A myriad of factors means the exploitation of children for sex is thriving across the region
Thursday November 01, 2007
Story by LYNNE O'DONNELL
Bangkok Post
The arrest in Thailand of a Canadian man suspected of having sex with young boys has focused international attention on a sordid industry that peddles children to paedophiles across Southeast Asia. Grinding poverty, poor policing and no shortage of demand ensure that exploitation of children for sex thrives throughout the region.
Despite some high-profile prosecutions of child sex abusers, experts say lack of cooperation among governments is hindering efforts to keep children safe from paedophilia.
The arrest of teacher Christopher Paul Neil, 32, was the culmination of an unprecedented appeal from Interpol for public help in finding him.
Mr Neil is accused of sexually assaulting 12 boys and posting 200 pictures of the crimes on the internet.
His case is the latest to draw attention to the fact that children are readily available in Southeast Asia for sexual predators who travel from the West for the sole purpose of having sex with minors.
Probably the highest profile offender is former rock star Gary Glitter - real name Paul Francis Gadd - now in a Vietnamese prison convicted of committing obscene acts with two girls, then aged 11 and 12.
Campaign groups say much of the demand for child sex is homegrown and accuse authorities of often turning a blind eye, or even colluding in the abuse.
Lack of public awareness is compounded by lack of data, and punishments are rarely harsh enough to act as a deterrent.
Even those caught and sentenced can often have their punishments downgraded by paying off their victims and accusers, experts say.
''There is a lack of awareness in the general public, and there is a lack of awareness among certain government officials,'' said Alexander Kruger, a child protection specialist at Unicef in Thailand.
In Indonesia, authorities do not see the children as victims but prosecute them as illegal sex workers, said Arist Merdeka Sirait, who heads the National Commission for Child Protection group.
Indonesia has had a national action plan in place since 2000, and an anti-human trafficking law was introduced in 2006.
But experts say that even where laws exist, implementation is often ineffective.
Mr Sirait estimates that about 40,000-70,000 Indonesian children fall into the sex trade each year, two thirds of them trafficked abroad, while the group Ecpat, which campaigns against child prostitution, says Vietnamese children are being sent to Cambodia, China, Malaysia and Taiwan for abuse.
After decades as a haven for child sex tourists, Cambodia is cracking down, arresting or deporting at least two dozen foreigners since 2003.
But the country's most notorious child sex market, a brothel village near Phnom Penh allegedly closed in 2004, still operates, albeit driven underground and more difficult to monitor.
Cambodians make up a large percentage of paedophiles, according to rights groups in the field, but domestic paedophilia is treated as an ordinary crime rather than a social problem.
Australia and Japan, sources of child sex tourists, have dealt with the issue in vastly different ways.
In Japan, criticised as the world's main producer of underage pornography, the number of prosecutions involving child prostitution and pornography has risen in recent years - peaking at 1,080 cases in the first half of last year.
But, said Keiko Saito, a Tokyo-based Ecpat official: ''The government has done nothing to stop sex tourists from Japan.''
One Japanese man was sentenced to prison after having sex with a 15-year-old Cambodian girl and posting pictures on his homepage last year but his sentence was suspended after he paid the girl compensation.
By contrast, Australia introduced laws in 1994 allowing Australians engaging in child sex overseas to be prosecuted at home, with jail terms of up to 17 years.
The Philippines has one of Asia's most widely-used anti-child prostitution laws which has led to the arrest and conviction of child molesters and paedophiles.
Rights groups estimate there are around 1.5 million street children, of whom more than 30,000 have been prostituted, in many cases by their parents.
Thursday November 01, 2007
Story by LYNNE O'DONNELL
Bangkok Post
The arrest in Thailand of a Canadian man suspected of having sex with young boys has focused international attention on a sordid industry that peddles children to paedophiles across Southeast Asia. Grinding poverty, poor policing and no shortage of demand ensure that exploitation of children for sex thrives throughout the region.
Despite some high-profile prosecutions of child sex abusers, experts say lack of cooperation among governments is hindering efforts to keep children safe from paedophilia.
The arrest of teacher Christopher Paul Neil, 32, was the culmination of an unprecedented appeal from Interpol for public help in finding him.
Mr Neil is accused of sexually assaulting 12 boys and posting 200 pictures of the crimes on the internet.
His case is the latest to draw attention to the fact that children are readily available in Southeast Asia for sexual predators who travel from the West for the sole purpose of having sex with minors.
Probably the highest profile offender is former rock star Gary Glitter - real name Paul Francis Gadd - now in a Vietnamese prison convicted of committing obscene acts with two girls, then aged 11 and 12.
Campaign groups say much of the demand for child sex is homegrown and accuse authorities of often turning a blind eye, or even colluding in the abuse.
Lack of public awareness is compounded by lack of data, and punishments are rarely harsh enough to act as a deterrent.
Even those caught and sentenced can often have their punishments downgraded by paying off their victims and accusers, experts say.
''There is a lack of awareness in the general public, and there is a lack of awareness among certain government officials,'' said Alexander Kruger, a child protection specialist at Unicef in Thailand.
In Indonesia, authorities do not see the children as victims but prosecute them as illegal sex workers, said Arist Merdeka Sirait, who heads the National Commission for Child Protection group.
Indonesia has had a national action plan in place since 2000, and an anti-human trafficking law was introduced in 2006.
But experts say that even where laws exist, implementation is often ineffective.
Mr Sirait estimates that about 40,000-70,000 Indonesian children fall into the sex trade each year, two thirds of them trafficked abroad, while the group Ecpat, which campaigns against child prostitution, says Vietnamese children are being sent to Cambodia, China, Malaysia and Taiwan for abuse.
