Sex Tourism on the Kenyan Coast - Essay Example

Sex Tourism on the Kenyan Coast The study of Sex Tourism mainly examines the various reasons and issues which emerges from the sex workers, their interactions with various clients and also the visits of the tourists to the ‘sex destinations’. In short it is a compact presentation of researches carried out in the past. The authenticity of these researches cannot be questioned as they are the collective efforts of researchers and authors from all round the Globe. These works are a brief summary of past surveys and they reveal the practice of sex tourism which has spread at a rapid pace in Asia, United States of America and also Australasia. The researches carried out on Sex Tourism makes us familiar with the roles of both sexes as sex workers and the tourists. Homosexuality which still has not been widely accepted in majority of the countries also is a part of it. We are also briefed about the rise of various products which is mainly due to sex tourism and also the various parts of the world where this practice is very active namely the events performed by the gays’ in places like San Francisco in the USA and in Sydney which is in Australia. The various aspects of human nature are also dealt with. The dark sides of our society like Child Prostitution, homo sexuality, and sexual exploitation of slaves as well as concepts like mail order brides are the most common subjects which are brought to the fore through the surveys carried out. The concept of sex tourism has been a matter of great interest and as a result more improved kind of surveys has been thought of to make us more familiar with this curse that is spreading at a rapid pace in the whole World. The modern authors have promoted new models to exploit the spread of sex tourism. Researches carried out on sex tourism and their results serve as a very good guideline for those who are in a way related with this issue such as the people who work in the tourism sector, students who are engaged in studies related to gender as well as the society. It also serves as a great medium for those who are involved in studies related to Woman. (Ryan, and Michael, 2001) The ‘Tourism Industry‘ which is viewed as a sector ideal for the purpose of gaining knowledge of places where one has not been before has in turn not only given birth to sex tourism related to adults but even the children are not spared from this malpractice. Child sex tourism is a concept which means that a child of a particular country travels abroad to have sex with a person of another country who too is a resident of another country for the sake of money. The International industry of tourism since its emergence in 1960 has made rapid progress. Countries having a strong economic structure have always contributed to the promotion of the tourism industry and have identified it as their biggest source of income. However as everything in this World have a positive side and a negative side, in case of the tourism industry as well, we notice the growth of a dark side- Child Sex. According to a survey conducted by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in the year 1998, it is said that 2-14% of the total services produced in countries like Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia as well as the Philippines constituted of domestic products which were derived from sex tourism. Asian countries such as India and Thailand has so far been the primary or rather main destinations for the tourists who encouraged child sex but in course of time it has been noticed that in the recent years such tourists have traveled in great numbers to the Central America and also to countries like Mexico. Sexual exploitation of a higher degree has been witnessed in such countries of late. According to the estimations put forward by certain organizations like the End Child Prostitution, Trafficking of Children and Child Pornography, it is witnessed that almost an astonishing figure of one million children from all over the World have been recruited as a part of this trade. In this regard we should discuss the root cause of the massive increase in the number of children who have been dragged into this practice. Poverty, probably is the main reason why children has been subjected to prostitution. Illiteracy, lack of job opportunities and unstable financial condition of a country also plays a pivotal role as many families use their children as a source of income by selling them. Not only this, even the Internet has played a major role in the increase of child sex tourism by standing tall as a Marketing Agent. Certain websites provide information regarding how to hire a child to carry out sexual activities along with the address of places where such activities can be carried out. This initiative taken by these websites serve as a great medium for those who are interested in child sex in properly planning their course of action. In the year 1995, as many as twenty-five companies of the United States of America arranged sex tours. At times the negligence of the Government of a particular country also contributes to the increase of Sex Tourism. The Government of countries whose economic condition is not sound often encourages tourism for improving their financial condition, and in doing so becomes unaware of its darker side. Hence we can see that sex tourism is a culmination of various factors which at times is forced and on other occasions deliberate. (Diesen, and Diesen, 2008; Nair, 2007) We can cite the gradual expansion of sex tourism of South Korea to Mongolia in this context. The Hankyoreh after carrying out an investigation has found out that the tourists of South Korea have