Aug. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Thailand and its neighbors including Cambodia are favored by child predators and other sex tourists, attracted by their vulnerable populations, lax laws and reluctant enforcement, aid organizations say.
The Aug. 16 arrest in Bangkok of John Mark Karr, an American teacher suspected in the killing of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, came days after an Australian teacher was deported from Thailand as a convicted pedophile and months after U.K. pop star Gary Glitter was arrested in Vietnam. International media coverage of the arrests has triggered crackdowns in Thailand and scrutiny of its neighbors, long-reputed as havens for foreigners seeking sex with minors.
Thailand's extensive borders with impoverished Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and China's Yunnan province, and Mekong neighbor Vietnam, provide a steady flow of desperate sex workers and trafficked children to work in factories and brothels. Sex tourists freely travel between these countries, lacking law enforcement to prevent sexual exploitation, aid groups say.
``Crimes involving pedophiles are in the minority,'' said Anthony Burnett, Bangkok-based information officer at ECPAT International, a network of 72 independent organizations in 65 countries committed to fighting child sexual exploitation. ``The majority are situational abusers who don't necessarily have a sexual preference for children, but take advantage of a situation when a child is made available.''
Minors Abused
ECPAT, whose acronym stands for ``End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes,'' describes Cambodia as ``the worst country'' for such crimes. Between 2000 and 2005, 46 suspected foreign pedophiles were arrested for abusing minors in Cambodia, and 14 Cambodians were jailed for similar offences last year, according to ECPAT.
``The number of Cambodian children being forced into prostitution is alarming,'' Burnett said. ``The oldest of the prostitutes are teenagers. A lot of these girls are being smuggled into Thailand where they are used to lure several types of child predators.''
In Thailand and Cambodia, posters are displayed in some notorious areas including Phnom Penh, urging locals and visitors to ``stop child sex tourism'' by telephoning authorities to report suspicious behavior. Some posters warn sex offenders: ``Abuse a child in this country, go to jail in yours.''
The hotlines are called regularly, including by sex tourists who disagree with targeting children, said Graham Tardis, who works for World Vision Foundation in Phuket. The hotlines are effective only if those answering the calls can take action, Tardis said. Often they are put up by aid groups who have no enforcement power.
Not Scared Off
``A sex offender knows they are a sex offender. They're not going to be very influenced by this, they know that's a possibility and they're going to go ahead with it no matter what,'' said Tardis. ``Tougher legislation is the answer, rather than trying to scare sex tourists.''
Other efforts include the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Subregion, bilateral agreements, tougher penalties and immigration rules, offender lists and laws in countries including the U.S., U.K. and Australia allowing prosecution of citizens for overseas offences.
Each day, 6,000 Cambodian children cross the border into Thailand at Poi Pet, a land crossing popular with foreigners seeking Thai visa extensions and gambling in its casinos, said Kitiya Phornsadja, a child protection officer for the United Nations Children's Fund, or Unicef, in Bangkok. They come to sell products at a market, and often also sell themselves, she said.
Border Predators
It was near Poi Pet that Thai police last week arrested a convicted Australian pedophile who had been working as a teacher in the southern resort of Krabi, the Associated Press reported Aug. 15, citing Police Lieutenant General Suwat Tamrongsisakul. Paul Thompson, 56, was deported after being accused of molesting a boy in southern Thailand. He appeared on an Australian sex offender list after serving jail time for another offence 15 years ago.
Stealing headlines this week was the arrest of Karr, 41, at his apartment in Bangkok as a suspect in the killing of JonBenet, found slain in the basement of her family's Colorado home almost a decade ago.
Karr started work this month as a second-grade teacher in an international school in Bangkok. He arrived in Los Angeles on a Thai Airways International Pcl flight at about 9:30 p.m. L.A.- time today, and is expected to face a charge of first-degree murder and other charges in the U.S..
Foreign Teachers
Thai authorities will increase scrutiny of foreign teachers following the Karr arrest, Jakrapob Penkair, deputy secretary to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said Aug. 18.
``Most teachers at international schools are working illegally by using tourist visas,'' said Jakrapob. ``This has to be corrected to make it difficult for any foreign criminals to live and work here.''
