Account from a real sex worker

"It's a terrible situation," Mylee told WorldNetDaily. "It seems at times as though there
isn't a single decent man left in the world. I thought that men were supposed to protect
women and children, not exploit them. Even the men in the white hats sometimes are
hiding black hats and even blacker hearts underneath."

People are bought and sold – children, too,

"I have three little sisters, and if it weren't for this, they wouldn't eat. I worry about AIDS.
But you know, the sex trade is ancient. It goes back to the beginnings of human history. I
am but one brick in that long, unbroken wall of female exploitation and misery."

"I can tell you that my body is hard currency," she explained. "Men want certain types of
skin color, a compliant attitude. Submission and curves. But there aren't really any
reasons anymore. There are only tears."

"Don't feel sorry for me. Feel sorry for the children, for they are most at risk

Some of the women are just outright kidnapped. Some are sold off by their parents and
relatives. Some are orphans. The lucky ones will find work on farms and perhaps in
factories. Most of them – especially the pretty ones – will be trapped in the sex trade. It
is a known fact that the most light-skinned and exotic of these girls will be shipped as far
away as Tokyo and Cape Town."

Info

- I was sold by my parents when I was fourteen

- On a normal day, I rise at noon, eat a simple meal and wait for potential
afternoon clients in the brothel
- I must stay in the brothel or face beatings if I am caught running away
- By 5, I am dressed for a night of forced sex, and serve up to 20 men in one
night (!!)
- At night, I go to sleep, aching from the abuse, and pray to Buddha that I will
not contract AIDS
- If I get AIDS, the brothel owner will simply discard me; there are thousands
more who can replace me
- Approximately 35,000 individuals live as sex slaves in Thailand today
- Girls (and sometimes boys) are sold or lured to big cities and forced, under
the threat of violence and with no freedom to leave the brothel, to provide
sex for any paying customers
- The most prevalent form of slavery in Thailand is a form of debt bondage, in
which families become reliant upon their daughters' work to repay interest-
accumulating debt
- Teenage girls are sold by their families or lured away from their villages by
recruiters, convincing the girls that they will have respectable, well-paying
jobs in Bangkok as maids or factory workers
- Upon leaving their villages, girls soon realize that the glamorous modern
lifestyle they envisioned is nothing but a dream; instead, they are held
captive in brothels and forced to ‘work’ off family debts
- However, brothel owners keep track of the accounts, and will often add more
and more money, claiming that it is their living expenses and daily interest,
causing these sex slaves to be almost unable to free themselves from their
debt
- The police are also bribed, ensuring that runaways are returned when caught
- Sex slaves are often released after three to five years of work in the brothel
- By that time, their bodies are so mutilated that they are no longer profitable
for brothel owners; also, about 50% of them have HIV/AIDS
- It is relative easy to purchase more sex slaves, hence most girls are simply
discarded
- Some return to their home villages, but many are unable to as they are
labeled as ‘unclean’

The 'green rice season', when farmers are short of money, is the prime
season for girl hunting in the rural and hill tribes. Prostitution agents recruit
girls into prostitution or buy them from their parents.
Stats

In Thailand, up to 400,000 children under the age of 16 are believed to be working in

brothels, clubs or bars.

Earnings from prostitution average $800 a month in Thailand and are higher than in
other unskilled jobs.

Number of persons engaged in prostitution per type of sex industry

establishment: 11,665 persons in restaurants; 9,397 in traditional massage parlors;
7,338 in karaoke bars; 5,964 in massage parlors; 5,743 in cafes; 5,229 in beer bars;
5,155 in brothels; 3,340 in go-go bars; 2,555 in cocktail lounges; and 1,936 in gay
bars. Survey conducted nationwide in January 1998.

Half a million women are in sexual slavery, accounting for 18-20% of all Thai women
aged 18-30.

55% of the total number of women in prostitution and 75% of men in prostitution
became involved in prostitution when they were under 18 years of age.