Global
exploitation of women – an alternative perspective
Women In Danger -
Under Protection is a global charity that has worked for three decades to
combat sex tourism and other abuses of women throughout the
world. From our London headquarters we work tirelessly to identify the
countries where women are most at risk from these pernicious practices.
Thailand continues to appear at the very top of our list, alongside a number of
other South East Asian countries. The problem, however, is certainly a global
one. One of the most heart-rending cases we encountered was of Pam from the
poor north-east.
Pam is the oldest
of three children born in an area where there are few opportunities and
families live a hand to mouth existence. Her father was an abusive alcoholic
who left the family home when she was just nine years old. Still a child
herself, she rapidly became a proxy parent and had to make endless sacrifices
to give her younger siblings a better chance in life. She was unable to help her
family and remain in school. With no qualifications she had few prospects of securing
one of the few jobs that were available in the poorest part of a country which
was already riven with inequality, injustice and heart rending poverty.
Shortly after her
sixteenth birthday she was sent to work in the City, it’s a decision that no mother
wants to make for her daughter but it was the only way the family could stay
together. Her mama had got involved with loan sharks who were preying on the
poor across the country, but especially in the north-east. A short-term loan to
pay for rent and food had become a debt that would be impossible to repay. Pam had no choice but to make the ultimate
sacrifice. She had little difficulty finding work, she was a very pretty girl.
We met her after
three years starting work at 8 p.m and rarely getting home until the early
hours, in between she had no choice but to do anything demanded of her by a
ruthless employer and customers she described to us as being despicable, vile
and disgusting. “Most of the men were incredibly fat and I don’t think they had
washed for weeks, they just treated us girls like we were dirt. It was awful.”
Women in Danger –
Under Protection took Pam under its wing. We reminded her she was an important
person in her own right and she was entitled to a life too. She was still
determined to take care of her family but she knew there had to be better ways of
doing it than working the nightshift at a Sainsbury 24-hour Superstore in a London suburb. She told branch manager Tony Johnson that she had stacked her last shelf and quit on the spot. The last time
we spoke to Pam she had decided to become a lap-dancer, some of her mates had
done it and were making an absolute fortune.Pam's mother, Sally Smith, who still lives near Newcastle told us, "Our Pammy has always been a plucky lass, we're proud of her."
If you want to
help girls like Pam, please send your donations to Women in Danger – Under
Protection, Pattaya, Thailand. Make your cheques out to WinDUP, please refer to the Author's note for further details.
Cheers.
Author’s note – I am not really asking for you to write cheques. This is intended as a piece of satire, so please take it in the spirit in which it was written. I am not trying
to trivialise the issue of people trafficking nor do I dispute that many women
who work in the sex industry do so under duress. The fact is that there is a huge amount of
media coverage that paints Thailand as a third world cess-pit of sexual
exploitation. It’s all a bit more complicated than that. This brief piece is
supposed to entertain and make people think that some of the clichés that
appear in the media about Thailand are just that, clichés from journalists too
lazy to dig a bit deeper.
If you would like to support an amazing charity that works with women involved in the sex industry please check out - EMPOWER
If you would like to support an amazing charity that works with women involved in the sex industry please check out - EMPOWER
Matt
Carrell
Totally agree with you Matt. It's a shame that the majority of journos don't write about some of the great things in Thailand, but I guess that doesn't sell as well!
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