Thailand's tougher laws, including closing bars employing minors, have succeeded in reducing the incidences of ``open'' child solicitation, Tardis said.
Still, he estimates about 50,000 children below the age of 18 work in Thailand's sex industry, and many more in neighboring Cambodia.
``It gets driven underground but it does make it harder for predators to find the kids,'' Tardis said. ``Twenty years ago you could go into any brothel and 15 to 16 was the normal age for sex workers in this country. Today it's a vastly different, but you could still come here, even to Thailand, and be reasonably safe if you want to sleep with children.''
Child Protection
Thailand, which passed a comprehensive Child Protection Act in March 2004 that mandates committees and centers in all 76 provinces, has struggled to implement the provisions.
``Quite good laws have been developed to counter this problem,'' said Kitiya. ``What we're trying to improve is their implementation.''
Unicef has been working with the Thai government since 1998 to train police, social workers, prosecutors, teachers, medical professionals and volunteers as child protectors, Kitiya said.
Thailand's crackdown is driving some predators toward other countries, including Vietnam, ECPAT says.
On March 3, Gary Glitter, a 1970s singer, was jailed for three years in Vietnam, convicted of committing obscene acts with children. Glitter, who was arrested in November, was found guilty of offenses against two Vietnamese girls, ages 11 and 12. He claims he was teaching them English.
``Unfortunately, once a country has gained a reputation as a child sex tourism destination it's hard to get rid of,'' ECPAT's Burnett said. ``No matter what is done, the reputation endures.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Beth Jinks in Bangkok at bjinks1@bloomberg.net
The Aug. 16 arrest in Bangkok of John Mark Karr, an American teacher suspected in the killing of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, came days after an Australian teacher was deported from Thailand as a convicted pedophile and months after U.K. pop star Gary Glitter was arrested in Vietnam. International media coverage of the arrests has triggered crackdowns in Thailand and scrutiny of its neighbors, long-reputed as havens for foreigners seeking sex with minors.
Thailand's extensive borders with impoverished Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and China's Yunnan province, and Mekong neighbor Vietnam, provide a steady flow of desperate sex workers and trafficked children to work in factories and brothels. Sex tourists freely travel between these countries, lacking law enforcement to prevent sexual exploitation, aid groups say.
``Crimes involving pedophiles are in the minority,'' said Anthony Burnett, Bangkok-based information officer at ECPAT International, a network of 72 independent organizations in 65 countries committed to fighting child sexual exploitation. ``The majority are situational abusers who don't necessarily have a sexual preference for children, but take advantage of a situation when a child is made available.''
Minors Abused
ECPAT, whose acronym stands for ``End Child Prostitution, Child Pornography and Trafficking of Children for Sexual Purposes,'' describes Cambodia as ``the worst country'' for such crimes. Between 2000 and 2005, 46 suspected foreign pedophiles were arrested for abusing minors in Cambodia, and 14 Cambodians were jailed for similar offences last year, according to ECPAT.
``The number of Cambodian children being forced into prostitution is alarming,'' Burnett said. ``The oldest of the prostitutes are teenagers. A lot of these girls are being smuggled into Thailand where they are used to lure several types of child predators.''
In Thailand and Cambodia, posters are displayed in some notorious areas including Phnom Penh, urging locals and visitors to ``stop child sex tourism'' by telephoning authorities to report suspicious behavior. Some posters warn sex offenders: ``Abuse a child in this country, go to jail in yours.''
The hotlines are called regularly, including by sex tourists who disagree with targeting children, said Graham Tardis, who works for World Vision Foundation in Phuket. The hotlines are effective only if those answering the calls can take action, Tardis said. Often they are put up by aid groups who have no enforcement power.
Not Scared Off
``A sex offender knows they are a sex offender. They're not going to be very influenced by this, they know that's a possibility and they're going to go ahead with it no matter what,'' said Tardis. ``Tougher legislation is the answer, rather than trying to scare sex tourists.''
Other efforts include the United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Subregion, bilateral agreements, tougher penalties and immigration rules, offender lists and laws in countries including the U.S., U.K. and Australia allowing prosecution of citizens for overseas offences.
