Myths About Trafficking

Myth #1: The brothels of Pattaya are full of underage girls.



While it is absolutely true that there are sadly very young girls being prostituted in Thailand, it is a misconception that this is all you will find. In fact, through our Employment Education Center in Pattaya, Thailand we have been able to help both men and women, ages 14 – 65 out of trafficking. The most common age range we work with is women 25-34 years old. These women have often been groomed their entire childhood for the nefarious sex industry. This grooming happens by both the direct intention of exploiters but also by the wide-spread environments of gender inequality, multi-level domestic abuse, trauma, and poverty.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that, to the foreign sex tourist, a 26-year-old Thai woman often looks much younger, easily appearing to be 17 years old. This provides a convenient business opportunity for brothel owners. They can have women dress and play to this schoolgirl aesthetic for clients, without the same legal risk. Unfortunately, this does not protect children but rather increases the demand for sex with younger and younger girls.



Myth #2: Women who are trafficked have been kidnapped.



This is one of the most widely believed conceptions about trafficking. Kidnapping and forcing someone into prostitution does occur, but it is by far the minority of trafficking experiences. Most people’s genesis of trafficking is much more complex and involves layers of manipulation and relationships. Considering the students at our Employment Education Center, 58% were first introduced to the idea of the sex industry by a friend and 41% by a family member.

Myth #3: It’s safe to assume that trafficked women are single.



It’s a common assumption that women who are being prostituted have not yet been married. In Pattaya, Thailand an estimated half of the women working in the sex industry are actually divorced. It is typical for marriages in Thailand to not be healthy environments for a women’s self-esteem. There are high rates of infidelity, abuse, and inequality. It is very common for a women’s husband to abandon her for a younger woman. This often leaves her without financial resources because she often married without finishing education or growing into a profession of her own. Culturally, she is also often shamed by her community for not being able to keep her husband. This complex situation doesn’t leave her with many options for her future.



43% of students served by our Employment Education Center are divorced.



Myth #4: Prostituted Thai women are trying to support a party or drug habit.

We hear from buyers in Thailand’s sex market that the women here are just trying to buy themselves the latest smart phone or new trendy clothing. The men say they’re selfish and are just eager to party without working for it. The general public often has similar opinions, often pointing to assumptions of drug habits as well.

None of these preconceptions are the reality. What most all of the prostituted women in Pattaya are trying to support is not drugs, but family. An astonishing 85% of the students at our Employment Education Center have children that they need to financially support. Even more so, in addition to children, our students need to support anywhere between 1 – 9 different dependents. These dependents could represent aging parents, siblings, or nieces or nephews.

Myth #5: Only naïve dreamers end up trafficked.

We’ve all heard the story of a young, naïve girl who is told by a stranger in a mall that she could be a model and how that story ends with her being pimped out into prostitution. This for sure happens, but for the majority of Thai women who end up in the sex industry, do not do so as a result of fame’s desire, but rather as a result of financial desperation.

72.7% of our Employment Education students reported they first left home because there was a financial need that they could not find a solution for in their home community. In order words, they left because they needed to find a better source of income for their family.

Sometimes after leaving home they then discovered they too old or too under-educated for the higher-paying urban employment. Not because of stupidity, but often desperation, they then accept jobs, not realizing the full picture of what their employment entails… often this is compounding debt and sex-for-hire.

Myth #6: This is a job they’ve chosen over other options.

There are available jobs in Thailand. However, there are many personal and cultural factors that stand in the way of women in the sex industry from acquiring them. Ageism, sexism, prejudice because of the region in which they grew up, including judgment because of the color of their skin and perceived beauty all play against their access to employment. This doesn’t even begin to discuss the challenge of limited education.

In Thailand, what we’d consider an entry-level position as a barista at Starbucks requires a college degree. At our Employment Education Center, less than 7% of our students had completed university and only about 70% have completed middle school when they entered through our doors. To help medicate this challenge, we offer practical job-skills training and direct partnerships with healthy employers to offer sustainable jobs to our students.

Myth #7: Prostituted women can’t break out of their cycle.



There is a heart-breaking percentage of women we work with who have absolutely no dreams left in their hearts. By and large, however, these women survive their abuse by focusing on a greater goal and a better future. It’s amazing the power that hope plays in their survival.

In order to help keep this hope alive and thriving, we help our Employment Education students construct tangible goals out of their dreams. For 56% of our students, their goal is to one day own their own business. What’s especially exciting about hearing this dream is that, with the collective Thai culture, as one of these students goes on to open her own business, she will likely open that business back in her home community, adding to the positive growth and development of that community.