Chiang Mai, Thailand is an amazing place. The city is beautifully outlined by a picturesque wall and moat. Once necessary defenses for the neighboring Mongols, these fortifications now provide a clean and idyllic framing for Chiang Mai’s historic old-town. Within these walls the city teams with energy. The downtown area contains a beautiful mosaic of bustling markets, garish buddhist temples, and swaths of different people from both the east and the west. It also contains a sexy, or ugly side, dependent upon your perspective.
Loi Kroh road in south east Chiang Mai is the local red light district, and a marketplace in its own sense. It’s here that western bros co-mingle with Asian Johns of various nationalities, all congregating in pursuit of the same product; women. Or in reality, girls; as it is common for girls to enter the Sex Industry as early as 13-16 years old. What’s additionally troubling is that these women have, at best, been coerced into this line of work, and at worst, been forced to make a living that is not only degrading, but also physically perilous.
Yes, this sucks to talk about. But ironically, the inclination to stick our head in the sand is one of the biggest buoys to the proliferation of this industry. Like with most things, change doesn’t occur until a majority of people are pissed off, and it’s impossible to be mad about something of which we are unaware. When it comes to social injustices such as this, It’s paramount we don’t let the darkness generated by others dissuade us, or exhaust us, so that we are fully willing and able to shine a light.
Why is This a Reality?
In Thailand specifically, there are a few different factors that contribute to the size and scale of the sex industry, including social, legal, and economic influences. Many women are forced into the sex trade due to their low social status. In Chiang Mai over 30% of prostitutes are from an ethnic minority known as the Hill Tribe people. This is despite the fact that Hill Tribe people represent less than 2% of Thailand’s total population. Due to their lowly social status, disenfranchisement by the Thai government, and a dearth of economic opportunities, Hill Tribe women move to large urban areas to work as “bar girls” in hopes of greater financial opportunities for themselves and their families. Once more, because Hill Tribe mom’s and grandmom’s have commonly navigated the same ordeal, it has become a cultural expectation of girls to view this endeavor simply as a coming-of-age reality, as opposed to what it really is, an oppressive, sexually-exploitive atrocity.
How Can It Be Changed?
On my first day in Thailand I asked our ministry host this exact question. Having a cursory understanding of the issue I was expecting her to respond with a multifaceted answer including legislative reforms, anti-corruption initiatives, and skills-based training for women in vulnerable situations. What she said was much simpler as well as more convicting. The most imperative change necessary to eradicate the issue of sex trafficking lies within the heart of men. And it makes sense. In viewing this issue strictly through an economic lens, there is a substantial amount of demand in the marketplace, and thus, the market and its various stakeholders react accordingly to supply this demand. In short, if there wasn’t money to be made, than the sexual exploitation of women and girls wouldn’t be a problem.
What can we do as Americans?
1) Pray – this may seem like no-brainer, or perhaps a cop out, but for an issue this pervasive a large component to the solution is going to need to be spiritual. This is especially true in any situation where the “problem” is not seen by all participants. The inherent truth of the gospel and the fact that love, sacrifice, self-discipline, and forgiveness are core tenants to the Christian life is imperative to producing change as it provides an objective baseline for what is just and unjust, moral and immoral. At first glance it can be easy to ask why God has forgotten this corner of the world, however, I believe the reality is the world has too frequently forgotten and/or ignored God.
