The Abolition Of Prostitution In Malaysia
Last year I spent a lot of time working for the charity entitled “The Hope House.” This charitable organizations objective is to educate the children that are born into the brothels. The organization intends to build a place where these children can be provided with training in several artistic areas such as: photography, dance, painting etc- which I intend to teach at when I achieve my degree. There is a documentary on this subject matter “Born Into Brothels”, directed by Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman , which brutally displays what these children endure throughout their childhood. One of the little boys featured in the documentary now attends NYU for photography, which is unheard of by the people in the brothels of Cambodia; Avijit is now one of my closest friends. The involvement I have in this organization sparked my interest to look further into the brothels and examine the different theories of how to essentially stop the red light district.
A brothel can be defined as “a house where men visit prostitutes” ( OED 2. a). A brothel is an institution that enforces the trafficking of women by providing a place where the prostitution can occur. A brothel itself is the actual house where the prostitutes, in most cases, live, and where the prostitutes take their customers(OED 2. a).
Throughout my paper I will thoroughly examine the different areas of social, political and economic factors contributing to the continuation and/or abolition of the red light district and the brothels. The economic factors I will discuss in my paper is based on money, and economic stability, the political factors which include the laws and regulations implemented that influence the sex trade, and the social factors which is the
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demand for prostitution- or the consumers of the sex trade. I will thoroughly depict how the economic factors are essentially the ultimate cause of the brothel industry of these three important key factors, and that if the women in prostitution are given economic stability, the brothels would be essentially eliminated as well.
It is hard to examine only one particular country in relation to the sex trade because it is a global phenomenon. The sex industry as a whole needs to be considered and analyzed if an individual is trying to decipher the underlying contributor to the red light district, but in the sole purpose of examination and to take a closer look at the problems imbedded in the vicious cycle of prostitution, my paper will focus solely on the brothels of Malaysia. My paper will examine factors that enforce prostitution and therefore will identify the ultimate cause, which in turn will illustrate how to eliminate the sex trade.
There are several reasons as to why women enter the prostitution industry, or the brothels. These reasons can range from almost anything and in turn can force a women to result in selling their bodies for money, economic stability. The economic reasons I am referring to in my paper consist of anything concerning money and poverty, social reasons consist of the demand and want for prostitution from the consumers, and the political reasons I am referring to is anything concerning laws for or against prostitution; as discussed above. Throughout this paper it is apparent that the economic factors are the underlying cause of the red light district and will be exploited throughout the history of Malaysia.
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When a woman has sex for money it is dangerous to an individual’s health and considered a criminal offense in most countries (100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies. 2010). It is dangerous especially because of STI`s and long term diseases that not only the women have to live with but the customers themselves. According to Ramachandran and Ngeow (2010) more than three quarters of women, associated with prostitution in brothels, suffer from some type of sexually transmited infection. The only reason a woman would exploit themselves and risk their health is because of their need to survive and provide for themselves (Ngeow 2010). Therefore if there were available jobs that would ensure security, they would certainly never voluntarily enter the sex trade. If these women were economically stable , then they would never enter this health threatening trade, which is apparent in the remainder of my paper. I will first examine ideal causes and factors of prostitution by scholars, and then examine prostitution more closely by exploiting the sex trade in Malaysia. Malaysia is a third world country and this will further prove my point that women do this for the sole purpose of money and survival, because third world countries are not economically stable.
The economic factors that play an important role, primarily in the prostitution industry, is the lack of support and necessities to survive. An individual needs a certain amount of income to provide for their family and when they do not have this income, a woman can sometimes result in surrendering themselves to prostitution. In the article Sexual Trafficking in Women: International Political Economy and the Politics of Sex written by the scholar Andrea Bertone, the idea of economic factors, issues with money
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and debt, being the cause of prostitution is brought to attention. She explores the reasons why women enter the industry, which mainly are caused by lack of money and support for families, as stated above, and how this forces them into the sex trade. Aside from being physically forced into the industry, because some families do force their daughters into it, the only reason and girl or woman, according to Andrea Bertone, would willingly join the industry would be because of survival and economic stability (Bertone 2010). Brothel owners use this against these vulnerable women and tell them that there is a lot of money to be made overseas or in the sex trade, Bertone also states, and they therefore turn away from their families, and move over seas. In most cases, their families never hear from them again. When the brothel owners state that there is a lot of money to be made over seas, and these vulnerable woman leave their families, this illustrates how desperate these women are for economic stability. They will travel “many times in inhumane conditions and in unsafe vessels.”(Bertone 2010) which shows how determined they are to find some type of economic stability. Bertone also states that one of the main reasons “women choose, or are persuaded by others, to leave their country of origin and migrate is economic” (2010). This quotation clearly states that the economic factors are the reason in which women travel across the world for prostitution. These women want economic stability and will do almost anything to achieve that.
