Internet sex victims
TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN
Internet sex victims
Phenomenal growth of online chatting puts women at greater risk of abuse and trafficking, say female rights activists
It is a little past midnight, and three girls in different places are chatting online to men on the other side of the world. Noi is a bar girl in Chiang Mai's Tha Phae Gate area, Daeng is a go-go dancer in Bangkok's Patpong district and Jean is a waitress in Olongapo City in the Philippines.
For quite a few years now, the Internet has been the main channel of communication between the girls and their foreign customers.
For Noi, a drop in income at her bar has been eased by money transfers from John after she told him about her problem in their online chats. She did not request the money, but John was willing to give it without conditions.
Daeng met her German boyfriend last month when he visited her bar. They have chatted regularly online and will meet on his next business trip to Bangkok.
Jean has been communicating with her military boyfriend for several days after meeting him while he was training in Olongapo.
"The online world is narrowing the communication gap. With the advancement of technology, especially Net phones and web cameras, people can see and listen to each other at a much cheaper rate," said Chantawipa Apisuk, a programme director of the Empower Foundation.
"It is a phenomenon that has been growing for more than five years in Thailand."
This online culture is popular among some 5,000 women in Patpong, 10,000 in Chiang Mai and 5,000 in Phuket with whom the foundation is working.
The advancement of information technology can benefit people, providing efficient communication, but the grim downside has been an increase in global prostitution and the trafficking of women.
This growing problem was discussed in Chiang Mai last week at a conference hosted by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Asia-Pacific (CATW-AP).
"The Internet has increased the magnitude of violation against women significantly. The violation comes in various forms and is difficult to prevent. It includes chat programmes, sex lines and seek-friend options," said Janice Raymond, of CATW International.
Many Western men pay via credit card for women on the other side of the world to perform sex shows for them, she said.
"It is an alarming trend because the form of violation is indirect and sometimes the women themselves were not aware that they were violated online," said Virada Somsawasdi, a feminist advocate of Forward (Thailand).
According to a report by CATW-AP, the figure for all forms of human trafficking is estimated at 75-130 million people globally, with up to 4 million people trafficked each year.
"As up to 70 per cent of Internet content is sex-related, it provides a huge area of sex trading. This makes the problem of women trafficking worse and worse," said Aurora De Dios, president of CATW-AP.
"Most of the trafficking is related to women. And this is not including those online."
The growing use of the Internet for sex and sex-related trade, leading to the abuse of women, is a phenomenon spreading around the world, Raymond said.
In the Philippines, chat programmes are used for forming relationships with military men who regularly visit the country for training, said Alma Bulawan, of the Unite Women group.
Even some Muslim countries are feeling the consequences. In Pakistan, online chatting is popular among teenagers, said Zia Ahmed Awan, of the Lawyers for Human Rights & Legal Aid.
Researcher Chaithai Raksachart, of Chiang Mai University, said women were at risk on the Internet both through sex-related websites and normal entertainment sites. The two most popular chatting facilities are provided by MSN and Pirch, he added.
Despite the increase in trafficking and prostitution, there has been a limited response from governments around the world.
"To ease the problem, an anti-trafficking law is needed in every country, but only Sweden, Korea and the Philippines have one," said Raymond.
"The most success is likely in Sweden, where the law should limit the growth of trafficking after being in force for seven years. In the Philippines, the problem is the implementation of the law by police."
Virada pointed out that apart from government's role, the empowering of women is the key to easing the trafficking problem.
De Dios told The Nation after the conference that the group had agreed to shift its strategy from generally opposing trafficking to pressuring governments to punish the buyers in the sex industry, including those who buy via the Internet.
"Without the buyers, the trade should stop or at least decrease or not grow," she said.
However, the implementation of this new strategy will be implemented separately by members of the network in each country, she added.
While CATW is pushing for an end to trafficking and prostitution by calling on the state to treat women as victims, the Empower Foundation disagrees with this approach. It supports the recognition of sex work as a career requiring social security from the state.
"The problem is there, whether you like it or not. Welcome to reality. We are talking about a sex trade involving 200,000 women in Thailand and worth about Bt40 billion. This makes it even bigger than rice exporting, the biggest sector, according to a study by Chulalongkorn University," said Chantawipa.
"No matter what the reason for entering the sex trade, we do have women providing sexual services and it has happened for generations. By recognising it, we would be able to help them at least have better living conditions."
However, CATW activists argue that such recognition would help to promote prostitution.
No matter what approach is used for tackling trafficking and prostitution, there has been very little effort to address the problem globally, said Raymond.
"As for online trafficking, we have to admit that it is twice as difficult to tackle," she said.