After decades as a haven for child sex tourists, Cambodia is cracking down, arresting or deporting at least two dozen foreigners since 2003.
But the country's most notorious child sex market, a brothel village near Phnom Penh allegedly closed in 2004, still operates, albeit driven underground and more difficult to monitor.
Cambodians make up a large percentage of paedophiles, according to rights groups in the field, but domestic paedophilia is treated as an ordinary crime rather than a social problem.
Australia and Japan, sources of child sex tourists, have dealt with the issue in vastly different ways.
In Japan, criticised as the world's main producer of underage pornography, the number of prosecutions involving child prostitution and pornography has risen in recent years - peaking at 1,080 cases in the first half of last year.
But, said Keiko Saito, a Tokyo-based Ecpat official: ''The government has done nothing to stop sex tourists from Japan.''
One Japanese man was sentenced to prison after having sex with a 15-year-old Cambodian girl and posting pictures on his homepage last year but his sentence was suspended after he paid the girl compensation.
By contrast, Australia introduced laws in 1994 allowing Australians engaging in child sex overseas to be prosecuted at home, with jail terms of up to 17 years.
The Philippines has one of Asia's most widely-used anti-child prostitution laws which has led to the arrest and conviction of child molesters and paedophiles.
Rights groups estimate there are around 1.5 million street children, of whom more than 30,000 have been prostituted, in many cases by their parents.
22 comments:
Freaking Westerner, first they brought us down to Ground Zero, then they have the gut to complaint about our moral. What is a wicked culture?
This animal Viet troller @6:41 AM pretending to be Khmer speaking up for Khmer must be stopped. Why? Because we know who this animal is.
This Vietcong troller on KI-Media must go home to Hanoi where it belongs!
Go home Viet(namese) troller!
Go home Vietcong!
Khmer will not let Viet troller like you destroy Khmer.
With the respect of speaking up for Cambodian people Long Live6:47AM
Noope, he didn't speak up for no Cambodian people. He speak for Ah Toothless Evil Khmer-Yuon in South Vietnam.
You animal Viet troller@7:37 have been identified. We know who you animal are. You animal Viet troller will be castrated and then euthanized!
Go home Viet troller!
Go home Vietcong!
Leave Khmer people alone!
Sordid of use the girls, women ,
Vietnamese are number one in their culture.
They did to king Cham, they did to King Khmer and they did to French Of Indochina and so on.............
There are the best (Chgnach nass num Ah Ko Yuon)
Wrong, it is Ah Khmer-Yuon who is an expert in that area.
The world knows about the Viet women prostitution you Viet troller @8:34AM....The Viet cannot deny it. It's in the history book. The French knows about it. The American knows about it.
Now, Go home Viet troller!
Now, Go home Vietcong!
Nope, what they knew is not Viet, but Ah Khmer-Yuon Pimp.
Hey 9:11 AM, I saw a CNN special where a Svay Pak hutch was raided and Viet pimps and their little young girl victims ran out like rats running away from burning hole speaking Vietnamese. Stop pimping and hiding behind your children skirts! You people just pimp everything in sight, and that include your puppets.
Maybe, but highly unlikely because Ah Toothless Khmer-Yuon is fluent in Vietnamese also.
Anyway, I am not saying that Viet is 100% clean, but in general, they will not come all the way from Vietnam to risk their time with pimp business in Cambodia. They generally doing great with legitimate business. On the other hand, I can't say the same thing for Ah Khmer-Yuons.
With the hight respecting that you have speaking up for Cambodian people were manipulated by Vietnam.
Long Live 10:04AM
Who care about manipulation?
Are you fucking kidding? It has been an age old Annamite practice. In general, many of them are the most manipulative and tricky people in the world! Tell me why would the pimp speak fluently in Viet and heavily viet-accented when speaking Cambodian? Now, hold on there, don't even think about twisting it around!
Hey, do you really think Viet is the only people who manipulated us? Give me a break, will ya? Ah Khmer-Yuon did it; The US did it; The Thai did it; The French did it; ... So, if you want to get high blood pressure over that, that is your business, but don't call us, let us call you instead, alright?
Do me a favor, check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OZjJUpHv6Y
Now, tell me if they don't even do this to their own children? Watch and listen closely what language the poor little girls were speaking, and don't tell me your children are Khmer-Yuons. They were not old enough to lie and manipulate like you and the pimps.
This animal Viet troller @12:01pMpretending to be Khmer speaking for Khmer must be stopped at all cost. WE know who this animal is! Go home Viet troller! Go home Vietcong!
12:09, what is your point? Are you telling us that Ah Khmer-Yuon can't speak Vietnamese? If so, you are wrong. Ah Khmer-Yuon in general preferred to speak Vietnamese over Khmer. Some of them don't event like to be recognized as Khmer. Only a very small fraction of Ah Khmer-Yuon can speak khmer, but with noticeable Vietnamese accent.
Anyway, I don't see a single person in the video that looks like Vietnamese, okay?
SHAME on these southeast asian govt for not protecting their people. Especially the poor , weak , and young.
Shame on all you govt official.
That is sooo stupid, 10:16. If the SE Asian government didn't protect its citizen, they will all be dead by now.
1:01 PM, here is another link to prove you are always correct in your twisted mind, idiot.
http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/vietn.htm
What are you talking about? Do you think those people know the difference between Yuon and Ah-Khmer-Yuon in South Vietnam? To them, everyone is Yuon in south Vietnam, dude.
Now if they were talking about North Vietnam, then that will be another story.
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