been accused by the Mongolians for spreading sexual exploits. In a tour guide of Mongolia it has been mentioned that almost 70% of the males who tour this place buy sex. Incident of an old person having as many as 20 mistresses has also been found. These women were mainly the locals of this place. The embassy of South Korea once said in Mongolia that “Sex tourism is undermining the image of South Korea and its people.” In the year 2007, there were only 3000 nationals of South Korea in Mongolia which increased to almost 40,000 in 2008. The Government of Mongolia as an initiative to get control over the situation passed anti- prostitution laws but the outcome was nothing but a mere reduction in the number of  bars where these activities were carried out. Even more alarming is the fact that it made the situation even worse as it got prominence in the educational institutions, in the massage parlors as well as in horseback-riding. The alarming increase in the number of visitors from South Korea which led to the expansion of sex tourism in Mongolia has led to a significant increase in the number of crimes being committed. In short it led to ‘Anti-Korean’ sentiments amongst the people of Mongolia. It has been reported that a new organization of Mongolia has taken the initiative to cause more harm to the South Korean people. During the last year the Ministry of South Korea gave permission to the Government to ban any individual involved in the transaction of sex and also to reject their passports. But its consequences have not been that far- reaching. (The Hankyoreh, 2008) In the year 1941, Hunziker along with Krapf gave a definition of tourism. According to them, tourism is “the sum of the phenomena and relationships arising from the travel and stay of non-residents, insofar as they do not lead to permanent residence and are not connected with any earning activity.”(‘Tourism’, 2008) However in reality things are exactly different. United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund along with Ecobank has taken the initiative to fight against sex tourism for children whose ages are not below 8 and not above 17. They have succeeded in launching a crusade in order to execute their plans. The crusade is of seven days and its mission will be to train the people who are interested to be a part of it about the rights of the children, about sex tourism and also about its impact on the future generation. The participants will also be given all kinds of information which will enable them to understand how important tourism can be in developing the economic condition of the whole World. It is a great initiative taken by UNICEF. They have appealed to the mass and specially to those people who will go through their training process to tell everyone about how detrimental sex tourism can be for the whole society. (‘Tourism’, 2008; Afrique en Ligne 2009) India, traditionally, is a country, well-known for its rich culture. Thousands of tourists from all over the world come to India in order to know more about the Indian Culture. However surveys carried out recently shows that even the Holy places of India have come under the grasp of sex tourism. According to a survey conducted by one of the internationally renowned NGOs in the year 2007, it has been reported that boys belonging to poor families from the states of Kerala as well as Orissa were approached to visit the tourists who have come from abroad. Incidentally, India holds the record for the highest percentage of children who are sexually abused. The AIDS Control Society of Andhra Pradesh has announced that in Tirupati, a religious place which holds the record for maximum number of tourists visiting the place is reported to have become one of the main centers for sexual exploitation. The survey further points out that most of these children get sexually exploited because they do not mind in being exploited. The root cause for succumbing to such temptation however remains the fact that most of these children come from very poor families. It again shows that if the Government of every country does not take the initiative to fight against poverty, then this very factor may grasp a high percentage of the future generation under the clutches of sexual exploitation. (Chauhan, 2009) The globalization of the tourism industry has happened at a very rapid pace. The progress of this industry is a reflection of not only its economic strength but also the support it derives from the world of politics. In order to understand why certain countries have poor economic condition it is very important to have a proper understanding of the Global Market. It must be remembered that one of the biggest factors which forces a larger part of the society to be sexually exploited is poverty. At times the social, economical and political condition of a country also affects the selection of destination by the tourists. It also plays a big role in shaping the Global Market. This condition often leads to both positive and negative impacts amongst the people of those countries which get affected in a big way. It also puts immense amount of pressure on the Government of those countries. The countries which are largely dependent on tourism often find themselves in an indifferent situation as though they realize that certain tourist behavior is not legal yet their interference to stop such malpractices might have an adverse effect on the economic condition of that country. In many countries sex remains as the major attraction of the tourists as has been found in places like Amsterdam, in some of the countries of Asia and Africa and also in Thailand. According to many, it is not wrong to have sex with sex workers or to