Why Sex Tourism Sucks.

Mr Tobasco writes:

Let's differentiate two things. Sex slavery, under-age prostitution and the like are terrible and needs to be prevented for the girls and punished for the guys, period. However, it is a very different thing when you have thirty something housewives working as prepagos in Colombia or 25 year old girls working as factory workers by day and hooking by night in China, Vietnam etc. These girls come up to me and solicit me. I happen to know that there is a whole bunch of freelancers that pays a fee to more respectable clubs to allow them to come in and "hook up". Nobody is forcing them to do this. So let's please make the distinction about the two very different groups. That in fact gets to the point of the issue for me. Stop with the moralistic, judgmental crap you want to lay out there on every guy that has ever paid for it.

So here we ago again. For the nth and last time, I'll lay out why sex tourism sucks. As for being moralistic, dude, when you say human trafficking and child prostitution is wrong you're making a moral judgement. So am I. So bite me in the backside for that one. If what I say makes you - or anyone else uncomfortable (and it does) then good. I want them to think about what they are doing in other countries.

I originally posted on the subject of sex tourism (not prostitution, like you, I believe them to be distinct and separate, although of course, they are blurred at the edges). My objection to sex tourism, (you've not read my posts on this so I'll summarize) is not confined to any one nationality: its wrong to do it, no matter where you are from, and whether you are male or female (women do it too, but gringos are quite uncomfortable about this, so they perfer to say I am a man-hater).

I define Sex Tourism as someone from a relatively richer area/country travelling to a relatively poorer area/country, using their relative wealth, or the perception of wealth to procure cheep or free sexual services from local women, men, or children.

Types of sex tourism include:

• A man travelling to a developing country to seduce or "play" local women, who are not commercial sex workers. (The Male Player).
• A woman travelling to a developing country or a standard tourism destination (such as Spain or Greece) with the intention of having sex with local "exotic" men, who are not commercial sex workers. (The Female Player).
• A Paedophile who travels to a developing country because he has more access to vulnerable, poor children, is less likely to be caught, and if he is caught he has more of a chance of bribing his way out of trouble (The Travelling Paedophile).
• Male and female tourists who travel to other countries to use commercial sex workers of either gender.
  

Sex tourism is distinct from International Marriage brokerage, or mail order brides, although it can overlap. It is also distinct from people who start relationships, or even have sex, while they are travelling in other countries. The mens rea of sex tourism is that the intention - the reason for travelling - is to procure sex. Some forms of sex tourism are not as bad as others, but they all have two things in common: the leverage of relative wealth to procure sexual services, and a real or perceived lack of accountability. Its equally wrong to do it if you are male or female, but the consequences of sex tourism are particularly harsh for women and children in developing countries. This is why I hate it.

The question for my detractors is this: why don't YOU hate it?
For evil to flourish its only necessary that good men (and women, for that matter) do nothing.

Here are just some of the reasons why sex tourism is bad:

• All countries which have a problem with sex tourism also have problems with industrialised prostitution and human trafficking. Though these are separate, they often feed into each other.
  
• To feed sex tourism, migrant women from rural parts of the developing world are often trafficked ans sold.
  
• It makes it hard for countries to build legitimate industries.
  
• It contributes to the persistent low status of women and girl-children.
  
• Women and girls find it hard to get properly paid employment in other, legitimate sectors.
  
• It damages vulnerable people psychologically.
  
• It creates the environments where under-age sex and child prostitution are more likely to occur.
  
• It makes things bloody difficult for travellers who are NOT sex - tourists. Decent tourists may avoid certain c0untries, making it harder for the country to market "ordinary" tourism.
  

Now the cry I get the most is "but its acceptable in the local culture!" or "the local men are worse". What then? Absolution because everyone else is doing it?

Tosh. If the age of consent was 12 years old, would these "decent men" who have the "odd shag" with a "consenting adult" have sex with 12 year olds in that country? One would hope not: they hold themselves to a higher moral standard. As foreigners, we have an extra responsibilities not to make a bad situation worse.

So that's what I think about that. Once bitten. Forever written.