A growing form of exploitation of women today is the sex tourism industry. This has been organized on a large scale and in a systematic way particularly in certain Third World countries. The most blatant examples are found in the Philippines, South Korea and Thailand, where hundreds of thousands of women are economically and sexually exploited by the tourist industries of their own countries and of the industrialized countries of the world.
Tourism is an increasingly important source of income and foreign currency for many Third World countries. In some cases it has become the third or fourth largest source of foreign income. An incentive for tourism is the availability of women in these countries either explicitly as prostitutes or disguised as hospitality girls, massage and bath attendants, performers in sex shows, hostesses and waitresses in clubs and cocktail lounges. Closely related to the sex tourism industry is the "rest and recreation" business which has grown up around the United States military bases in Asia. The exploitation of women in Saigon during the Vietnam war has been well-documented. This continues to flourish today around the US military bases in South Korea and especially in the Philippines around the US Naval Base at Subic Bay.
The vast majority of the women employed in the sex tourism and rest and recreation industries are both sexually and economically exploited. Most of them enter this type of employment out of necessity . the economic, political and social conditions of their countries leave them with almost no education or employment possibilities, and they need money. This situation is compounded by the deep-rooted patriarchal attitude to sexuality in many countries where women are considered either "virgin or whore". If women have been victims of rape or incest, or have been seduced and then left by boyfriends or employers — as many of them are — they are considered "tainted". They have little choice but to become prostitutes.
Hardly any of the money generated by sex tourism ends up in the hands of the women themselves. Most of it goes to tourist agencies, hotels, club owners, tour operators, pimps and others organizing the business. The tourist agencies and airlines in industrialized countries reap huge profits. Perhaps worst of all, because it is seen as an important source of foreign income, sex tourism is often condoned or out rightly encouraged by some governments and officials who exhort their women to prostitution as a form of great patriotism.
The existence of the sex tourism industry is largely ignored by the establishment mass media. Little is known about this business either in the countries where it is taking place or in the industrialized countries which supply most of the male tourists through their own tourist agencies. , We feel that it is a very important issue for the international women's movement and that much more should be known about it. In gathering the material for this Bulletin, we found that much of the research so far has been done by men. Most of this research contains good analyses of the underlying economic and historical causes of the development of the sex tourism industry, including the economic causes of the exploitation of women. Some research also touches on the prevalent sexual violence against women (rape, coercion, abandonment) which forces them into employment where they are yet further exploited. However, there is a great need for feminist analysis on all these aspects.
The issue of prostitution as a whole is one which the women's movement has finally begun to analyze. We therefore thought it important to include articles which indicate the direction of feminist thinking on this. The authors of the two articles here point out how all women are affected by the victimization of prostitutes and how prostitution is used to divide and control women.
Finally, we would like to stress the need for international solidarity among women against the sex tourism and rest and recreation industries. Many women's groups in Japan have already responded to appeals by their sisters in South Korea and have organized information campaigns (slide shows, speaking engagements, publications) and actions against the Japanese tourist agencies involved, including demonstrations at airports. Most of the clients and many of the tourist agencies .1,. are based in Japan, Europe and, in the case of the rest and recreation industry, in the USA. There is a great need for further research to be done on the operations in these countries, and for publicity on the existence of sex tourism.
It will become clear from the articles, however, that there are no simple solutions to the situation of women in these industries. Until now, the women involved have had very little, if any, opportunity to take action themselves. However, international publicity and pressure on the tourist agencies, airlines and others involved may have some effect in curbing a few of the worst abuses of women, and help contribute to a supportive network for the women who are trying to organize against exploitation.
November 1979
Jane Cottingham
Marilee Karl