Underage Girls in Nana Plaza

Published 2007-10-13

At the request of the author, this article about underage prostitution has been removed. We have to respect his wishes and his genuine fears of reprisal.

Note From The Editor

After much soul searching, I have decided to edit this article heavily and remove the name of the bar in question. The reasons for this are many. Firstly, this website does not have the backup of a major news organisation. Secondly, we do not have the backup of the local police. Finally, this is an independent operation with a handful of unpaid staff who do not wish to become the target of vendetta or revenge. Note that certain bar owners can be very nasty people and we wish to continue visiting and enjoying everything Bangkok has to offer, without fear of reprisal.

It's worth noting at this point that it is our firm belief that the vast majority of Farang bars in Thailand are operating completely legally.

It has long been the policy of this website to defend Thailand in the face of unfair press around the World, noting the many parachute journalists who write about Thailand's apparently notorious nightlife, when in fact they have little, if any real knowledge about the country and we consider most perceptions about Thailand to be urban myths or simply false... With this in mind, you can imagine our dismay and annoyance when we uncovered this story about Nana Plaza (and confirmed it to be true).

Western media are always salivating for stories like this and it does Thailand no credit whatsoever. How can Thailand friendly websites like this one, defend the nightlife when our own members are reporting cases like this? Most expats are good folk who have married locally and/or work in Thailand... yet they often endure disapproving looks from other Westerners when walking with their young daughter, who is mistaken for a child prostitute by stupid tourists... all thanks to foreign media and and a handful of well publicised stories, such as the John Mark Karr case.

In truth, there are far more serious issues of child prostitution along the borders of the old Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe, yet you hear little about this. Why are countries like Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and The Philippines singled out for scrutiny? I guess mass tourism is a big part of the equation.

HIV is also a major issue. What tourists and most media fail to realise is that it was Western tax payer's money that helped to trigger the AIDS epidemic in the region. For example, the early 90's saw an influx of UN peacekeeping soldiers to Cambodia from all over the World, their pockets full of your tax money... which they duly spent on the readily available prostitutes, infecting them with HIV and contributing to the already serious problem and many of them went on to work in Thailand. The HIV advice and education amongst sex workers in Thailand has lost momentum again recently and many are not protecting themselves, as highlighted in the above story. Stories about sex and HIV sell... and giving food for the journalists will only make them come back for more and more, just like a feral cat at your doorstep. The moral crusaders and consumers in the West don't know or don't care who is to blame.

The age of consent is a hotly debated topic amongst expats. It's true to say that locally (especially in rural locations) girls often marry very young and like many Southeast Asian cultures, this is an accepted part of their society and one which we should not necessarily criticise as foreigners. However, that does not excuse foreigners from taking advantage of this fact, or engaging in sexual encounters with minors... and for sure, no underage girls should be involved in prostitution.

You should be aware that if you are unlucky enough to be caught with a very young girl, even if you genuinely believed her to be 18+, you are in very serious trouble and no one will be able to help you. You will either be spending serious time behind bars, or paying huge sums of money to get yourself out of trouble.

As this article reveals... I'm sad to say, there really are 15 year old girls willingly engaging in prostitution in the farang bars of Nana Plaza and lying about their age. You have been warned.