Sex tourism
Sex tourism is the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often in the Global South, with the intention of engaging in paid sexual activity or relationships. The World Tourism Organization of the United Nations has acknowledged that this industry is organized both within and outside the structured laws and networks created by them.
Sex tourism is commonly regarded as a transnational challenge, as it can be seen to target marginalised demographics in developing nations, such as countries in the Americas or Southeast Asia. The chief ethical concerns arise from: the economic gap between sex solicitor and sex worker, the sexual trafficking of victims, potential exploitation of minors, and the sex solicitor taking advantage of the ease with which they may engage with sex workers. These groups and individuals are subject to the foreign prostitution laws of the destination's jurisdiction, often resulting in exploitation and abuse. Prostitution involving minors is formally illegal in all countries. However, in practice, enforcement varies, and child prostitution occurs freely in some regions due to systemic issues such as corruption or inadequate legal protections.
Sex tourism is known to be a multibillion-dollar industry, with service industries such as the airline, taxi, restaurant and hotel industries profiting. The bulk of sex tourism involves men traveling from countries in the Global North to countries in the Global South, such as in East and Southeast Asia and Latin America. Although rarer, female sex tourism also exists.
Legal issues
This particular industry of prostitution is a reason for male travels but has been criticised due to fueling trafficking. and is extremely profitable. Many countries have tried to prohibit this type of tourism, as it preys on vulnerable children and marginalised women, and have made efforts to change the type of tourists coming.Ethical issues arise due to the situations of participating parties; many victims of prostitution are from low-income backgrounds usually located in underdeveloped societies whose only means for providing basic needs is to engage in sexual services.
Government and law enforcement often do not place priority on policing prostitution and sex trafficking. For example, in Cambodia, the Cambodian government has previously overlooked tourists raping or grooming with Cambodian adolescents.
Individuals are not exempt from prosecution. Sex tourism as recognised by the CDC supports human trafficking and slavery. Even if prostitution is legal in a country or region, human trafficking, sexual encounters with a minor, and child pornography are almost universally criminal in nature and individuals caught breaking these laws can be prosecuted. Citizens of any foreign country must abide by the laws of the country in which they hold citizenship in addition to the local laws of the country they are visiting, including laws regarding consent.
Demographics
Sex tourists are most often male and coming from "Western world" countries. However, the idea that those engaging with sex tourism are entirely white is a misconception - South Koreans spent 12 billion USD on prostitution in 2015. The most common destinations for these sex tourists is to visit less economically developed nations in Southeast Asia such as Thailand, the Philippines, Vietnam, and Cambodia, as well as Nepal and The Gambia. Countries in Latin America like Mexico, Brazil, and Cuba are also common. Cambodian author and trafficking victim Somaly Mam has described in detail how the government overlooked child sex trafficking to Western males.Author Kajsa Ekis Ekman writes in her book Being and Being Bought - Prostitution, Surrogacy and the Split Self, that the reason Thailand today has become a sex tourism hub is due to the Vietnam War. The Thai government made an agreement with the US Army to provide brothels for soldiers on leave. These soldiers would, after the war ended, go back and engage in sex buying or start brothels themselves.
A study conducted by the non-profit public charity ProCon, revealed the percentage of men who had paid for sex at least once in their lives between 1994 and 2010. It found the highest rates were located in Cambodia, where 59–80% of men had paid for sex at least once. Thailand was a close second with an estimated 75% of men, followed by Italy at 16.7–45%, Spain at 27–39%, Japan at 37%, the Netherlands at 13.5–21.6%, and the United States 15.0–20.0%.
Challenges in gathering data has made it hard to find out the exact number of people who work in the sex tourism industry. Estimates show 24.9 million victims that are trapped in modern-day slavery, 4.8 million were sexually exploited. It is estimated that about 21% of the total victims of commercial sexual exploitation are children, with the US Department of State estimating that over one million children are trafficked for sex throughout the world. The sex tourism industry often preys on those that are the most vulnerable, potentially explaining why children and women are more likely to be forced into the industry.
Cultural attitudes
Globally, there are different cultural attitudes towards sex tourism. In less developed countries for example, families in poor rural areas may sell their children to human traffickers, who will take the children to major cities to work in the sex industry. In Thailand for example, women will support their husbands by becoming prostitutes. To send daughters into the sex industry, particularly in less developed countries, can often be seen as a viable source of income available to struggling families from low socioeconomic backgrounds.The cultural attitudes of sex tourism in highly developed countries such as Australia however where sex trafficking is illegal and highly policed can offer a different perspective to those of low socioeconomic backgrounds. Brothels are still vivid within states such as New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria where people can exchange money for sex. Recent studies suggest that sex slavery is still happening in Australia, exploiting the vulnerability of individuals and families from poor backgrounds.
Sex tourism can evade the shame associated with prostitution in one’s home country. In a forum on sex work in the Philippines and Thailand, a member stated “we see that everybody else is relaxed and happy paying for sex and this leads to a feeling of liberation because there isn’t the sense of guilt or embarrassment that we might feel if we were with a prostitute back home”. Those engaging in sex tourism often seek to neutralize behaviour. In Weitzer , it is recognized that sex tourists “deny injury”, by claiming sex workers are working consensually and of their own free will. Further, both those paying for and providing services of sex tourism often attribute the need for sex tourism to wider issues of global economic oppression. For example, most Southeast Asian sex workers send portions of their earnings to support their family members, leading to sex work being viewed as reciprocal care/providing for the public good. Here, it is important to note that coercion occurs because of institutionalized norms and dire needs, not just direct force.
Male tourists, sometimes known as sexpats, join online communities in which they share advice on destinations and, although it is not among the most common cases, there is the category of "girlfriend experience" which, in some cases, evolves into an emotional relationship.
General attitudes towards sex work are complex and often regarded as controversial. Many countries where tourists come from can have harsher attitudes towards sexual services. Often the men who travel seeking to pay for sex may do so because it is much harder to engage in sex work in their home countries. Furthermore, in some countries, such as Cambodia and Thailand, this practice is considered commonplace, and men who do not engage in commercial sex may be considered unusual by their peers.
Sociologists from the University of Leicester conducted a research study for the Economic and Social Research Council and End Child Prostitution and Trafficking campaign, which interviewed over 250 Caribbean sex tourists. Amongst their findings were:
- Preconceptions about race and gender influenced the tourist's opinions.
- Underdeveloped countries are considered culturally different, so in Western tourist's understanding, the exploitation or male domination of women is without consequence or stigma of that found in their home countries.
Economic and policy implications
Sex tourism has implications for all nations involved. Economically, sex tourism is encouraged by the tourist sectors of destination countries. It draws wealthy individuals with the allure of cheap, unstigmatised sexual activities, and stimulates the economy of poorer nations. This line of sex work ensures a consistent flow of income into developing countries' economies.In an article published by the University of Chicago, it is argued that the promotion of sex tourism caters to tourists by enticing racial and ethnic stereotypes. This in turn creates ethical and policy implications, as colonial and traditional attitudes reinforce inequality between the groups. The state plays a vital part in this interaction, as governments create financially motivated barriers when asked to formulate more progressive and ethical policy.
Sex work may yield higher wages than work in other sectors, and can encourage engagement with the industry for those seeking to achieve a much higher quality of life. This economic temptation can often lead to sexual exploitation of children. Young girls and adolescent women are some of the most common to be sold into slavery or transported across national borders to work in the commercial sex industry.