I will never forget the day I saw a grown man publicly groping and sloppily tongue kissing a young girl. She sat atop his lap as he and his friends consumed rounds of drinks and happily made sexual advances. I was researching climate change in villages neighboring Arusha, Tanzania. My roommates and I decided to have a night of fun by going to a dance club in the heart of Arusha. This was the first time I witnessed what residents of the area referred to as growing problem.
The Tanzanian Daily News recently reported that sex trafficking is getting worse in Tanzania stating, “Human traffickers exploit aggravating conditions of people of Third World countries where there are no employment opportunities and economical inequity, social discrimination, political instability and human rights abuses are widespread by promising a better life.”
Reporters, dignitaries, ambassadors and countless employees from around the world often come to Arusha because the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda is located there. While away from home, many American and European men take the opportunity to use their “first world” status to buy young girls, who are often sold into sex slavery or forced into it due to a severe economic pressures. These “professional” men do things they could never get away with in their home countries. They often contribute to the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. This is called Sex Tourism.
I witnessed something similar in the Dominican Republic. A friend and I were on a beach when an old European man, wearing a speedo, was splashing around in the water with a young Dominican girl. He appeared to be in his late 60s and the girl looked no older than 16 years old. They walked hand in hand. Then he directed her to go out in the water and pose. He took out his camera and started taking erotic photos of her body. The man soon glanced in my direction and tried to take photos of me. My friend turned to cover me until we were out of his sight. In tourist locations of the developing world, the sexual exploitation of women and young girls is often open and pervasive.
The Dominican Republic started taking steps towards preventing sex trafficking in 2013. These steps include charges against anyone that forces someone into sex trafficking and 10-15 year sentences for people that “use the services of prostitutes.”
In 2004, the New York Times reported that the U.S. started pursuing Americans that committed sexual offenses in other countries. At that time, 25% of all sex tourists were reportedly from the United States. However, in Cambodia and Costa Rica, the percentage widens to “38% and 80%”.
The story of American billionaire Larry Hillblom sheds further light on how exploitative drivers of the sex tourism world can be. Reporter Bryan Burrough referred to Hillblom as a “glorified sex tourist.” Due to Hillblom’s extreme wealth, he was able to special request virgin “pubescent” farm girls from South East-Asia. Upon his death, four Asian children from 3 different countries were identified as his descendants. Yet, the total count of girls he impregnated is still unknown.
For many of us, vacations are the best time of our lives. As Jamaica Kincaid highlights, we often leave our dreary offices to enjoy the sunshine and pillage the wonders of the developing world. We smile in every photo and buy hoards of souvenirs. Meanwhile predators openly flaunt their indiscretions, using their “first world” privileges to commit some of the most egregious crimes against humanity. For millions of young girls and boys, this is what really happens on vacation.
Jessica Ann Mitchell is the founder of OurLegaci.com & BlackBloggersConnect.com. To reach JAM, email her at OurLegaci@gmail.com.
Follow OurLegaci on Facebook at Facebook.com/OurLegaci.
Our Legaci with J.A.M. Aiwuyor 
That’s horrible! I hope each and every one of those men goes to prison. I know it’s a long shot but this has got to end. Some of those same people will go home to wives and daughters and act like saints. wow.
Thankfully many organizations are pushing governments to take action.
this happens all over the diaspora unfortunately and is not new or news I wish it was. being able to read and share may just open up folks eyes to many of the injustices around the globe. where you can support to keep a child young women women in school and education or encourage to be an entrepreneur . we must do our part. bless for the post and reminder.
Such a sad fact. I witnessed something similar but it was older males with young male boys. Sickens and Saddens me.
Yes, it happens to young boys too.
Just curios but what is the percentage of black exploiters as oppose to white?
see this link. this is typical of black American men that travel to the DR: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/tsa-supervisor-busted-sex-underage-girls-dominican-republic-officials-article-1.1786724
Such gross behavior. And by gross I mean dehumanizing, disgusting, and reprehensible. This behavior needs to be gone from the earth.
