Thesis Statement: Despite of the fact that sex tourism is an inappropriate, vicious, profligacy sector of the tourism industry, still, there are ample benefits that it produces that has multiplier effect to mankind.
SEX TOURISM AS ONE FACTOR OF TOURISM INDUSTRY An Undergraduate Research Paper Presented To Professor Carlos A. Garcia In Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements For ENGL1023 By BSTMI-1 Jonathan Kierby Ramirez Christine dela Rosa Judearwin May Delena Princess Jovele Mendoza Janah Antoinne Nasol March 7, 2013 SEX TOURISM AS ONE FACTOR OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY Thesis Statement: Despite of the fact that sex tourism is an inappropriate, vicious, profligacy sector of the tourism industry, still, there are ample benefits that it produces that has multiplier effect to mankind. I. Thesis Paper Introduction A. Introduction B. Definition C. Brief History D. Thesis Statement II. Origin A. World War II and the American Naval Base B. Present Situation of Sex Tourism C. Future Outlook of Sex Tourism III. Consequences A. To sex workers and clients B. To government C. To tourism industry IV. Benefits A. To sex workers and clients B. To government C. To tourism industry V. Legalization Vs. Prohibition A. Decriminalization of Prostitution in the Philippines B. Forbidding of Prostitution in the Philippines VI. Conclusion SEX TOURISM AS ONE FACTOR OF TOURISM INDUSTRY Leisure and tourism is considered as one way of getting away from our daily routines. Numerous tourists feel bored and tired of their everyday life so they travel to escape those environments. Their jobs and duties have become a hindrance to joyful feelings in life. But in the Tourism Industry, a dark sector raises called Sex Tourism. Who would have thought that SEX is one of the various types of tourism that exists in our planet? Yes. As a matter of fact it is a multibillion dollar industry that benefits financially not only the sex industry but the airline, taxi, restaurant and the hotel industry also. Travelling for sexual activities can be considered as a kind of leisure activities some tourists are drawn towards. Amidst sudden boom and the monetary aspect that the world has gained from sex tourism, do the people have already accepted this variety of tourism as a living and as an activity? Prostitution is the backbone of sex tourism. They are interconnected to each other. Elements of sex tourism and prostitution are the same; otherwise, sex tourism involves the transfer of the customer from his/her home destination to the host destination. Prostitutes are available in tourist countries. Born in poverty, they are condemned to live a sad and hopeless life. They have to sacrifice the most personal areas of their bodies for their client’s satisfaction. It then leads to child exploitation and human trafficking because of people who are desperate for a piece of profit. 5 According to United Nations World Tourism Organization, Sex Tourism is defined as “trips organized from within the sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks with the primary purpose of effecting a commercial sexual relationship by the tourist with the residents at the destination.” Sex Tourism traces its history when soldiers of World Wars I and II needed places to relax and recreate after a long walk and trajectories in camps. When the military started developing into seas, such as trade trips, the cities changed into busy roads with places of entertainment for sailors and dealers. (Martin Opperman.) It can be said that one of tourist motivation for travel is sex. Most of them, who are married, do not want their spouses to find out and then ruin their marriages so they go to other places. They want to escape the environments they have every day and have fun for a moment when they travel, they then return back to their real life after achieving their goals and desires and the episodes of love and relationships with women in other countries normally fade and disappear. But there are times when we can see some tourists who actually go back to those destinations and start the relationship again with the same women they met on the last trip. In our country, on a statement released by US Ambassador Harry Thomas Jr., he stressed that 40% of tourists visit the Philippines for sex (Jacky Lynne A. Oiga. Manila Bulletin). Currently, prostitution in the Philippines is covered by Republic Act 9208, known as the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. Though, we can say that prostitution is illegal in the Philippines, no laws in our shores has a direct prohibition about prostitution. Currently, Senators Miriam Defensor–Santiago, Manny Villar and Lito Lapid proposed Senate Bill No.1836 (Anti Prostitution Act of 2007) to address this problem. But despite 6 these resolutions that our legislators are proposing, United Nations urges Filipino statesmen to decriminalize prostitution. Shocking isn’t it? This is because to help curb spread of sexually transmitted diseases, especially HIV-AIDS, among sex workers and partners. The fact that our country is the bedrock of Catholicism in Asia; this would be an impossible measure. But as the credo “nothing is impossible” goes, well, who knows? Despite of the fact that sex tourism is an inappropriate, vicious, profligacy sector of the tourism industry, still, there are ample benefits that it produces that has a multiplier effect to mankind. There is no strong evidence that shows the exact birth of sex tourism in the Philippines. But as the definition of the sex tourism implies, we can safely say that it began from the comfort women of World War II. The name “comfort women” is a translation of a Japanese name ianfu. Ianfu is a euphemism for shofu meaning prostitute(s); wherein sex-starved Japanese soldiers forced Filipino “comfort women” to spread their legs for the glory of the nation of the Rising Sun. Another picture that paved way to the dawn of sex tourism in the country was the prostitution in Olongapo City. Soon after World War II, the Philippines signed an agreement with the US government to provide for the Americans an unhampered use of 23 naval bases all over the country for 99 years, and one of these naval bases was the Olongapo Naval Base. The “need” for entertainment of the weary soldiers has been catered by nearby residents of the military base. Soon numerous bars and brothels dotted Olongapo to respond to the sexual desires of the American militia. 