Young teens happy with sex work: study
Young male prostitutes in Pattaya find nothing wrong with the flesh trade, which allows them to earn enough for a comfortable lifestyle without hard work. So says research by a graduate student from Srinakharintharawirot University.
Uamfa Banchuen conducted in-depth interviews with 12 young male prostitutes in Pattaya in a bid to find out what they were thinking - information needed if the government seriously wishes to wipe out prostitution. The prostitutes were between 13 and 18 years old.
A native of Pattaya in Chon Buri province, Uamfa conducted the research as part of her master's degree studies at the university's Faculty of Education last year.
"The children approved of working as prostitutes. They found nothing wrong with being prostitutes and viewed it as a common thing," her report said. The teenagers were happy in their work because it enabled them to earn a comfortable wage. They also believed that the government should be open to prostitution and same-sex affairs.
"The children said they sometimes responded to their own sexual needs when sleeping with clients. They showed preference for foreign clients over locals," the research said.
According to the report, the teenagers between 16 and 18 years old earned about Bt20,000 a month working in gay bars. Younger prostitutes earned between Bt5,000 and Bt10,000 a month because pimps demanded commissions.
Uamfa's research also dealt with the young prostitutes' personalities, finding that most of them were self-obsessed, dependent on others, materialistic and suffering from emotional problems. "Some of them were lured into the trade," she said.
-The Nation 7 Sep 2005