This is so unbelievably sad. I read a story recently about a “mother” that actually sold her daughter into sexual slavery for the money. She said, “What else could I do?” #Speechless
Unfortunately, sometimes parents even sell their own children into the sex trade. Other times, parents are lied to and told that their child is going to do domestic work, meanwhile their sold into sex slavery.
Similar situations happen in Nepal, but families were selling their children with false promises of being given good educations when in all honesty they were being housed in orphanages and the young children were told they were there because they had no families. Although I only read up on a small percentage of children who were “safe” in the care of local and international volunteers, it’s not to say that this [sex slavery] doesn’t wind up becoming the doomed life for a lot of Nepalese children, and the parents are none the wiser.
– Krys
It’s a choice between two evils. I know plenty of stories of mothers and fathers that have sold their children into sexual slavery. Some of them don’t do it out of spite or lack of care for their children. Lots of times, the parents cannot protect their children from the violence and/or poverty in the country, and being sold into the sex trade gives the child a place to stay and at least ensures the child will be able to eat. It’s not easy to choose that kind of life for your child, but it’s also not easy to provide and protect your family in some places.
No, of course, I realize the circumstantial issues that causes a parent to give them children up. It’s just a sad, sad situation, and it’s too bad that the number of people trying to make things better is so few.
Reblogged this on The RadiantMedina and the Author of Sheep.
Thank you for this post. This is truly disheartening to read but, at the same time, I realize behavior such as this is probably longstanding. So glad that you were not alone when you witnessed this.
Reblogged this on Relationships Do Matter and commented:
A growing epidemic, do something…anything no matter how small.
#safety #sanity #santity
I am currently teaching in Thailand and have seen this also!! I notice a lot of western men with young women but they don’t look like teenagers ( at least I haven’t seen anyone that looks that young). As soon as the Thai girls see a Western man, they see dollar signs!!! They get these men to marry them, have their babies, possible open a business in their name (as a foreigner you can not own property in Thailand) and they are set for life!! Oh yeah, you have to pay the woman’s family a dowry. It is very interesting to say the least!!!
This is very prevalent in most parts of Thailand. Young boys are preyed upon as well as girls. It was so said to see. Because of these behaviors, the AIDS epidemic is on the rise.
A man receives dowries and blowjobs, he never gives them. You’re referring to a bride price.
Does this realy matter
If it didn’t would you be here commenting?
No of course not…not until it happens to your daughter, son, niece, nephew, brother, sister,etc. Your attitude is disgusting.
I disagree because in the islands at the age of 16 u are an adult!!! America is 18 years to be an adult the Caribbean is 16!! Research that
I honestly hope you’re joking. You’re the one that needs to do some research. What does “legal” age have to do with this? It simply amazes me how people find a way to legitimize the mass objectification and sexual abuse of women of color.
Totally agree with u
I don’t agree with this type of behavior and having traveled in many of the countries that mentioned and I’ve seen this sickness. I don’t see an effective way to tackle the problem within those countries….Unfortunately, by attempting to force our norms and unwanted belief system does nothing but make things worse. Basically, it causes resentment, and disdain for Americans and sometimes it makes it dangerous for us to travel in those countries. The people tolerate Americans because of our money and that’s where the toleration ends. America doesn’t have the credibility to make changes in these countries. The people in many of these countries already believe we look down on their religion and social practices. I believe the only real course of action is to be a model of protection for our children. Remember at one time the rest of the world modeled their behavior after us. It changed when we started forcing our beliefs on them.
I don’t believe this is a problem exclusive to women of color, and it’s not just women. The same thing happens in Eastern Europe. Choose any developing country and its the same. This is a case of exploiting poverty and these people are predators who knows how to prey on people who are vulnerable. This is destroying the societies of developing countries everywhere, and for those here, who don’t think its their problem, just look at how much tax funded ‘aid’ are sent to these nations. So we are in fact paying for it. Governments in developed countries should be playing a larger role in stopping this.
