Letter: Stop sex tourists
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Sir: Your leader ("Two ways to stop paedophiles who travel for sex", 4 August) leaves out of account a further, and by far the most important, way of stopping the abuse of children through sex tourism. Most are from poor regions, and for them and for their families their part- or full- time prostitution is a major, perhaps the major, source of livelihood. It is economic circumstance which has created the cultural acceptance of this phenomenon - in which, incidentally, perhaps one in a hundred male tourists offered a young prostitute is identifiable as a paedophile.
In both the Philippines and Thailand the cause of labour migration and periurban slums is the unbalanced distribution of employment opportunity, with almost all industry and major commerce located in metropolitan areas. Poverty in the regions is, however, also the result of a lack of agricultural production development and markets, often contributed to by protectionism in the West.
The restriction on imports of the tapioca chips which could replace French beet in pig-feed supply to the EU, and US rice exports through food aid programmes, have for 30 years distorted the world food crop markets. This is to a massive extent to the detriment of Asian domestic small-scale producers and to the growth of industrial and commercial systems which might, over time, displace sex as a saleable commodity.
JOHN PILGRIM
Bath
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments