Children deserve the rights to develope and grow in safety, security, and protection of the family and society. When children are sexually victimized, how can we not say that their human rights are violated? Well, Montgomery cites the case of child prostitution in Ban Nua, Thailand as a good example of how slick the scenario can be.

Imagine yourself a member of a slum village in Thailand's big city, in which every dream might be found there. You were from a farming village in the dry land of Northeastern Thailand, where people struggle to make ends meet through agricultural ways of living. Fed up with the circle of poverty and debt, you decided to migrate to the slum village, looking for a better life for your family.

At the metropolitan village called Ban Nua, you no longer have the space you had in the countryside. You have no knowledge about how things operate in big cities. You have to struggle hard now in ways that are more complicated than before, although money can be found more easily. Then, you start to notice these kind male foreigners from the Western worlds coming into your village. They dress well, look clean and rich, smile kindly, and give the boys and girls' family a lot of tip money. They have become some villagers' guests. They even donate money for the village's welfare. The kids who "are lucky" to be able to accompany these guests are fed with the fat money, making other kids, including yours, curious and sometimes jealous.

You have learned that these kids, as young as 4 up to 15, have been done sexually in return for the fat money. Their parents know about it, but they simply do not want to see the sin committed by these light-skinned saviors as sin. They do not want to think their kids are truly suffering. Well, it is better than allowing their kids to become street venders and risk being drug addicts, as some unfortunate kids are. Their kids, in fact, willingly express that they want to do anything for the family. They do not want to see their brothers and sisters go hungry as before. They are glad and proud to be able to raise the family. The parents, after some time, have become less uncomfortable with the money their children's guests hand.

You start to feel worried about your young sons and daughters. You send them to school, but many kids around the neighborhood do not attend school. They are street vendors, and more and more of them are "receiving or accompanying" guests. Their guests would come once or twice a year, about 2-3 months each. The kids would follow the rich guests to their hotels. Now, your sons and daughters start to be curious, and that worries you. They have to help you sell food on the weekend, but now they want to be out there on their own. They say they want to help you earn more money, and you know the risks out there... drugs, accidents, and child molestation!!!

Dear friends, many of the partents in Ban Nua are probably in the same position as in the scenario above. It's their ethical/moral/economical/cultural/religious/etc. decision to make! Poorly educated and having been fed up with poverty, these villagers would find it more difficult to resist the temptation to go easy with the sin that comes with monetary lures. Whose fault(s)? The Thai government? The sinful tourists? The greedy (?) parents? The teachers who are unable to keep children at school? The local govermental officials who turn a blind eye to this problem? The greedy hotel managers who allow the sinful actions to take place in their properties?

No question that the children's human rights are being violated, but what do we do? Montgomery's account of the scenario helps to pinpoint all the factors involved. Some moral questions need to be asked. Some legal issues must be considered. Some actions must be taken? Where do we start? Who will start? The questions go on....



Reference:

Montgomery, H. “Imposing Rights? A Case Study of Child Prostitution in Thailand,” in Culture and Rights: Anthropological Perspectives. Edited by J.K. Cowan, M.-B. Dembour and R. Wilson. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.