Bertone also states that the women that are vulnerable and targeted in the prostitution industry specifically, “ the supply side–the women of the third world, the poor states“ (2010). This also further suggests that the only reason a women enters the
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sex trade is for survival and for some type of security. The poor states and the women with less money that need to resort to the sex trade are the women that enter it. The third world countries do not have enough resources or money to support these women (International labour office. 1998), so they therefore resort to prostitution. Therefore if poverty was eliminated, in places such as Malaysia, the sex trade would go down sufficiently and would slowly head towards abolition. Malaysia is a good example of how to eliminate prostitution and the brothels as it is an unsafe and very risky trade.
The political aspect of the sex trade, the laws and regulations of prostitution, is explored throughout the article Female Sex Work as Deviance by Ronald Weitzer and in Malaysia specifically the article 100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies. In this article 100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies it illustrates the definite laws that Malaysia has against and for prostitution. There is some legalization of prostitution, in Malaysia, but the brothels and “pimps” are illegal. Interestingly enough the sex trade has gone up in Malaysia the past couple years. Even though brothels are illegal there, there are still many regulated institutions. This contradicts with many North Americans beliefs as “the majority of Americans see both prostitution and pornography as immoral; three-quarters believe that we need “stricter laws” to control pornography; and a substantial number want prostitution to remain illegal“ (Weitzer 2007). This North American Theory is proved to be false in the case of Malaysia because as the policies and laws against prostitution increase, the more prostitution occurs. Throughout Malaysia’s history, it is evident that these North American theories do not help the abolition of the
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sex trade. As illustrated in the article 100 Countries and Their Prostitution Policies by implementing laws and regulations it most definitely will not help lower the prostitution rates. In the article Female Sex Work as Deviance Weitzer illustrates also how the more policies that are implemented the more sex work there is, “Over the past three decades some cities and suburbs have indeed banned or restricted massage parlors, strip clubs, and X-rated video stores” (2007). In European and poorer countries, such as Malaysia, the prostitution has had an up rise over the past couple of years (Weitzer 2007). This also illustrates the apparent fact that when policies and regulation on the sex trade are implemented, it just makes prostitution more desirable and valuable. Therefore by implementing policies and influencing the abolition of prostitution through government laws, it does more harm then good, this is clearly not the way in eliminating prostitution and brothel houses.
The social factors, that I am focusing on, of the sex industry are the consumer’s desires. Male desires for sexual wants and needs are not hidden in this trade and can also be considered as a driving factor of prostitution. This is explored throughout Kamala Kempadoo`s Prostitution and Sex Work Studies and The Sex sector: The economic and Social bases of prostitution in Southeast Asia. “Prostitution, it was claimed, would never completely disappear, “since the vicious instincts to which it corresponds are, unfortunately, inborn in the human species” (Kempadoo 2004). Kempadoo illuminates that the sex trade, prostitution, cannot completely disappear unless the want for it disappears, because the want is “inborn in the human species.” It is true that without
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consumers there would not be an industry in the sex trade as the international labour force analyzes that “The sector responds to the changing tastes and sophistication of customers“(International labour office 1998). These two articles ultimately illuminate the idea that the consumers control the sex trade and change it to what they want, and that they are the sole purpose for the changes and uprising of the brothels and prostitution. There is a huge difference between the roles that women play in the sex trade and the role that men play in the sex trade, “Promiscuous” sexual activity was deemed a male right, whereas women were condemned for similar behaviour” (Kempadoo 2004). Men have the overall power in this area, according to Kempadoo, but It is not apparent that it is the most important contributing factor to prostitution, although it is apparent they have some contributing factor to the brothels and sex trade. A man’s desire, according to Kempadoo, is imbedded in nature and cannot be changed. So there will always be men who have unfulfilled sexual desires and have a want and need for this fulfillment, but if this desire will never go away, then this is surely not how to abolish the brothels. This is not the way to solve the problem of prostitution, it is the suppliers that must be focused on, not the consumers, or the social factors. This leads us back to the economic factors, which have proven to be the most influential factor in the prostitution sector. If women had economic stability there would be no need or urge pushing them towards the sex trade, therefore this would lower the prostitution rate.
The brothels and sex trade are clearly linked to political, social and economic factors, but if a woman had a choice to avoid the brothels awful conditions and health
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risks they would. The political aspects of prostitution such as the laws and restrictions that are posed on prostitution, as demonstrates in Malaysia, are proven to not be a sufficient way of eliminated prostitution, the sex trade, and the brothels. Implementing laws works against the initial idea, and although the intentions are positive, there are many negative outcomes. The North American idea of forcing prostitution to stop by forceful laws, as shown in Malaysia would only result in a failure. The social demands of prostitution are high, but if there were not suppliers then essentially there would be no prostitution. To stop sex work from happening, it is hopeless to try and stop the demand, because as Kempadoo stated, it is natural, and is imbedded in our human nature. I do agree with this. Although the social factors are a huge factor on changing the sex trade, these factors cannot be focused upon when trying to eliminate them. It is essentially the supplies that need to be focused on. In conclusion of this paper, the economic reasons are essential in the abolition of prostitution. The reason behind why women enter it in the first place is because of economic needs and survival, even though it is a risk to their health. If these women were supplied with economic stability then the brothels and the sex trade would slowly disappear. Even though the political and social factors are important when considering the overall aspects of prostitution and the brothels, the economic factors are the main components in exterminating prostitution.
