The most disturbing fact about the Thai travel industry is the promotion of Child Exploitation Tourism. According to the reports of International Labor Organization, around 12,000 children are illegally trafficked into Thailand annually for the purpose of tourism. According to a study conducted by the Thai Government and various Thai NGOs, there are around 30,000-40,000 minors under the age of 18 who are exploited as prostitutes.
Royal Government of Thailand has introduced several strict laws and tougher enforcement measures for the prevention of women and child trafficking. According to Thailand’s Criminal Law, child prostitution has been declared illegal under the Prostitution Prevention and Suppression Act, 1996. As per the law, any person committing illegal act, raping, abusing behave immorally against children below fifteen years of age will face an imprisonment of seven to twenty years. Any person committing the above mentioned crimes against adolescents between fifteen to eighteen years of age would be fined and imprisoned for one to three years. People who are involved in child trafficking or seducing or procuring would have to face severe punishment that includes rigorous imprisonment for twenty years. The law also pronounces punishment for parents who willingly allow their child into this skin trade. There are several other provisions encrypted in the Measures in Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in Women and Children Act, 1997.
According to the 2005 US State Department’s trafficking in persons report, the Thai government considers these children as immigrants and is trying to deport them rather than protecting them. Due to this reason, the efforts of the government to curb child trafficking are rather unsuccessful. |
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