Kamol Sukin
The Nation
Chiang Mai
Internet sex victims
Phenomenal growth of online chatting puts women at greater risk of abuse and trafficking, say female rights activists
It is a little past midnight, and three girls in different places are chatting online to men on the other side of the world. Noi is a bar girl in Chiang Mai's Tha Phae Gate area, Daeng is a go-go dancer in Bangkok's Patpong district and Jean is a waitress in Olongapo City in the Philippines.
For quite a few years now, the Internet has been the main channel of communication between the girls and their foreign customers.
For Noi, a drop in income at her bar has been eased by money transfers from John after she told him about her problem in their online chats. She did not request the money, but John was willing to give it without conditions.
Daeng met her German boyfriend last month when he visited her bar. They have chatted regularly online and will meet on his next business trip to Bangkok.
Jean has been communicating with her military boyfriend for several days after meeting him while he was training in Olongapo.
"The online world is narrowing the communication gap. With the advancement of technology, especially Net phones and web cameras, people can see and listen to each other at a much cheaper rate," said Chantawipa Apisuk, a programme director of the Empower Foundation.
"It is a phenomenon that has been growing for more than five years in Thailand."
This online culture is popular among some 5,000 women in Patpong, 10,000 in Chiang Mai and 5,000 in Phuket with whom the foundation is working.
The advancement of information technology can benefit people, providing efficient communication, but the grim downside has been an increase in global prostitution and the trafficking of women.
This growing problem was discussed in Chiang Mai last week at a conference hosted by the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Asia-Pacific (CATW-AP).
"The Internet has increased the magnitude of violation against women significantly. The violation comes in various forms and is difficult to prevent. It includes chat programmes, sex lines and seek-friend options," said Janice Raymond, of CATW International.
Many Western men pay via credit card for women on the other side of the world to perform sex shows for them, she said.
"It is an alarming trend because the form of violation is indirect and sometimes the women themselves were not aware that they were violated online," said Virada Somsawasdi, a feminist advocate of Forward (Thailand).
According to a report by CATW-AP, the figure for all forms of human trafficking is estimated at 75-130 million people globally, with up to 4 million people trafficked each year.
"As up to 70 per cent of Internet content is sex-related, it provides a huge area of sex trading. This makes the problem of women trafficking worse and worse," said Aurora De Dios, president of CATW-AP.
"Most of the trafficking is related to women. And this is not including those online."
The growing use of the Internet for sex and sex-related trade, leading to the abuse of women, is a phenomenon spreading around the world, Raymond said.
In the Philippines, chat programmes are used for forming relationships with military men who regularly visit the country for training, said Alma Bulawan, of the Unite Women group.
Even some Muslim countries are feeling the consequences. In Pakistan, online chatting is popular among teenagers, said Zia Ahmed Awan, of the Lawyers for Human Rights & Legal Aid.
Researcher Chaithai Raksachart, of Chiang Mai University, said women were at risk on the Internet both through sex-related websites and normal entertainment sites. The two most popular chatting facilities are provided by MSN and Pirch, he added.
Despite the increase in trafficking and prostitution, there has been a limited response from governments around the world.
"To ease the problem, an anti-trafficking law is needed in every country, but only Sweden, Korea and the Philippines have one," said Raymond.
"The most success is likely in Sweden, where the law should limit the growth of trafficking after being in force for seven years. In the Philippines, the problem is the implementation of the law by police."
Virada pointed out that apart from government's role, the empowering of women is the key to easing the trafficking problem.
De Dios told The Nation after the conference that the group had agreed to shift its strategy from generally opposing trafficking to pressuring governments to punish the buyers in the sex industry, including those who buy via the Internet.
"Without the buyers, the trade should stop or at least decrease or not grow," she said.
However, the implementation of this new strategy will be implemented separately by members of the network in each country, she added.
While CATW is pushing for an end to trafficking and prostitution by calling on the state to treat women as victims, the Empower Foundation disagrees with this approach. It supports the recognition of sex work as a career requiring social security from the state.
"The problem is there, whether you like it or not. Welcome to reality. We are talking about a sex trade involving 200,000 women in Thailand and worth about Bt40 billion. This makes it even bigger than rice exporting, the biggest sector, according to a study by Chulalongkorn University," said Chantawipa.
"No matter what the reason for entering the sex trade, we do have women providing sexual services and it has happened for generations. By recognising it, we would be able to help them at least have better living conditions."
However, CATW activists argue that such recognition would help to promote prostitution.
No matter what approach is used for tackling trafficking and prostitution, there has been very little effort to address the problem globally, said Raymond.
"As for online trafficking, we have to admit that it is twice as difficult to tackle," she said.
Kamol Sukin
The Nation
Chiang Mai
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