As JT mentions, it happens in Eastern Europe too. I was in Latvia in 94 when it had recently broken free from the Soviet Union, and then in 2005, and by that time cheap flights for the UK had turned it into a sex tourism destination. However, just given world economics it happens more to girls and women of color.
not true. I live in the caribbean and where i live, its 18 as well hun. do your research. maybe some crazy parts, but deffinately not all hun. check again… 😉
I am from the Caribbean and 18 is the legal age not 16
The point of the article went way over your head.
People like you are part of the problem.
What’s even more disheartening is the growing number of the local population who turn a blind eye and/or contributing to pandemic situation by offering up young kids to these vile men. In all my travels abroad I’ve seen much more white men than any other doing this but yet they are still considered the #1 choice as a mate….unbelievable!
Thank God I never witnessed anything like this. When I had a job that paid well I began to travel internationally and have been to 32 countries to date, 10 of them in the third world. I don’t know what I would have done if I had seen anything like this; the obvious economic exploitation was bad enough. I was shocked to see that in the African and Caribbean countries that I visited it’s rare to find black-owned businesses. Asians and/or whites dominated the economies.
eww, sorry for hear it
About 20 years ago a friend of mine told me about how her male Caribbean cousins were involved in sex tourism. White European and American women would come down regularly to shower the men with money & gifts in exchange for sex. “First world status”…it’s not just for men.
JAM – I am native american and I am going to send you an email.
Grass on the field, Play ball!!!
Reblogged this on Flock Blog and commented:
At Flock, we long for the day when this sort of thing doesn’t happen anymore.
I can’t help but feel this article was not created to help the locals. Where the fuck are the parents, anyways? Oh that’s right, they are not required to be responsible, its all the white mans fault. This is an article created out of hatred for White men and America and Europe. This has nothing to do with anything else. As a white male I’m disgusted by this, but also, as a good person I feel like I cannot be an individual on the planet because so many ignorant people are collective racists. That is the goal of this writer, to keep the race war going.
D King,
The purpose of this article is to shed light on a very important issue that has been documented by organizations and governments for years. However, a lot of work still needs to be done and it can’t be accomplished if people are unaware. Shedding light on sex tourism and trafficking has nothing to do with hatred and everything to do with love. Hopefully, one day you’ll understand that.
Isn’t it interesting that you have no replies (that I saw) from the men who use this “service?” Could it be that they are ashamed? If it is such a little thing to them, why are they hiding? I know of a man who “vacationed” in Thailand and he has no remorse, but I don’t think his new girlfriend knows about this.
Given his perverse whining, King is probably one of the perpetrators. His argument is shallow and makes absolutely no sense. The hater is D King. (His fake name is a dead give away that he has an ego problem.) He’s just another troll trying to disrupt the excellence information that you conveyed Ms. Mitchell. Pay people like him no mind at all. Write on, my sister. Write on!
Simply disgusting. Thank you for bringing this saddening issue to light.
Thanks for posting this. Unfortunately this is not only a (n) man, young girl problem. There are many European grown and some old women who travel to Tanzania, and Kenya just for sex. It is a huge problem especially in Zanzibar and Mombasa.
Muscle man is gonna save these poor girls, because while he had the money to travel the world and party, because he is black, he is not apart of this problem, of white and Asian owned businesses and sexual exploration of young girls. Its good to be rich, but not white and rich. its good to be all powerful and sexually promiscuous, but only if your black. You guys are so insanely racist its ridiculous and disgusting.
King please get a grip and see the big picture and not just what you want to see. She is telling you what she witnessed and it just happened to not be a black man. She didn’t exclude no one of any race she is telling you about sex tourism. See the story and not the color of the skin
It seems to me that your the one who is racist here and pompous to boot. Your sense of hierarchy and narcissism is uncanny, this article is about young girls, I did not see as racial, but I did read about exploitation of children. It seems your hung up on the color of the writer and not the humanitarian issues, maybe your one of these men who pay to have sex with children and your grasping at ways to throw mud on children who deserve protection. Get your head of your ass. Your focus is all about protecting white people, as if white people need D King to rescue them from oppression.
The photo heading this thread is very disgusting. But then I noticed that the credit for this photo says “iStockPhoto.” So this is a stock photo and it’s not tied to the story or the author’s observations.