Each day, 6,000 Cambodian children cross the border into Thailand at Poi Pet, a land crossing popular with foreigners seeking Thai visa extensions and gambling in its casinos, said Kitiya Phornsadja, a child protection officer for the United Nations Children's Fund, or Unicef, in Bangkok. They come to sell products at a market, and often also sell themselves, she said.
Border Predators
It was near Poi Pet that Thai police last week arrested a convicted Australian pedophile who had been working as a teacher in the southern resort of Krabi, the Associated Press reported Aug. 15, citing Police Lieutenant General Suwat Tamrongsisakul. Paul Thompson, 56, was deported after being accused of molesting a boy in southern Thailand. He appeared on an Australian sex offender list after serving jail time for another offence 15 years ago.
Stealing headlines this week was the arrest of Karr, 41, at his apartment in Bangkok as a suspect in the killing of JonBenet, found slain in the basement of her family's Colorado home almost a decade ago.
Karr started work this month as a second-grade teacher in an international school in Bangkok. He arrived in Los Angeles on a Thai Airways International Pcl flight at about 9:30 p.m. L.A.- time today, and is expected to face a charge of first-degree murder and other charges in the U.S..
Foreign Teachers
Thai authorities will increase scrutiny of foreign teachers following the Karr arrest, Jakrapob Penkair, deputy secretary to Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, said Aug. 18.
``Most teachers at international schools are working illegally by using tourist visas,'' said Jakrapob. ``This has to be corrected to make it difficult for any foreign criminals to live and work here.''
Thailand's tougher laws, including closing bars employing minors, have succeeded in reducing the incidences of ``open'' child solicitation, Tardis said.
Still, he estimates about 50,000 children below the age of 18 work in Thailand's sex industry, and many more in neighboring Cambodia.
``It gets driven underground but it does make it harder for predators to find the kids,'' Tardis said. ``Twenty years ago you could go into any brothel and 15 to 16 was the normal age for sex workers in this country. Today it's a vastly different, but you could still come here, even to Thailand, and be reasonably safe if you want to sleep with children.''
Child Protection
Thailand, which passed a comprehensive Child Protection Act in March 2004 that mandates committees and centers in all 76 provinces, has struggled to implement the provisions.
``Quite good laws have been developed to counter this problem,'' said Kitiya. ``What we're trying to improve is their implementation.''
Unicef has been working with the Thai government since 1998 to train police, social workers, prosecutors, teachers, medical professionals and volunteers as child protectors, Kitiya said.
Thailand's crackdown is driving some predators toward other countries, including Vietnam, ECPAT says.
On March 3, Gary Glitter, a 1970s singer, was jailed for three years in Vietnam, convicted of committing obscene acts with children. Glitter, who was arrested in November, was found guilty of offenses against two Vietnamese girls, ages 11 and 12. He claims he was teaching them English.
``Unfortunately, once a country has gained a reputation as a child sex tourism destination it's hard to get rid of,'' ECPAT's Burnett said. ``No matter what is done, the reputation endures.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Beth Jinks in Bangkok at bjinks1@bloomberg.net
2 comments:
To Cambodian law makers, Please make convicted pedophile to face execution before Cambodia becomes the Sex Capital just like Bank-cocks.
Cambodia is a victim of Thailand's sex industry. It is so abundance that it's being spill-over to Cambodia. Thailand is being known to the world as a place of friendly people with happy faces and beautiful women or men-women who are great in bed. If I'm not mistaken, rumor is that the Thai are using the images of Apsara and many other Khmer images to represent their whorehouses. Thailand is being lost and confused between culture and freemarket. Sex is being exploited in many ways to attract tourists, maninly from Europe. Those small number of tourists who seek such pleasures are traveling farther and farther in search for their sexual gratification. Cambodia is stone throw away from Thailand and a new target for tourists who seek such sick sexual pleasure.
Cambodia must not allow such openess of exploitation. Cambodia is a country riches in culture and traditions. It must not allow itself to be so low for the sake of revitalizing and strengthening economy. MONEY CAN BE EARNED MUCH EASIER THAN THE EARNING OF REPUTATION, HONOR, RESPECT, AND DIGNITY.
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