Sex trafficking in Thailand is human trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and slavery that occurs in the Kingdom of Thailand. Thailand is a country of origin, destination and transit for sex trafficking. Sex trafficking victims in the country are from all ethnic groups in Thailand and foreigners.
Children, [2] rural people in poverty and or with little education, and migrants in Thailand are vulnerable. They contract sexually transmitted diseases from rapes, and abuse and malnutrition are common. The global spread of high-speed internet and increase in computer, tablet, and smart phone ownership has fueled online sex abuse and virtual prostitution. The government of Thailand has been criticized for its response to sex trafficking. The identification of sex trafficked persons is limited and there is a low rate of prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators.
Corruption is widespread [1] [16] and some officials, police, and the military have been complicit. During the 18th century, Thailand underwent major industrialization, causing food and land prices to increase. Commercialized sex in Thailand was a small industry at this time; the sex industry mainly flourished during the Korean and Vietnam wars, the s to s.
Men involved in these wars needed a distraction, in which the local women provided. Women in Thailand who lived in poverty-stricken areas flocked to where these men were stationed, offering sexual services gaining a means of income. With regard to sex trafficking of Thai citizens, there are two general patterns that exist in Thailand. The older pattern is one where an individual is recruited from a village to a larger town, where they are forced into the sex industry.
Sometimes, they may be transported to a foreign country. In Thailand, local women, men, and children are trafficked into other countries, especially wealthier Asian countries.
