a slowdown in the demand for commercial

sex services following region-wide declines in personal income, the ILO report notes that

"poverty has never prevented men from frequenting prostitutes, whose fees are geared to the

purchasing power of their customers." Moreover, after decades of interaction with other

economies, the sex industry in Asia is effectively internationalized: overseas demand is likely to

be unaltered by domestic circumstances and may be even fuelled as exchange rate differentials

make sex tourism an even cheaper thrill for customers from other regions.9

However, the ILO report stated the serious implications of the growing scale of prostitution

in Asia such as those “relating to public morality, social welfare, transmission of sexually

7
Kelsey McGregor and Lindsay McEwing, “How Do Social Determinants Affect Human Trafficking in Southeast
Asia, and What can We Do about It? A Systematic Review,” Health and Human Rights Journal, December 6,
2013:15
8
“Sex Industry Assuming Massive Proportions in Southeast Asia,” International Labor Organization, August 29,
1998, September 30, 2015 <http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/media-centre/press-
releases/WCMS_007994/lang--en/index.htm>
9
“Sex Industry Assuming Massive Proportions in Southeast Asia”
3
transmitted diseases, criminality, violations of the basic human rights of commercial sex

workers, and commercial sexual exploitation especially of the child victims of prostitution.” 10

Unfortunately, the countries in this region have not yet enforced any effective legal stance in

dealing with the issue. This is because the issue is a complex and sensitive matter and that “the

circumstances of the sex workers can range widely from freely chosen and remunerative

employment to debt bondage and virtual slavery.” Fortunately, the countries are still trying to

take proper actions action to eliminate child prostitution, which, as has been characterized by

ILO, is "a serious human rights violation and an intolerable form of child labor."11

In Health and Human Rights Journal, Mc Gregor and McEwing reported that the high rate of sex

tourism in Southeast Asia has been the biggest contributor for the rising problem. Specifically, they

provided the following information:

“An average of at least 225,000 women and children from the region are trafficked every year. Such large
and alarming number is equivalent to one-third of the global trafficking trade. Approximately 60% of trafficking
victims in Southeast Asia are directed toward major regional cities, while the remaining 40% are trafficked to
various locations across the globe. Approximately 60% of the 50,000 women and children estimated to be
trafficked to the United States are from Southeast Asia, making it the largest regional source in the world for
trafficking to the United States.”12

This is due to several factors which varies in each country.

In this study, sex trafficking in the three countries from the Southeast Asia Region will be

discussed. These are Thailand, Cambodia, and Myanmar. These three countries have the highest

rate of sex trafficking in said region.

A. Thailand
In the study Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in Southeast Asia, the researcher

cited the report of “Human trafficking in Persons” by the U.S. Department of State in which the

researcher stated that:

“Thailand is a source, transit, and destination country for human trafficking and has the longest history
among countries in Southeast Asia of dealing with human trafficking issues in all of its diverse facets. ‘In anti-

10
“Sex Industry Assuming Massive Proportions in Southeast Asia”
11
“Sex Industry Assuming Massive Proportions in Southeast Asia”
12
Kelsey McGregor and Lindsay McEwing, 15
4
 human trafficking’s perspective, women are viewed as vulnerable victims in need of rescue and rehabilitation
(Zheng 2010, 154).’”13

Even though the practice of prostitution is illegal in Thailand, it has been evidently rampant

for the past few years.14 Thailand, both considered as a source and destination country of sex

trafficking, gained the ranking of Tier 3 in the Tier rankings of Asian nations in the State

Department’s 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report. As such, a high rate of incidents of human

trafficking in the aforementioned country has been recorded yearly. 15 In 1997, the Ministry of

Public Health in said country conducted a survey in which it found out of the 65,000 prostitutes

in the country. Added to this, a total of 7, 759 establishments where sexual services can be

obtained were registered, and 64, 886 employees of these establishments work as sex workers.16

In a study entitled Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in Southeast Asia, the

researcher explained several factors as to the abundance of women prostitutes in Thailand. First,

Thai women are generally perceived as independent ones that can make their own decisions on

all aspects of their life such as “buying properties, choosing careers, and choosing marriage

partners.” However, the women from the lower-class that came from the rural parts of Thailand

are expected to work as farmers, harvesters and / or laborers. Meanwhile, women from the

upper-class are far expected from doing such things for their only goals are to pursue their own

“feminine interests.” On the other hand, upper-class men are always served by their wife, and

they can freely practice polygamy. Due to this, some people has the perception that prostitution

is made legal in some parts of Thailand.17

13
Nodwarang Niamvanichkul, Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in Southeast Asia (Orlando: University of
Florida, 2013) 24-25.
14
“Children’s Organization of Southeast Asia,” September 28, 2015 <http://cosasia.org/about-cosa/what-is-human-
trafficking/>.
15
Lisa Curtis and Olivia Enos, “Combatting Human Trafficking in Asia Requires U.S. Leadership,” The Heritage
Foundation, February 26, 2015, September 30, 2015 <http://www.heritage.org/research/reports/2015/02/combating-
human-trafficking-in-asia-requires-us-leadership>.
16
“Sex Industry Assuming Massive Proportions in Southeast Asia”
17
Niamvanichkul, 26-27
5
 Second, the researcher stated that the value of “virginity” among a large number of Thai

women has already been lost. According to the social aspect, many Thai women have become

prostitutes because they feel that they do not have social value anymore because of the loss of

their virginity before marriage or because of their separation from their spouse.18

