The commercial sexual exploitation of children as a cruel childrens rights abuse: the case study of Thailand

Abstract

Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) constitutes a form of coercion and violence against children and amounts to forced labour and a contemporary form of slavery. It’s most recognized forms consist of child prostitution, child pornography, the sale of children for the sexual purposes, and child sex tourism. An estimated one million children, mainly girls but also a significant number of boys, enter this multi-billion dollar commercial sex trade every year, suffering degradation and life-threatening risk. To date, Southeast Asia recruits an increasing number of children on a daily basis and has become the area in the world where the greatest amount of child sexual exploitation occurs. However, it is Thailand that is very often referred to as “Sex-Capital-of-the-World,” “haven for organized sex tours” or “the world biggest brothel” and has been traditionally connected to child sex tourism. Therefore, I embarked on to puzzle out why this was happening in Thailand so that it persisted throughout decades with the assumption that situation has improved since harmonization of law. Finally, I have adopted a positivist approach and conducted desk research, which comprised of collecting, analyzing and interpreting already existing data, which has led me to conclusion that there was whole mixture of factors that kept the phenomenon running in the country throughout decades. After having those factors identified I have strived to see if there was some progress made within the last two decades, i.e. if Thailand has adopted proper legislation in order to eradicate CSEC.