This is so sad, thank you for letting more people know that this happens. It seems that wherever young people can be exploited they will be… when I was 13 and on holiday with my family, the children’s Water Sports Instructor told my parents he was taking me on a snorkelling trip with other tourists to a nearby small island. My parents let me go, he took me to the speed boat telling me that we would pick up the other people on the way. After setting off, his demeanour changed and he tried to get me to drink beer with him. He took me to the island alone despite me questioning him where the others were. I couldn’t get away as the island was surrounded by water as far as the eye could see so I didn’t even know which way to swim. He took me ashore and sexually assaulted me. After he had finished he told me to keep it a secret and asked if he could have my bracelet to remember me by. That night my Mum woke up to find me sitting on the balcony distressed, she asked me if something had happened with the instructor, I told her yes but couldn’t get the words out to fully explain exactly what happened but told her he’d taken off my swimming costume. The next day my parents told the hotel manager who had the water sports instructor moved to a different hotel for the duration of the remainder of our holiday. That was it, no police were called, no charges were pressed and he could be doing this to hundreds of other children, he didn’t even lose his job. My parents never spoke about it again, I still feel angry with them when I think about it. I’m sorry if this is going off topic but whilst being in certain countries as a young girl I noticed many adult local men preying on me and my little sister very openly. I do not want to name the location as I don’t want to reinforce any negative stereotypes. This may seem to be unrelated to the blog but my point is that many people know sexual abuse has happened or is happening, even to people they love and care about but they don’t do anything about it, they prefer to pretend it doesn’t exist. In countries suffering from poverty this then breeds so many additional problems but when it comes down to it, when certain kinds of men want to abuse children, they will do. The men doing these disgusting things to these children in these countries are probably also abusing kids back home, the difference is that in certain places they can be so much more open and brazen about it. Unfortunately eliminating poverty doesn’t eliminate sexual abuse, it may help but I even know kids who went to expensive boarding schools who were abused by staff members. Sorry if it seems as though I’m trying to get away from the topic, this blog just brought back certain memories for me which I’ve never felt able to write about before. I wish adults would do more to protect the children of this world 😥
I totally feel your pain from what you’ve written. The fact that you’re saying adult should do more to protect children. This statement makes me ask two questions:
1. Are you still a child?
2. If you aren’t, what are you doing to help support the cause to abolish the situation?
I realize this could come off as crude, but I know if I was in your shoes, difficult as it may seem, I’d try to find a way to be a part of the solution. Granted your first step was coming out in the open and telling your story *props*, but have you done anything else?
The world is a cruel place and stories like this one will never cease, until more people who have suffered, and more people who are disgusted enough to want to see a big change, all step up to the plate, work together, and either start the fight, continue the fight, or join the fight.
Hi, no I am not a child anymore and not that I feel I have to explain what I am doing but I agree that *everyone* should be part of the solution [but not just people who have experienced abuse] so I will share some of the things I do in the hope that it may spread some awareness on some important issues:
I believe firstly that shedding light on, speaking about and educating people about the amount of abuse happening to children and vulnerable people everywhere, is so important. Articles like this one shed light on issues, provoke debate and make people think. It may be a small thing but I campaign on issues surrounding abuse by sharing campaigns on social media, speaking to my friends and peers, signing petitions and generally spreading the word. Here are two recent campaigns I have been trying to get the word out about, please sign the petitions if possible:
Stop Webcam Child Tourism: http://www.youtube.com/sweetie
Petition: https://secure.avaaz.org/en/wcst/?axqOcab
Petition the Home Secretary to Stop Child Trafficking in the UK:
http://e-activist.com/ea-action/action?ea.client.id=1786&ea.campaign.id=24362&forwarded=true
I also volunteer for an amazing grassroots organisation here in London called Restless Beings whose proceeds go 100% to help the people they are working with, all of the people working for Restless Beings have full-time jobs so no money is spent on wages etc., everything goes to the people who need it. They have built an orphanage in Bangladesh for Street Children living on top of a railway station who are very prone to sexual abuse from an extremely young age. Recently they helped a girl who was working as a child prostitute and became pregnant at the age of 11 😥 you can find out more about the amazing work they do here: http://www.restlessbeings.org
Lastly, as part of my job working with children I have been trained in Child Protection issues, enabling me to better recognise the tell-tale signs children display when they are suffering from abuse. This training is something that I think everyone who can should have. It shows you how to help a child, what to do if you find out a child is being or has been abused and how to get the information from them without directly asking them certain questions which can stop cases going to court. If everyone was more able to recognise abuse this would go such a long way as so often it is a father, an uncle or a family friend.