The third factor that affects the emergence of sex trafficking in Thailand is the “social control

by parents and the community.” Due to their desire to earn more money, they choose to work as

sex slaves in different establishments such as hotels, karaoke bars, restaurants, and other

enterprises which hire sex slaves. As a result, many young Thai women can be seen working in

those establishments not as waitresses but as sex slaves.19

In connection with this, the promotion of sex tourism and economy in said country is also

being practiced.20 A survey among workers in massage parlors and brothels in Thailand revealed

that "most of the women entered the sex industry for economic reasons." A distinction has been

made between brothel workers and massage parlor women whereas the former “were more likely

to say that they became prostitutes to earn money to support their children” while the latter “were

often motivated by the opportunity to earn a high income to support their parents.” Most brothel

workers and massage parlor women were not induced to work as such because they were the

ones who chose such work due to the promising income that they might gain.21

Thailand is considered as a destination country in which women and children from

neighboring countries are transported to the former and forced to work there. The majority of

women and children trafficked into Thailand come from its neighboring countries such as

18
Niamvanichkul, 27
19
Niamvanichkul, 27-28
20
Niamvanichkul, 27-28
21
“Sex Industry Assuming Massive Proportions in Southeast Asia”
6
Myanmar, Cambodia and Southern China.22 Moreover, stateless persons from Southeast Asia are

particularly vulnerable to trafficking in Thailand.23

On the other hand, Thailand can also be considered as a source country in which it provides

women and children to be transported to other countries. Thai nationals that are trafficked came

from the relatively poorer region of northeastern Thailand and transported to urban and tourist

areas, or in other countries specifically to Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Europe, North

America, South Africa, and Australia. Added to this, the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on

Human Trafficking (UNIAP) claimed that urban and rural Thai women are also being sent to

work in sex and domestic industries in Canada and Germany. Furthermore, cases have been

reported wherein foreign women are transited through Thailand in order to be trafficked further

to various destination countries in Asia and other parts of the world. 24

These incidents have been happening often under the guise of seemingly legal employment

contracts that are not honored.25

B. Cambodia

“I thought I am here to serve coffee, not be a prostitute. But the boss told me that I had to be

a prostitute. She forced me, and I was scared. I did not want to go with those men, but being

beaten was worse...They forced me into a room for three days and three nights. They beat me.

They did not let me have anything to eat or drink. And they sold me to a different brothel."26

The struggle of Cambodia with regard to sex trafficking has been happening for several years

already. In this country, the parents were the ones selling their daughters to traffickers in

22
“Children’s Organization of Southeast Asia”
23
Curtis and Enos
24
Anuska Derks, ed. Combatting Trafficking in Southeast Asia: A Review of Policy and Programme Responses
(Geneva: International Organization for Migration, 2000) 17
25
Derks, ed, 17
26
Jennifer Wei Li, “Child Sex Trafficking in Southeast Asia,” 2006, September 30, 2015 <
http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~li20j/classweb/worldpol/>
7
exchange of money.27 Children from families that are stricken with poverty has often been the

victims of sex trafficking in which some are sold into brothels and forced to work there.

Traffickers are telling the parents of those victims that their children will be working in a good

condition while money will be sent to them. What they are not aware of is that their children will

just be “beaten, drugged, raped, and prostituted.”28

Due to immense poverty, the children are left with no choice but to work as sex slaves and

leave their dignity behind. The sum of money that trafficking agents pay to the families is

considered as 'an advance on the child's future earnings', so the child is compelled to pay back

that debt before he or she can leave. Unfortunately, trafficking agents and brothel owners are

being protected by local politicians and local police.29

Fortunately, its government has been taking measures in dealing with such issues by drafting

guidelines for a national victim identification system, although its enforcement is still weak. 30 In

1996, they also adopted the “Law on the Suppression of the Kidnapping, Trafficking and

Exploitation of Human Beings” which imposes a penalty of 10 to 20 years’ imprisonment for

traffickers as well as the prosecution for a number of other exploiters in the trafficking chain,

such as facilitators, pimps, brothel owners, and the like. Although the said law is highly

commendable, its implementation, dissemination, and interpretation is also weak. This is because

of the prevalence of corruption in the country, “lack of training, supervision and resources, as

well as confusion regarding the issue of consent and contract when parents are involved”, a

common form of trafficking in Cambodia, and thus, doubting the effectiveness of the law.31

27
Curtis and Enos
28
Jennifer Wei Li
29
Jennifer Wei Li
30
Curtis and Enos
31
Derks, ed, 43
8
 Moreover, to strengthen its enforcement, several non-government organizations have been

involved in training police, border and other officials about the laws and patterns of trafficking.

