In most parts of the world, sex workers don't exactly have strong human rights protections. In a poor country, it's generally worse.
A relatively wealthy, privileged person going someplace poor for sex is probably doing it because it facilitates doing rather nasty things in a way that is comfortable for them. They don't need to be ugly about it. Someone else will be ugly about it on their behalf while making them feel great about spreading their money around.
This often means they are raping children or otherwise indulging sexual predilections too unseemly for sex workers in more well-heeled parts of the world.
So sex tourism is generally understood to be a polite term for exceedingly depraved behavior with a veneer of civility.
Are you saying that single men who travel to Thailand specifically to have easy access to prostitutes are often in it for the child sex and degrading sex acts? Isn't that like saying people that go to mosques are often terrorists? Sorry if I'm misinterpreting your comment, but as worded it sounds like you believe the majority of sex tourists are pedophiles. In my experience, having spent several years in Thailand, most of them are there to have lots of consensual sex with adult sex workers because there is no legal prostitution where they live. The notion that more than a fraction of a percent of them are kiddy fiddlers is pretty out there. I also disagree with your claim that the term sex tourism is used as a euphemism for sexual exploitation. I've never heard it used that way, at least. A sex tourist is someone who travels to a location for the express purpose of having sex with prostitutes.
This. Anyone who thinks they are targeting people visiting Amsterdam's red light district, or Nevada's bunny ranch, needs to read more. This is about people seeking underage sex in countries where it is more accessible than in Canada. Thailand, Vietnam, all of south america ... a single male with no family ties, returning alone from such countries should expect some attention at the Canadian boarder. They are looking for the pictures, the possession of which is a serious crime in Canada.
> A relatively wealthy, privileged person going someplace poor for sex is probably doing it because it facilitates doing rather nasty things in a way that is comfortable for them
Or simply because it's easier because prostitution is not (as) criminal and/or it's well organised (e.g. red light zones), and not forgetting it's likely to be much cheaper. To assume their choice of destination for something as nasty as raping children is quite a jump.
I've gone back and reread my initial comment. It has plenty of qualifiers. I think it is adequately clear and stands on its own just fine, without further clarification.
I have no idea why you are nit picking this. I'm not going to discuss it further with you.
It was a sincere question. You say you've read up on this. I haven't, though I have lived in Thailand and travelled around the region, and from my personal experience (not as a consumer, but I don't need to be a smoker to have some idea (anecdotally) of the level of smoking around me) the vast majority of foreign men that were consumers were not involved in anything to do with children or any such thing.
Hence, I was interested in actual data. That's all. Enjoy the rest of your day.
Really? I think you know. I'm not going to spell it out.
Edit: fine. I guess some people here need the talk. This is about the phenomena of men traveling from rich countries to poor countries to engage in sex with children. Not this guy, but it does happen. These men often return with digital images stored on laptops and cellphones. Possession of such images is illegal in canada and so Canadian boarder services targets men who fit the profile of a potential "sex tourist". The term is a polite euphemism for a darker profile, not a literal reference to having sex while being a tourist.
That's not a useful reply. People travel to countries where prostitution is legal for that purpose, and so someone who doesn't necessarily know the extra connotations that phrase carries for you.
I for one did not immediately equate sex tourism with child slavery or pedophilia until I saw your sibling comment.
They may be referring to the legal aspect, that it does not mean they are a criminal. It is more of a rightly so frowned upon moral issue, but legally is usually okay.
I think you’re thinking of sex trafficking. The John being a tourist is orthogonal to the prostitute being a victim of trafficking. Many sex tourists visit Germany, for example, where prostitution is a safe, unionized profession.
A relatively wealthy, privileged person going someplace poor for sex is probably doing it because it facilitates doing rather nasty things in a way that is comfortable for them. They don't need to be ugly about it. Someone else will be ugly about it on their behalf while making them feel great about spreading their money around.
This often means they are raping children or otherwise indulging sexual predilections too unseemly for sex workers in more well-heeled parts of the world.
So sex tourism is generally understood to be a polite term for exceedingly depraved behavior with a veneer of civility.