These are some of the things I do but I don’t know if it has anything to do with the experience I had when I was 13. I have had other things happen to me as most women have but this doesn’t stop the cycle. Everyone should protect the children around them, unfortunately it seems that most do not and that goes for rich as well as poor countries. Children often suffer in silence for a very long time and people like the men depicted in this blog get what they want.
It’s horrible to witness people exploit children. It’s heart breaking to know millions of young girls and boys, this is what really happens on vacation. The move “Taken” is a good example on the dark world of sex tourism.
I am writing from Phnom Penh, in Cambodia – overrun by middle aged men on the lookout (and often seen on the street with) young Cambodian women. I have seen the same in every third world country I have visited. When the rich and powerful meet the poor and powerless, the poor get screwed! Mind you, it is not just young women who are used as sex toys. In Kenya I stayed at a place by the name of Diana Beach and happened to be in a hotel that catered to the needs if middle aged European women – gorgeous, young and athletic men kissing and cuddling them in the swimming pool and on the beach as though they thought these women were the most beautiful creatures they had ever met! For as long as there is such a huge discrepancy between what we global aristocrats earn (I am Australian) and what people in third world countries earn the poor will continue to get screwed – laws or no laws. There are many ways of screwing poor people. If any reader is interested in yet another form of exploitation that takes place in Cambodia, go to: http://jamesricketson.blogspot.com.au/2014/01/some-statistics-to-bear-in-mind-when.html
Reading this article, there are so many things wrong with what was written. There’s a big difference between ‘child’ sex work and ‘legal adult’ sex work, a distinction you don’t make clear in your article. Another clear distinction you make no reference of is cultural differences and how sex is viewed. For example, a massage in Thailand may have a ‘happy ending,’ which is viewed as illegal sex work in the United States.
You also mention examples that are nothing more than presumptions and opinions. The ‘old man’ with the ‘young girl’ who was snapping photos? Do you have any evidence that this was an example of sexual exploitation? Or are you just assuming that because he was old and she was young? A bit premature in my opinion, no pun intended.
Even the ‘stats’ you use are shoddy and inaccurate. You boast that ‘25% of all sex tourists were reportedly from the United States.’ Well in reading this particular New York Times article, it is in fact talking specifically about child sex work and the abuses from pedophiles.
Finally, the spirit of this article (also championed by some of your comments) is about the ‘white’ man abusing their ‘privileged’ status and ‘exploiting’ the colored women. Does this never happen in any other way? Do colored women ever exploit white men? Do colored men ever exploit colored women? Reading your article, the answer is no. Luckily my common sense and education has showed me that abuse and exploitation happens in a lot more circumstances than you’ve shown here. It’s tragic that you paint a picture that isn’t totally true and fully encompassing a pandemic as a whole.
Interesting article .@ Francesco D it does,…African American men, all over Brazil, trying to get some young boys! the dumber and uneducated the better! and they travel in packs,.. most in their 50’s and 60’s,..single, and looking for love!
African American women,..in Accra ,Ghana the same story! so its not just Caucasian men,.. preying on “exotic fruit”!
initially I felt uncomfortable with seeing it, with travelling and time I have realised in many countries an older man that is single is an attractive prospect!