As part of their training, the NGOs and the police have cooperated in raids on brothels where

under-aged prostitutes were reported to have been seen. The United Children’s Fund has also

supported the Bar Association in the country to train lawyers of the Legal Aid Department in

children’s rights and to build their capacity in representing children. In April 2000, the Ministry

of Interior started a project to combat trafficking and sexual exploitation of children in

cooperation with UNICEF, UNOHCHR, IOM, SCF-Norway and World Vision. This two-year

project aims to sensitize police on trafficking and sexual exploitation of children, develop

procedures and train police in their application and that of other related laws, investigate cases of

sexual exploitation and trafficking of children, as well as to initiate court procedures. This

project is a response to the often criticized flawed enforcement and judiciary responses regarding

trafficking.

C. Myanmar

Myanmar has a high recorded rate of sex trafficking. In fact, it is considered “a region in

which men and women are subjected to forced labor and children are mostly used as sexual

objects that are consistently used for sex trafficking to various countries.”32

Being a source country, an alarming 200,000 women from Myanmar are trafficked to

Karachi, Pakistan where they are being prostituted. Reports indicate that the younger women are

more preferred within these countries, and this has caused a greater demand for younger women.

Most of the girls sent to China either join the sex industry or are forced to become wives to

Chinese men.33

32
Niamvanichkul, 48
33
Niamvanichkul, 59
9
 In victimizing women and children, the method that the traffickers are using involves

deception. For instance, these traffickers recruit a number of women and children who they know

came from a poor family and in a desperate need of money. They promise them of different jobs

abroad with a promising income while the victims are not aware that everything is a mere

deception and that instead of a promising job, they will be forced to work as sex slaves. While

these traffickers are playing with the frail condition of these poverty-stricken families, the

government is just allowing such situations.34

Myanmar is also a destination country through which various victims pass and induced to

work as sex slaves or prostitutes. Some of the women being sent to Myanmar are from

Bangladesh, China, and Thailand. Due to the lack of legal remedies being enforced in this

country, traffickers find it easy to transport their victims in said country. Moreover, the victims

are often deprived of any legal remedy due to the lack of a proper legislation. Due to this

situation which the traffickers find as an ideal one, human trafficking has been increasing

yearly.35

An extremely high rate of human trafficking that has been happening within the borders of

the country in which victims are mostly brought from rural areas inside the country has also been

an immense problem. The military of Myanmar are, in fact, also involved in this issue for they

are the one of the biggest agents that controls the sex industry in the country. In fact, they are

alleged to have built a school of rape where women and children are being forced to be their sex

slaves, abusing them physically and mentally. Sometimes, officers who have high positions in

the military would even force an entry to every house and rape every woman that they could

34
Niamvanichkul, 51
35
Niamvanichkul, 59
10
find. Since they acquire high positions they are never accounted for all the harms that they have

caused to the women. 36

Fortunately, laws regarding sexual exploitation, trafficking and sale of children are being

implemented to address the problem. These are Child Law (1993), the Suppression of

Prostitution Act (1949) and the Penal Code. Included in the provisions are the following: (1) the

protection of the children from any kind of “exploitation, abuse, and sale; (2) discourages the

practice of prostitution; and (3) criminalizing soliciting in public, as well as forcing or enticing a

women into prostitution and keeping a brothel.” In 1998, the Myanmar government further

strengthened laws to control the continuous increase of prostitution trade. The Suppression of

Prostitution Act was also amended which raises jail term for those convicted of the offense. The

term “brothel” in the amended law include a wider variety of spaces habitually used for the

purpose of prostitution. 37

Aside from these municipal laws, some of the agencies of the United Nations operating in

Myanmar were established. However, several international organizations, agencies and NGOs

have refrained from opening offices in the country out of fear of giving legitimacy to the

Myanmar military government. The United Nations Development Program is the most important

UN agency that has been established in the country. It promotes programs on poverty alleviation,

natural resource development, education about sexually transmitted diseases, and other

prevention projects. It also implements a Project on the Trafficking in Women and Children in

the Mekong Subregion. UNICEF is also planning a project with regard to the trafficking of

children.38

36
Niamvanichkul, 59
37
Derks, ed., 40
38
Derks, ed., 41
11
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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<http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/orr/resource/fact-sheet-sex-trafficking-english>

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<http://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/media-centre/press-releases/WCMS_007994/lang--

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12
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trafficking-in-asia-requires-us-leadership>.

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Niamvanichkul, Nodwarang. Human Trafficking for Sexual Exploitation in Southeast Asia.

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Shrestha, Roman, et. al. “Sex Trafficking Related Knowledge, Awareness, and Attitudes among

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Wei Li, Jennifer. “Child Sex Trafficking in Southeast Asia,” 2006. Web. 30 Sep. 2015.

<http://www.mtholyoke.edu/~li20j/classweb/worldpol/>.

13
Zrinka, Gugic, and Vjesnik, Prayni. “Human Trafficking Under the Veil of Sex Trafficking in

Thailand – Reactions of EU.” University of Osijek PhD School for Social Sciences and

Humanities Journal, 2 (2014): 355-376. Print.

14