Pattaya police are increasing patrols to curb illegal prostitution as nearly 5,000 US sailors and Marines visit the city, aiming to ensure public safety and protect the tourism image.

Heightened security measures as US sailors and Marines arrive in Pattaya

Pattaya police are stepping up prostitution patrols as around 5,000 US sailors and Marines prepare to visit the Thai resort city after a long deployment at sea. The USS Abraham Lincoln and two other US Navy vessels are due to dock at Laem Chabang Port, near Pattaya, from 2 to 6 September. The stop will give crews time to rest after spending more than 200 days without a full port visit.

  • Courtney (she/her/they) @lemmy.blahaj.zone
    0·
    14 days ago

    I mean, you could just legalize it since it’s going to happen anyway, then you won’t have to waste money trying to prevent it, and less money on having to deal with unpleasant encounters and medical treatments since people don’t have to hide it anymore.

    But we can’t allow people to have sex! That’s um… Wrong? Somehow.

    • Arcanepotato@crazypeople.onlineEnglish
      0·
      3 hours ago

      You may not be aware of the history of US soldiers fueling human trafficking in that part of the world, and others.

      https://apjjf.org/katharine-hs-moon/3019/article

      While the article focuses on “morality”, the fact that the industry exists to that extent in this location because of American imperialism and the perceived “right” to sex from locals in these areas should not be forgotten.

      In Brodeur et al. (2018), we combine historical records of U.S. military presence in Thailand and census estimates of the commercial sex industry to analyze the relationship between the presence of U.S. military bases and the size of the local sex industry in the early 1990s. We document that, in spite of the departure of U.S. servicemen in 1975, the sex industry has become even more concentrated around red-light districts near former U.S. bases. Comparing the surroundings of Thai military bases used by the U.S. army to districts close to unused Thai bases, we find that there are currently 5 times more commercial sex workers in districts near former U.S. bases. In other words, districts easily reachable by U.S. servicemen during the war have become red-light districts.

      https://sites.google.com/site/abelbrodeur/papers/prostitution?pli=1&authuser=0