What do your vacations look like? Beaches and sand castles? Museums and historical landmarks? Camping and hiking? All wonderful activities for people with different interests, but not all vacation options are so innocuous.
The United Nations World Tourism Association defines sex tourism as “trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary purpose of effecting a commercial sexual relationship by the tourist with residents at the destination.”
Essentially, sex tourism is when tourists travel to a destination to buy sex from locals.
It is a lucrative, growing industry that can be found on every continent except Antarctica. You see this beautiful beach and sanctuary? This is Pattaya, Thailand. Personally, I would love to visit the Buddhist temples and spend some time on the beach and in the water, but beyond that beach, Pattaya is a hotspot for sex tourism: over 800,00 children in Thailand are being trafficked for sex.
Approximately 250,000 people each year travel internationally to engage in sex tourism with children and youth. 25% of those people sexually abusing children outside the United States are American and Canadian citizens.
We create a significant portion of the demand for child victims of sex trafficking.
When considering this, it’s important to note that many sex tourists are not pedophiles or registered sex offenders. They may never sexually abuse children at home, but the anonymity when traveling leads to them taking advantage of the opportunity when it arises.
Even if prostitution is legal in a country, how do you know the prostitute is not a human trafficking victim? Or younger than he/she claims to be? Engaging in human trafficking, non-consensual sex, sex with a minor, or child pornography are criminal offenses.
For American citizens, Congress created the PROTECT Act to prosecute those who commit acts of sexual exploitation with minors outside the United States. However, with evidence and victims being in other countries and governmental funding being stretched thin, prosecution is difficult and is being focused on those who have committed multiple crimes against children.
How You Can Help
Learn the signs of trafficking: Check out our post about the signs of trafficking or use Operation Underground Railroad’s free online training to learn how to recognize the signs of human trafficking so you can report it if you see it at home or when traveling.
Donate: Starting this morning, 12/27, at 9am PST, donations will be matched up to $32,300. You can donate at our team’s Dressember Advocacy Page.