Francesco D, using Cambodia as an example: Yes, it is legal for women over the age of 18 to have sex with men of 60 if they so choose. However, the choice is not a real one if the alternative is not to eat, to haver no home and not to be able to help support your family in the provinces. If you read my blog piece you would discover that having sex with older non-Cambodian men is often a viable alternative for an over-18 woman who cannot survive on $80 a month making the cheap clothes that you and I can buy in the US, Australia or wherever it is you hail from. And whilst it would be unwise to immediately jump to a conclusion when one sees a 60 year old man with his tongue down the throat of a woman barely out of her teens, when one sees a variation on this theme many times (many many times) I do not think it unreasonable to presume that the majority of these older men are able to act as they do because they have money and the young woman doesn’t. The same applies to what I saw in Kenya. Yes, perhaps one 20 year old man kissing and cuddling a 55 year old woman in the swimming pool may be an image of true love but when you see the same thing time and time again only a blind person could fail to leap to certain conclusions – especially wen, just down at the road, there is a nightclub filled with teenage and early 20s girls and European men in their 50s and 60s. When it comes to exploitation (be it sexual or otherwise) it is the rich and powerful always who have the upper hand and who do the exploiting – regardless of race.
Am sure this is caused by poverty, cos no right thinking girl will mingle with old men who end up ditching them for their wives and kids.
This happens daily in Nigeria. But I do ask folks to look at it from the point o view of some these women before we rush to judgement. Economic and employment opportunities in this part of the world are not great. And if you don’t come from a strong family or support system that can afford to educate you, then your likelihood of making it is very slim. So what most women do as a quick fix is marry men who have money or have the potential to make money. Their preference is to marry men from their homeland, but what now happens when men from their homeland do not want to marry them? I remember having this conversation with a young lady who was into this business and asking her why she felt the need to engage these men old enough to be her grandfather, her response was “Would a guy like you ever marry a girl like me”? I was too ashamed to answer. Those are the realities these women face. So we need to think deep about ensuring enabling environments for every person to prosper more so than outlawing these practices, because as long as poverty exists, the worlds oldest profession will be right there as an option.
Nwaji, I appreciate your comment. I agree with you that we have to think about the environments that enable the situtation you spoke of. We have to focus on alleviating poverty and providing access to upward mobility. However, I must point out that this article does not focus on whether or not prostitution should be legal. It’s primarily about ending sex trafficking (which preys on the young and poor) and child abuse which should always be illegal.
What many Americans don’t realize is this sex trade industry can be used to explain the growing number of missing children in the states. Cleveland wasn’t an isolated incident.
Well what about the older women who go to Jamaica for the young hot Jamaican men, happens everywhere and its not right but it is called survival in most countries.
I have witnessed “sexual exploitation vacation” many times and I felt repulsed by these white males (dominantly) reaching for the young and innocent. Unfortunately the girls I saw were often “offered” by their own…I witnessed it in Kenya where young males had open doors in resorts to accompany younger sisters or wives in order to please mainly German tourists… I witnessed it in South Africa where young girls are put on road sides by their own mothers…but guess what? I have witnessed many older European and American ladies profiteering of young males in Northern African countries as well…this is the old story of who is actually willing (and/or unwilling) to do the “abject thing” first: the tourists to please their sexual preferences or the locals to substantiate a meager life?
..
These kinds of deeply unfair exchanges – sex for money – will continue for as long as three remains such a huge disparity between the rich and the poor and for as long as the rich can afford to fly to third world countries
Reblogged this on See Me and commented:
disturbing…
Someone needs to do a story on a small town in the DR called Sosua. You get there by flying into POP or STI. The town is literally all black males from the USA that travel to the DR for prostitutes. Many of these guys are married and lie to their wives about taking a golfing or fishing trip but spend most of the time having sex with cheap prostitutes while there. It used to be old guys, but increasingly you see young (20s-30s) black males going to Sosua for prostitutes also. If your man spends any amount of time in the DR without you, there is a 90% chance he will hook up with a prostitute while there.
I forgot to add that many of the prostitutes that “work” in Sosua are underaged Dominican and Haitian girls.
It is true. It is full of black american men mostly, being dominican it is well know that they go there for the cheap light skinned girls. They can’t afford brazil so the new york guys goes Sosua and boca chica. It is funny they think acctually that dominican girls like them. Also many of them end up in jail because they do not speak any spanish and acts like they still in america.
