On Friday night (8th Sept), I went for  talk jointly held by AWARE (Assoc. of Women for Action and Research) and UNIFEM regarding child-sex tourism.  It was entitled "Sex slaves: children forced into prostitution" and covered the reality of Singaporeans (men and women) who go to our neighbouring countries such as Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam, etc. for sex with those underaged. 

The interviews they did were with girls of 14 to 17 but some of these girls have been doing this work since they were 11 or 12.  And such cases do not just involve girls but also boys.  We were also told that most of these kids were either sold by their parents/guardians or tricked into the situation by people they trust.  Once they are in the system, they are not likely to be able to get out without help from outside. 

AWARE and UNIFEM is pushing for "Extraterritorial Legislation Law" to ensure that Singapore can prosecute Singaporeans who go outside of Singapore to commit such acts.  Right now, there is no law to cover such cases and such sex-offenders go scott free in Singapore, unlike in US, UK, Australia and other countries which have laws to cover such situations.  While the challenges of getting the law set-up and even getting evidence for a case are many as presented by Ms. Halijah and Ms. Azmeen of AWARE, there have been examples of successful cases in other countries. 

However, the legal aspect is not the only important part.  Even more important is the awareness of the public so that there is a watchful eye.  In order to do so, the public must be educated and the myths related to such acts debunked.  I truly hope that Singapore will adopt the law and public education could be start on this issue soon.

Sid