One study showed that 73% of the families said they would like to have daughters, while only 27% expressed the desire to have sons (Jubilee, p. 3). Widespread poverty has lead families to consider children, especially females, as economic burdens. Children and women have dropped to the lowest strata of the socioeconomic scale, and have thus suffered the most (Jubilee, p. 4). The closing of options for many families have compelled parents to force their children to fend for themselves and in some circumstances it has led people to sell their children, especially daughters (World Congress, backgrounder, p. 1). The influx of western ideals is another factor that has contributed to the victimization of many women and children by the sex industry. The spread of consumerism by the mass media and through face to face interactions with western tourists has caused Thais to increasingly value money and consumer items. Materialism has led many to value possessions more then their sense of self worth. This materialistic greed has lead many poor families to sell their children in order to obtain material possessions. The market value of a child is between 7,000 and 30,000 baht, depending on the physical attractiveness of the child (Jubilee, p.2). To families living in constant poverty and who only earn 5,000 baht a year 30,000 baht is very enticing. The emergence of the Child Sex Market:The market for children prostitutes has been created by a number of factors. During the 1970’s pedophiles from Western countries were attracted to Thailand because of its lenient laws against prostitution and the high currency exchange rate (Jubilee, p. 3). The supply of customers caused pimps to acquire children through sale and through kidnapping to meet their demand. Widespread rural poverty and the low socioeconomic status of children caused the influx of a large supply of rural children that could be acquired relatively cheep. To prevent the i...
