Moving Beyond Treating Cancer With a Band-aid: Addressing the Domestic Hindrances to Eradicating
| Citation | Vol. 11 No. 2 |
| Publication year | 2008 |
Thirty years ago, in a span of four years, the Khmer Rouge murdered more than one million of its own people.[1] A generation was lost and a country was crippled. Teachers, doctors, anyone who was educated, who worked for the government, or fell prey to a soldier's whim was murdered.[2]
Today, the impact of the Khmer Rouge is still felt as the country struggles to heal the wounds of the past and look to tomorrow. One would think that this type of systemic destruction of a generation would not take hold again; that a people would stand up in outrage, that a government would legislate and quell the slightest hint of similar patterns in its society. However, despite the legislative efforts of the Cambodian government to outlaw Child Sex Tourism ("CST") and Child Prostitution, and the international outcry against such heinous acts, the destruction continues as a generation of young Cambodian girls is being systematically destroyed encounter-by-encounter, in the name of lust and pleasure for just a few dollars.
Lest anyone be unaware, CST and Child Prostitution are rampant in Cambodia, and the horrors inflicted upon young Cambodian girls are becoming more repugnant with each passing day. In response to a fear of contracting AIDS, the sex industry has responded with younger girls and sought to suppress these fears by offering virgins.[3] These girls can be sold for upwards of $500 USD.[4] For this sum, the customer will keep the girl imprisoned in his hotel room for about a week, raping and molesting her again and again.[5] Once a girl's virginity has been stolen her value to the brothel owner drops drastically where at first she brought a high price, now fetching only a few dollars per customer.[6] However, the worst atrocity is not subjecting virgin children to rape for money, but in response to the demand for virgins, many girls are sewn up after having sex with a customer and sold to another customer, again as a "virgin." This second customer cannot tell the difference and is satisfied that she is a virgin due to the girl's bleeding and pain.[7] In the same way the Khmer Rouge ravaged a generation of Cambodians, prostitution is destroying young Cambodian women today. Recovery is a difficult road, as many have no place to go once rescued from prostitution. Sadly, many often end up back in prostitution due to social stigmas and poverty.[8]
The last five years have seen a large public outcry against CST & Child Prostitution. In response many countries have passed legislation and enacted laws to combat CST. [9] Most often, these laws give the country extra-territorial jurisdiction to prosecute its citizens for engaging in CST abroad.[10] While these laws are a step in the right direction, they do not address the heart of the problem. Australia's initiatives are listed by the U.S. State Department among "international best practices" despite only having one prosecution under its extra-territorial laws in 2005.[11] Originally, Canada's CST laws only granted extra-territorial jurisdiction if the country where the act occurred requested intervention.[12] In 2002 that requirement was dropped[13]; however three years passed before the first Canadian sex tourist was convicted under anti-CST laws.[14]
In 2003, the U.S. passed the PROTECT ACT, which streamlined and strengthened the government's ability to prosecute U.S. citizens who traveled abroad to have sex with children.[15] Additionally, the U.S. government has been combating CST by funding a public awareness campaign by World Vision.[16] While these efforts, and those of other countries, are to be commended, they are largely passive and only marginally successful, as they do not address the domestic issues that make it possible for pedophiles to commit these acts in the first place.
Despite these international efforts, the number of rape victims in Cambodia has been on the rise, with most victims being under the age of eighteen.[17] In 2002 and 2003, almost 80% of the victims identified by LICADHO were under the age of eighteen with close to 10% being age five and under.[18] If ground is to be gained in the fight against Child Prostitution, the international community must put pressure on countries like Cambodia to reform the domestic problems that foster Child Prostitution. Until this is done, CST and Child Prostitution will continue to destroy the lives of countless children not only in Cambodia but worldwide. By passing laws addressing CST and ignoring the internal mechanisms that allow this practice to fester, the international community is effectively treating cancer with a band-aid.
This article discusses, three central issues hindering the fight against CST and Child Prostitution in Cambodia. Section two discusses the primary stumbling block to eradicating CST and Child Prostitution in Cambodia. It sets out the history and current pervasiveness of corruption in the government, particularly in the judiciary and law enforcement. Section three focuses on the obstacle of poverty and discusses how it can lead to a life of prostitution and involvement in the sex industry, even for the very young. Section four addresses certain cultural paradigms in Cambodia that adversely affect the fight against CST and Child Prostitution. It discusses the traditional view of women and men as well as the impact Theravada Buddhism has on the public perception of justice. While international efforts to combat CST and Child Prostitution are a start, the only way to successfully combat and strike a crippling blow to the child sex industry in Cambodia is through domestic reformation in the areas of government corruption, poverty and cultural paradigms.
I.
While primarily seen as an impediment to the economic and business prospects of Cambodia,[19] corruption is one of the largest problems facing the fight against CST and Child Prostitution. The hallmark of any democracy is the rule of law. However, in Cambodia law has taken a back seat to corruption. The phrase
Cambodia's institutionalized corruption has its roots in the country's recent history. The transitions from Maoist authoritarian rule to democracy, from war to peace, and from economic isolation to a place in the global economy led to intricate and cryptic state-society relationships, poor fiscal accountability, and a powerful elite.[26] During these transitions much of Cambodia's wealth passed to a select few during times of spontaneous privatization.[27] Further amplifying and exacerbating the situation is the tight control the seated government has held over the country during the fourteen years since the Paris Peace Agreement.[28] In theory, Cambodia emerged from the Peace Agreement a democratic nation, but Hun Sen's government has continued to maintained autocratic control over the country by exerting power over all aspects of the government,[29] and neither parliament nor the judiciary acts as a counter balance to the executive power.[30] Despite Constitutional mandate, the government has yet to develop any neutral government institutions with any substantive power, check on the executive, or means to enforce human rights violations.[31]
Few areas of citizen interaction with government appear to be free from corruption; no one is immune. Corruption has become such an integral part of life that it is normal and accepted in certain situations.[32] Children routinely pay bribes to their teachers for good grades; without the bribes their grades are poor, regardless of the actual performance of the...
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