have sex while one is on a vacation as a means of relaxation. While certain researches carried out in the past have proved that this kind of a wish is very natural and also it, a certain section of the crowd have not shown their approval in this regard. According to them having sex cannot be the main objective of holiday making. In fact, there is a part of literature which has said that sex tourism do not reflect strange behavior, rather they are of the opinion that such willingness is appropriate and it also underlines a part of the human mind’s wish while being on a vacation. This however poses a serious challenge to all the governmental as well as the private agencies which perform the role of minimizing sex tourism without hampering the ‘status quo’ of the tourists. The needs of the European as well as the North American people as far as their emotional and psychological aspect is concerned when they travel to “exotic” places, we find that it hovers around lot of factors such as discovering what is not known, adventures and also the need of having sex. Not only the travel agencies but also the tour operators of Europe, Kenya and North America are aware of it. The marketing of certain beaches, the Kenyan coast for example are done in such a way that they attract lot of tourists who prefer having sex while being on a tour and it carries an inward message that such facilities are a part of that package. Hence if proper measures are not taken then countries which do not enjoy a sound economic condition and benefit largely from the tourism sector often will play a spoilsport as the government of such countries despite being aware of what happens in the tourism sector turns a blind eye as they prefer not to hamper the sector from which their country benefits in a long way. (Jones, n.d.) According to a report which was published on 18th April, 2009, we find that Khaled Al-Arrak said that the temporary marriages which take place between the sex tourists of Saudi Arabia and the women of Indonesia is very common. He said that “Some poor Indonesians marry off their girls to Saudis hoping it would put an end to their poverty and miseries.” (Pipes, 2005) However these marriages often turns out to be a failure as it does not last long. The situation even gets worse when in most cases these women find themselves to be the mother of an unwanted child. Also when we focus on an article which came to the fore through the Arab News we come to know about an incident that happened with a woman of Indonesia named Aysha Noor. From what she has said we come to know that she got married to a man from Saudi Arabia at the age of 16. The marriage took place as her parents wanted her to get married as they thought that it will put an end to their miserable condition and the family will benefit from it. However as it turned out, it was more of a curse than a blessing. She said that “We in Indonesia consider people of Makkah and Madinah as blessed ones. The man gave me a dowry of six million Indonesian rupiahs [US$540]. The dowry helped us to solve some of our economic problems. My family did know that the man was intending to have temporary marriage.” (Pipes, 2005) She further said that “After a few days he paid us the remaining amount of three million rupiahs [US$270] and left the country.” This woman in future got married to another person from Saudi Arabia and then got engaged in a nightclub. S.P.Dharmakirty, who is the Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah, has confirmed that these kinds of marriages do take place between the men from Saudi Arabia and women of Indonesia. Few of the authorities of Indonesia have taken the initiative to ensure that such malpractices are prevented from happening. They have also been successful in detecting a lot of those people who were involved with such illegal marriages. These men were detained as a form of punishment for exercising such practices. In this regard we can say that all such Indonesian authorities who have taken the initiative to fight against this problem should be encouraged more and they should be thanked for putting up a strong resistance against this curse which has affected our society in a severe way. (Pipes, 2005) According to an article published by ‘Elmundo’ one of the renowned newspapers of Spain on 27th September 2006, we come to know about the various kind of problems that some of the tourists of Spain faced in a place called Natal. The article tells us that the three person who were of Spanish origin decided to make an arrangement to have sex with five strumpets. However later on they found out that they were actually shemales. Few amongst them were underage. These three men were later blackmailed and were asked to pay a huge amount of money or else they have to face the police. It is suspected that some of the taxi drivers as well as the owners of the hotel where these men were staying were involved in the whole incident. It has been further reported by this newspaper that Natal perhaps is the most favorite place of the Europeans for performing such activities. However this report might seem to be a bit biased as when we consider certain aspects we will see that the picture is little different. Prostitution is not considered to be illegal in Brazil and the prostitutes are not considered to be criminals. Natal is one of those places where the extent of poverty is massive. As a result most of the women from this region become prostitutes. It is also largely due to the fact that many people are always willing to pay for having sex. When tourism began to extend its branches in Natal, it turned out to be one of the main destinations of the prostitutes who were not only from