You could say that this matter begins with the young women themselves and the value their communities place on them. If these young women are adequately educated to recognize these advances from tourists for what they represent: sexual assault of a minor, then they will likely take the necessary steps to discourage, even avoid these men. Then, one must do everything possible to provide opportunities for these young women to find validation and economic opportunity within their own communities, so that prostitution doesn’t look like an attractive “opportunity”. If one fails to do that, it can be argued that the failure contributes directly to their victimization. Are these young ladies valued, or are they expendable?
Very often, prostitution (by whatever name you wish to call it) is the ONLY opportunity in 3rd world countries if a girl or woman needs to feed herself, her siblings and help support her family.
hi. i think there may be a typo — Jamaica kinkaid (not jamaican). thx for shedding light. shameful and important.
I smart a bit when I read the Dominican Republic being singled out like this. I am Dominican and I know from all of the articles and videos and blogs that I have read – that this happens EVERYWHERE. Here in the U.S. – girls are sold during sporting events. HERE in the U.S. it happens. It happens anywhere there is a pimp and a John. I get this way when people talk about world hunger. There is hunger HERE in the U.S. There are children starving *right here*. There are those that are happy pointing fingers out to the “others”, “third world countries” so they don’t have to face what goes on in our own country. I like what Ellen said.
MariaCardova,
perhaps you missed the point of the article. This isn’t about finger pointing or about blaming the girls. In fact, its about protecting them, especially from predators that take advantage of poverty. As I pointed out, many of the people that enable sex trafficking come from the United States and from different parts of Europe. Yes, this also happens in the United States, but if these sex tourists do the same things in their own country, they are more likely to go to prison than if they do it in DR or Tanzania.
Someone mentioned in this comment section that they could not understand how white men just turn outside of they “race” to do their “dirty deeds” . The fact is, Europenis (formerly Europeans) have been doing this same action the entire time we were brought by force to this country. When we were by law, doomed as slaves, they would take our mothers, wives and children and exploit them to uncanny sexual compromises. Sometimes in front of their husbands and children. These acts do not surprise me, nor does he laws that allow them to get away with such acts of violation. But I share with you my truth. It would amaze me to live there and have this happening in my own backyard, I would be the first to die for what I believe in. Why aren’t there reports of the men who are stepping up and out for what they believe in and kicking some ass of those who are committing these cries of crime? I am sure those that know can read between the lines. For if I was from there, and made this country my home; I would be the first to DIE for what I know is truth!!
White guys are the ones that often get singled out, but Afro-American males are increasingly engaging in sexual tourism as well. Brazil and the Dominican Republic are two of the most popular places for African American men to travel for prostitution and casual sexual encounters. More recently, the Dominican Republic has become the prefered destination because of its close proximity, amount of women in poverty and relatively inexpensive costs in comparison to other places. All one has to do is search youtube to see the videos being made by these travelers.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/nyc-crime/tsa-supervisor-busted-sex-underage-girls-dominican-republic-officials-article-1.1786724
Thanks for that link!
the only thing this article is missing is a link to your SJW tumblr and you telling someone to “check their privilege.”
Everything in this article is so true and so sad. I had actually never been confronted with this problem (besides movies) until I went to Jamaica for the first time in 2012. A HUGE problem is the exploitation of young people, I was disgusted by older, usually white women, acting on their fetishes with many men, acting in ways I wish I could never see again. It was disturbing to say the least. Thank you for this article to raise awareness of the commodification and dehumanization of poor bodies of color around the world.
I noticed that multiple times posters have mentioned the many women who take part in the same activities. Many women black white and any other races are “getting their groove back” by exploiting poor boys in many African countries, Jamaica , the Dominican Republic, and all over the Caribbean actually. The author seems to skip over all these posts as if they don’t exist. This is a typical situation of pointing the finger when at men when women (once again BLACK WOMEN TOO)participate in the same activities. If it’s wrong it’s wrong across the board. I’m sick of people bashing men for sex tourism and when Stella gets a movie and everyone finds it cute. Absolutely ridiculous.
Could people video/live stream these pedophiles to shed a light on them? Especially in their home countries where they probably live “civilized/normal” lives and people around them have no idea that they are pedophiles.