7 Sex tourism has been increasingly and rapidly flourishing industry in the country despite illicit status. Transactions are covertly done by sex tourists and sex workers. Nowadays, child prostitution is a booming hit in the Philippines and to most parts of the globe. Minors engaged in these kinds of activities are aged 13 to 17 years old. The Philippines have the fourth-largest number of child prostitutes in the world, estimated at around seventy-five thousand (Rowthorn, Choy, Grosberg, Martin and Orchard 2003, p36). But due to secrecy, these figures were just purely estimation and have been thought that there are more than what has been recorded. The high prevalence of child sex workers of the country can be blame to poverty. When someone is thinking of future scenarios, it will always be probably associated with robotic technologies; and so as in sex tourism. Dr. Ian Yeoman, Management professor and a futurist and has interest in tourism, and sexologist Michelle Mars of University of Wellington have theorized this future view of sex tourism. Well, sex robots have more advantages than human prostitutes. They don’t spread sexually transmitted diseases and they can’t be sold into sex slavery. The first ever sex robot is Roxxxy, developed by New Jersey based-company True Companion LLC. Roxxxy has the capability to change personalities, from “Wild Wendy” to “Frigid Farrah”, perfect enough to satisfy your sexual imaginations. True Companion LLC said that sex robots will be available in the market in the future priced at $7,000 to $9,000. The consequences of sexual tourism are diverse and numerous. The damage to the social and culture fabric of societies known as “destination” countries cannot be overstated. Health consequences such as increased risk of HIV and STD’s are felt in both the “destination” country and the tourist’s native land. The global movement of novel 8 infectious disease pathogens has been in large part due to the international commercial sex industry. Sex tourism also furthers gender inequalities and promotes violence towards women. The practice has no redeeming social benefits, and should be considered a deplorable action, undertaken by narcissistic, ignorant, and / or severely misinformed individuals. The risk factors for sex workers and sex clients are very high, and many succumb to AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Those who seek out sexual services, particularly those who are married or in other relationship, risk the lives of their partners when they return home. While awareness and prevention is the key to preventing these unfortunate outcomes, it is a reality that many wives, girlfriends, and boyfriends still become infected with these diseases, due to the irresponsibility of their loved ones. Sexual violence and physical assault are the norm for women in legal prostitution. In one Dutch study, 60 per cent of women in legal prostitution were physically assaulted, 70 per cent were threatened with physical assault, 40 per cent experienced sexual violence and 40 per cent had been coerced in legal prostitution. In nine countries, we found that 60 per cent of women, men and transgendered people in prostitution had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a prevalence that is comparable to that of battered men and women, and survivors of state-sponsored torture. Farley Sex Tourism delivers golden gravy to both sex workers and partners. As an economic activity, many sex workers have gained a living from this kind of job especially on those countries with high prevalence of poverty. Benefits in Sex Tourism aren’t just about economy, or on money. It also has health benefits. Sexual activity can lessen stress, 9 promote better blood pressure, boosts immunity, burn calories, improve heart health, better self-esteem, may turn down pain, frequent ejaculation may prevent prostate cancer, stronger pelvic bone muscles, and better sleep. Tourism industry plays a big role in every country’s economy. That is why governments of each country are spending billions of dollars for advertisements and promotional instructions. Sex Tourism also has big economic impact. Moreover, it contributes 1 billion dollars a year in The Netherlands and accounts five percent of the Dutch economy (Hannah Carrigg). How can the Sex Tourism do such revenue? Sex Tourism increases tourist traffic in a country. Thus, it increases the flow of foreign currency fund in a country. Since sex tourism increases tourism arrivals, it helps develop the tourism industry which in turn will create more jobs in a country. More jobs mean lesser poverty. Lesser poverty means a good and stable economy. Furthermore, since sex tourism can help maturate the tourism industry, all sectors ancillary to it also blooms. The UN said the criminalization of sex-related jobs increases workers’ susceptibility to HIV by “fuelling stigma and