Natal but from other corners as well. Even though prostitution is not considered to be a crime in Brazil, yet we find that there are certain rules which prevail in Brazil which may be considered to be an attempt to keep children out of such practices. The practice of giving alcohol to children and taking them to areas where they are forced to have sexual intercourses, are considered to be a crime. When such practices get caught, the people who are involved in it are punished severely. Natal cannot be said to be the state which entertains sex tourism. On the contrary, it should be remembered that it was the first place in Brazil which formed a committee to raise its voice against such activities which are mainly carried out by the visitors. However this committee’s reach is restricted because prostitution is not considered to be against the laws. As a result many foreigners travel to fulfill their desires as they know that the chance of them getting caught is very less. Hence, here is another example of a fault that prevails in the administrative system as unless and until prostitution is treated more severely it will pave the way for an increase of this curse. (Natal Brazil 2006) Tourism has played a significant role in increasing the national incomes of many of the Southeast countries of Asia. Tourism, as has been the case has turned out to be a very successful business and because of this factor the growth of this industry is very high. However, the dark side of tourism is a matter of concern. In a lot of areas of the World it has been observed that the rise of sexual exploitation of the children has contributed to the growth of this industry in a big way. However we cannot say that the tourism sector is solely responsible for children being dragged into sexual exploitation. But at the same time it cannot be denied that it somehow makes it very easy to relate to such children with ease. ECPAT has reported that the Southeast Asian countries record a higher percentage of child sex tourism when compared to the other parts of the World. Though in many parts of the World the people who are engaged in child sex tourism have been arrested yet there have been instances of failure too. And because of this very reason this curse which has engulfed the entire society is still finding its way despite several barriers being held in their way. Hence laws which are more appropriate to fight with this problem should be implemented. The administrative system of all the countries has to be more concrete and steps should be taken to safeguard those children who have been victimized. (Christianto, 2009) Referring to the book ‘Sex Tourism’ by Chris Ryan and C. Michael Hall, we find that sex tourism forms the very base of the economic structure of many of the countries of South-east Asia. In this book it has been mentioned that in a research carried out by the women of Philippines it has been argued that the primary attitude of many of the tourists regarding “many governments and their advisers has transformed the processes of development to place the economic needs of a modernizing economy well ahead of wider socio-economic concerns which feed into the growth of tourism-related prostitution.” (Ryan and Hall, 2001, p.145) In terms of getting control over sex tourism Fish has observed that one significant step would be “placing a heavier proportion of the costs of law enforcement and sanctions on the hotels, agencies and their customers” (Ryan and Hall, 2001, p.145). According to Shirke, “Banning prostitution may be counterproductive and only create even greater hardship for the already impoverished women who engage in it” (Ryan and Hall, 2001, p.145). Similarly an argument put forward by Truong says that “legislation to protect prostitutes, and to improve their conditions and occupational health, is preferable to legislation that would deprive them of their livelihood.”(Ryan and Hall, 2001, p.145) Thus in many of the arguments discussed above we find that if prostitution comes to an end, it will add to the problems of many poor families who earn their livelihood from this profession. It cannot be denied that many of the areas which are in South-east Asia are very poor. Hence, instead of blaming the women who because of their economic condition enter the World of prostitution, the people who take advantage of their condition should be punished even more. It is true that the very aspect of prostitution is considered to be a curse in our society but at the same time it is also true that in many countries it is not illegal. Hence many tourists who travel to such countries take advantage of this loophole in the administrative system. Prostitution by no means should be legalized under any circumstances as it will prevent us from being in a society which will head in the proper direction. It is also important to extend our support towards those women who are forced to be prostitutes. The government of all the countries should ensure that they take proper measures to fight against poverty rather than merely passing laws against prostitution. Let us now focus on Amsterdam in this context. Prostitution is not considered to be illegal in Holland. It is more prominent in Amsterdam, a place which has long been subjected to tolerance. Widow prostitutes of Holland were allowed to deal with their trade openly and it was not rendered to be an act which is illegal since the year of 2000. Nowadays, the prostitutes of Netherlands also pay tax. However incidents of indifference have been also noticed. Some of the banks often refuse to agree with their demands of being granted mortgages. However because of the fact that it has been legalized, the government of