2) Change Your World View – I’m blessed to know a wide variety of kind, passionate, and by all measures exceptional people who would identify as atheist. They are, by in large part, good people, doing good things, and living purposeful lives. However, I have also seen how the framework for an atheistic determination of morality can be damaging, and because current educational systems almost expressly teach from this position of bias, it’s important that we proactively adjust our lens for how we view creation and those around us. For example – under an atheistic perspective, where materialism is the alpha and omega, and where people are considered to be nothing more than a mound of carbon, why should you care about who your neighbor is, and what they’re going through? After all, they’re just matter, highly developed green slime. To put it another way, if there is no creator, then there is no moral law giver, and if there is no moral law giver, there is no moral law, and if morality is inherently subjective, then why should anyone be concerned about young girls being preyed upon? To the perpetrators, these actions could fit within their personal definition of “morality.” C.S. Lewis adeptly commented on the silliness of moral relativism in his book Mere Christianity; “Think of a country where people were admired for running away in battle, or where a man felt proud of double-crossing all the people who had been kindest to him. You might just as well try to imagine a country where two and two made five.” Truth lies in the fact that for something to be true, it must be true everywhere, at all times. And the truth about morality is there are fundamental moral laws that have been imbued into the hearts of all men, by our creator. Moreover, by adjusting our perspective to view our neighbors as loved, image-bearers of a personal, benevolent, and omnipotent God, we will be reoriented to innately demonstrate towards them a genuine sense of compassion, empathy, and love.
3) Raise Godly Men & Women – As our group of missionaries walked around the red light district I saw more white, American men than I had in the previous 8 months of traveling combined. This is one example how the values we engender in our American communities creates ripple effects throughout the world. While serving in Thailand we worked with an amazing Christian NGO named Destiny Rescue. They focus on extracting “bar girls” out of vulnerable situations so they can receive medical treatment, counseling, life skills, and job training. Part of our time spent with the girls was intentionally relaxed as our focus was to cultivate within them a sense of value that was not predicated on a service they can provide, but rather who they are as daughters in Christ. This sense of identity, of sourcing self-worth from an everlasting stream, is likewise important for future American generations. This is so for the betterment of our own communities, but also so that we may take full advantage of our leading position of global influence.
4) Sanction the Sex Industry – At first glance this can seem pretty easy, by not buying a prostitute than one isn’t financially supporting the sex industry, right? Well, I think you could say yes and no. This pursuit becomes more challenging when understanding how the exploitation of women (and men) exists on a spectrum. With purchasing a prostitute being near the far end of the spectrum, a casual night at a strip club being near the middle, and on the other end the simple act of inappropriately viewing each other in everyday interactions. This is not in anyway to say that we as people cannot recognize and appreciate the attractiveness of others, rather, there is a fine line between appreciation and objectification. In short, by participating on any point of this spectrum, our actions, however innocent they may seem as an isolated occurrence, actually contribute to the fundamental problem at hand, that being the exploitation of others as vehicles for our own gratification and enjoyment.
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Finishing Thoughts
One of the most ironic things about the Thai sex industry comes in considering Thailand’s economic and cultural context. Thailand’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) ranks 26th in the world, while the total revenue of their sex industry ranks 6th, representing about 1.5% of its total economy. Comparatively, the United States sex industry represents less than .08% of its total GDP. So, when expressed as a percentage of GDP, Thailand’s sex industry is approximately 20 times larger than that of the US. However, the most ironic aspect of this disparity comes with the fact that Thailand is an overwhelmingly Buddhist country. In Buddhism, nirvana is the ultimate goal, which is characterized as a state of mind that is completely void of desires. So if nothing else, it is ironic that an overwhelmingly Buddhist country has such a pervasive problem of people exploiting the most primal of human desires.
For me, the thought of a world without desires is depressing, as well as antithetical to God’s purpose for creating us. We are designed to be people of desire, in a healthy, mutually gratifying setting as was intended by our creator. Unlike God, who is the source of all good things, the enemy does not have his own “clay” with which to build things, so all he can do is seek to distort, manipulate, and pervert the best of things that God has given his creation, including the ultimate expression of Love between two people. In addressing this issue of the sex industry, as well as all other problems facing this world, let’s take stock of the abilities God has given to reshape this world’s clay, to mend the ideals and activities God has designed so that they reflect his ultimate purpose, a world full of relationships that are characterized by love. Which, after all, is the reason behind free-will, because love, for it to be real, must be chosen and willingly pursued by each participant.