discrimination, limiting access to sexual health services, condoms and harm reduction services; and adversely affecting the self esteem of sex workers and their ability to make informed choices about their health.” “Decriminalization enables sex workers to organize within their communities and register their organizations, obtain identification documents so that they can fully access services and entitlements, engage in advocacy and respond to the health and safety needs of their peers,” the UN said. By legalizing prostitution, a government can help bring sex workers under labor protections offered to other workers. Some claim that prostitution in inherently unsafe 10 and so should not be sanctioned by labor laws, but many other industries are unsafe such as the mining industry, and this was precisely the reason why government labor laws and unions were created to protect them. Legalization won’t cure all of the abuses involved in the sex industry. But, if it will make the environment marginally safer, which is an appropriate step in the right direction. In other words, legitimizing prostitution in the Philippines will pave way to equal treatment to sex workers. Their rights as a worker will also be protected under Presidential Decree No. 442 or the Labor Code of the Philippines. They will be given the rights to become a member of government-owned financial institutions such as the SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth, etc. Moreover, a legalized form of prostitution will help lessen the incidence of human trafficking. As it is in Nevada, you have legal, independent brothels that are safe. Thus, it would mean that rules would have to be applied and the business monitored. This would bring prostitution out of the black market and reduce sex trafficking because more credentials are needed. The fear regarding health matters in prostitution will also be lessening. Legalization would improve the sexual health of sex workers and their partners. The activity occurs in a clean environment rather than on the street. In Nevada and Victoria prostitutes undergo regular health examinations as a condition on working in the brothels. Furthermore, the use of contraception is compulsory and such devices are made freely available. “Removing legal penalties for sex work assists HIV prevention and treatment programmes to reach sex workers and their clients,” the UN said in its report titled “Sex Work and the Law in Asia and the Pacific.” [...]... an act of love and of the creation of human life Prostitution devalues this “sacred” role of sex in our lives, by commoditizing the act As such, prostitution devalues all of our moral standards, and is thus abhorrent Considering that the majority of men who visits prostitutes are married, this should be considered as morally wrong It breaks harmony of the family and dooms the ethical aspect of the... of a high concentration of sex tourist in a small number of destinations will disappear once a larger number of countries legalize prostitution Supporting this motion, therefore, will reduce the problem of sex tourism A tax on the free charged by a prostitute, and the imposition of income tax on the earnings of prostitutes would generate a revenue Numerous empirical studies find that legalization of. .. prostitution decrease instances of rape And, the logic of it holds together fairly well By bringing prostitution out of the shadows, predators will feel less able to rape prostitutes with impunity; particularly in the context of legal brothels with security cameras, guards, boundaries, and the threat of legal punishment, the potential for instances of rape is dramatically reduced On the other hand, Sex is a... takes on a form of paying man forcing a woman to have sex with him, which can be viewed as a form of rape The number of violent attacks on prostitutes, including rape and murder, and the considerably greater number of such crimes which are believed to go unreported, suggests that prostitutes themselves are the victims of the most serious criminal offences The world is nothing but a polarity of good and... tragedia, positive and negative, and passes and failures But it is the good, the white, the comedia, and the positive and passes that counts Benefits always outweigh consequences Though sex tourism involves the trade of flesh and money, we cannot deny the fact that this kind of activity already exists even before the existence of modern technology In an era where wealth and money is the paradigm for almost... paradigm for almost everything, hypocrisy for what sounds good or sounds better is a no-no Sex Tourism is just like Robin Hood and Tom Sawyer Perhaps, the manner that they used to lend assistance to their people didn’t come from a decent way; it is their willingness to give help to the needy that marked onto our minds Sex tourism might be utilizing an inapt structure but the payback that it generates can... ethical aspect of the society Prostitution is a form of rape It is an environment in which women are effectively forced by a man to have sex with them merely through the fact that they are willing to pay And, this relationship is frequently established between a pimp and customer instead of between the customer and the prostitute, undermining the notion of the contract being established between consenting . Forbidding of Prostitution in the Philippines VI. Conclusion SEX TOURISM AS ONE FACTOR OF TOURISM INDUSTRY Leisure and tourism is considered as one way of getting. Mendoza Janah Antoinne Nasol March 7, 2013 SEX TOURISM AS ONE FACTOR OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY Thesis Statement: Despite of the fact that sex tourism is an inappropriate,