Holland ensures that they get proper medical treatment and are able to carry on with their profession in conditions which are more convenient. The prostitutes also benefit from the Prostitution Information Center as they get all kinds of help from them. Ironically, the Red Light Area which is considered to be an unsafe place is not the same in Holland as the prostitutes of this region employ policemen as well as bodyguards for their own safety. (Amsterdam, n.d) In one of the reports published by an NGO, we are informed that almost 70,000 children from different parts of Asia have come under the grasp of the sex tourists. It is more prominent in countries like Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Cambodia. In one of the conferences held in Denpasar, ‘Terre Des Hommes’ which is an aid group of Netherlands reported that a significant increase in the number of children who have been used in the trade of sex tourism has been noticed. According to the report, the parents of these children do not protest on most occasions either due to the fact that they are paid a good sum of money and also due to the fact that they feel reluctant to raise their voice out of shame. Asia’s condition in relation to this matter is even worse because some men from Asia believe that if one make sex with a child it will increase their longevity. Even more alarming is the news that many of the children were trained to be prostitutes and they were given financial support as well. (Terre des Hommes n.d.) The way sex tourism is grasping the whole society, it is turning out to be one of the most prominent problems ever to have happened. In his book ‘Tourism’, James Elliot has said that ‘There can be situations of non-control, where management leaves the area completely to the industry, and in some circumstances management has no or little control owing to external factors such as international market movements, or an airline disaster: these can be ruinous for tourism.” (Elliot, 1997, p.214)He has further said that we can get control over a situation if the private bodies and the media play a significant role. In this context we can say that in order to get control over the situation which is prevailing in the present society it is very important that the management as well as the tourism industry join hands to fight against sex tourism. The most fearful aspect of sex tourism is the fact that the future generation is becoming an integral part of it. The way it is spreading all over the country, the time probably has come when we have to take drastic measures before it spreads even more. One of the key factors to reduce sexual exploits will be to get control over poverty. In the examples that have been discussed in the whole essay we find that most of the children and women who have been victimized are from poor families. Another measure will be to ban all the websites which makes it very convenient for the people who are interested in having such malpractices to get access to the various places where such activities take place. It is true that it will not be possible to get control over a situation which is getting worse day by day, but if proper measures are taken we can at least ensure that the number of mishaps is reduced. It will not only benefit the future generation but it will also save many families.             References 1. Afrique en Ligne (2009), ‘Crusade against sex tourism launched in Benin’, available at: http://www.afriquejet.com/news/africa-news/crusade-against-sex-tourism-launched-in-benin-2009041725657.html (accessed on May 10, 2009) 2. Amsterdam, (n.d.) Red Light District in Amsterdam, available at: http://www.amsterdam.info/red-light-district/ (accessed on May 10, 2009) 3. Chauhan, C. (2009) ‘Pilgrim sites turn sex tourism hubs’, Hindustan Times, available at: http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=375db43f-e47e-4d15-b550-acada1654daa&Headline=Pilgrim+sites+turn+sex+tourism+hubs (accessed on May 10, 2009) 4. Christianto, I. (2009) Toward child-wise tourism, The Jakarta Post, available at: http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2009/03/18/toward-childwise-tourism.html (accessed on May 10, 2009) 5. Diesen, C. and E. Diesen, 2008, Child Sex Tourism – the sexual exploitation of children committed by Swedes abroad, Department of Law, Stockholm University, available at: http://www.ecpat.se/upl/files/6329.pdf (accessed on May 10, 2009) 6. Elliot, J. 1997, Tourism, London: Routledge 7. Jones, S.C. (n.d.) The Extent and Effect of Sex Tourism and Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Kenyan Coast, available at: http://www.unicef.es/contenidos/582/Kenia_Tourism_exploitation.pdf (accessed on May 10, 2009) 8. Nair, S. (2007), Child Sex Tourism, available at: http://www.usdoj.gov/criminal/ceos/sextour.html (accessed on May 10, 2009) 9. Natal Brazil (2006), Spanish newspaper writes about sex tourism in Natal, available at: http://www.natal-brazil.com/blog/2006/09/spanish-newspaper-writes-about-sex.html (accessed on May 10, 2009) 10. Pipes, D. (2005) Arabian Sex Tourism, available at: http://www.danielpipes.org/3022/arabian-sex-tourism (accessed on May 10, 2009) 11. Ryan, C. and H. C. Michael, 2001, Sex Tourism, London: Rutledge 12. Terre des Hommes (n.d.) available at: http://www.terredeshommes.org/index.php?lang=en&page=res (accessed on May 10, 2009) 13. The Hankyoreh, (2008) ‘In Mongolia, sex tourism by S. Korean males leads to anti-Korean sentiment’, available at: http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_international/298846.html 14. ‘Tourism’, 2008, Side Store, available at: http://www.sidestore.com/ (accessed on May 10, 2009)                                   Read More