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Factbook on Global Sexual
Exploitation
Burma/Myanmar
Trafficking
There have been 200,000 Burmese women trafficked
to Karachi, Pakistan. (Indrani Sinha, SANLAAP India, "Paper on Globalization and
Human Rights")
The number of Burmese women and girls travelling to Thailand through Mae Sai to enter
the sex industry is increasing. 60% of them are under 18 years of age. (Aphaluck
Bhatiasevi, "Influx of Burmese sex workers via Mae Sai on the rise," Bangkok
Post, 2 June 1997)
The military and political situations in Burma, has led to an increase in migration,
which has made women extremely vulnerable to trafficking for prostitution. (Indrani Sinha,
executive director, "Paper on Globalization and Human Rights," SANLAAP)
Girls from Burma, aged 12-18, are in more demand for the sex industry in Thailand since
traffickers are luring fewer girls from Northern Thailand. (Wanchai Boonphacra, Centre for
the Protection of Children's Rights, "More foreign workers join sex industry as fewer
Thai girls enter flesh trade," Poona Antaseeda, Bangkok Post, 24 November
1997)
Burmese girls trafficked to Thailand come from Chiang Tung, Ta Khi Lek, opposite Mae
Sai, and Yong and come from minority groups such as the Tai Yai and Mon. (Poona Antaseeda
"More foreign workers join sex industry as fewer Thai girls enter flesh trade" Bangkok
Post, 24 November 1997)
Traffickers are increasingly transporting Burmese and Chinese girls for prostitution,
partially due to a decrease in the availability of northern Thai girls. "Their
pleasant character, white skin and beauty were similar to northern girls." (Prof
Kusol Sunthorntada, Researcher, Institute for Population and Social Research, Mahidol
University, ("More foreign workers join sex industry as fewer Thai girls enter flesh
trade," Poona Antaseeda. Bangkok Post, 24 November 1997)
Methods
and Techniques of Traffickers
Deceptive job placements, abduction by agents and the sale of girls from hill tribes
are all forms of trafficking. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and
Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)
The 'green rice season', when farmers are short of money, is the prime season for
‘girl hunting’ in the rural and hill tribes. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking
in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)
Health
and Well-Being
Fifty to seventy percent of Burmese women who are deported from Thailand are HIV
positive. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)
Policy and Law
Trafficked Burmese women and girls are considered illegal immigrants in Thailand. They
are arrested, detained and deported back to Burma. Fifty to seventy percent of them are
HIV positive. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia
Pacific)
Prostitution
Since Burma’s turn to a market economy in
1988, prostitution has increased. Some blame the promotion and growth of tourism.
("Myanmar tightens laws against prostitution," Reuters, 7 April 1998)
20,000-30,000 Burmese women are in prostitution in Thailand.
(CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)
Policy and Law
The military government has tightened laws to curb the growing prostitution trade. The
ruling State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) amended the Suppression of Prostitution
Act, 1949, and raised the jail term for those convicted of the offence to a maximum of
five years. Previously, the prison term was "not less than one year and not more than
three years." The term brothel was redefined to include any house, building, room,
any kind of vehicle/vessel/ aircraft or place habitually used for the purpose of
prostitution or used with reference to any kind of business for the purpose of
prostitution. ("Myanmar tightens laws against prostitution," Reuters, 7
April 1998)
Official Corruption and
Collaboration
Repatriated prostituted Burmese women found to be HIV infected were killed by
authorities. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women and Prostitution in the Asia
Pacific)
Organized and Institutionalized Sexual
Exploitation and Violence:
Burmese women are being used as "comfort women" by troops of
the State Law and Order Restoration Council. (CATW - Asia Pacific, Trafficking in Women
and Prostitution in the Asia Pacific)
The Burmese Army, with 300,000 troops, has for the last 35 years effectively been a
school for rape and ethnic cleansing of women from ethnic minorities. Many girls living in
the southern panhandle have continued to be raped by soldiers after the signing of a
cease-fire between the New Mon State Party and the junta in June 1995. (Earthright
Organization, William Barnes, "Military a school for mass rape," South China
Morning Post, 23 February 1980)
Rape by the Burmese military, particularly against ethnic minority women, is
institutional and endemic throughout areas of conflict in Burma. However, the government
does not provide protection for these women. (V. Coakley, "Commentary: School of
Rape, the Burmese Military and Sexual Violence" Burma Issues, April 1998)
Ethnic Burmese women are being
systematically raped by military personnel as part of a campaign of ethnic cleansing. The
violence against women is directly related to the military's goal of wiping out all ethnic
resistance. "There is a pattern of rape, and...civilians are targeted for political
reasons or because they are part of a certain ethnic group," said the EarthRights
group. According to the United Nations (UN) special rapporteur on Burma, government troops
have been abducting "increasing numbers of women, including young girls," and
subjecting them to rape and other abuses. The UN Commission on Human Rights says women
most likely to be raped are refugees, internally displaced women, and women belonging to
ethnic minorities. Rapes by the military typically occur during raids on villages, when
women are abducted for forced labor, or during encounters with victims of forced
relocations in the jungle. (Dennis Bernstein and Leslie Kean, "Burma: Evidence of
Systematic Military Use of Rape," Boston Globe, 30 July 1998)
Cases
The Burmese Army has been accused of fostering a "school for rape," and been
responsible for sexually abusing Burmese women in epidemic proportions. One platoon of
troops from LIB 519, led by Sergeant Hla Phyu, stationed at Kaeng Kham village went from
house to house, raping every adult woman in the village. "When soldiers rape women
there is no action taken against them, they have permission from their officers."
Dozens of women and girls were killed in a mass murder after being raped by the Burmese
soldiers. (1996 Shan Human Rights Foundation report, Shan resistance leader Sao Ood Kesi,
Denis Bernstein and Leslie Kean, "Ethnic Cleansing: Rape as weapon of war in
Burma," The Nation, 16 June 1998,)
On September 15, 1997, 120 troops led by Capt. Htun Mya found 42 women and 57 men
hiding in the forest in Kunhing Township. The troops gang-raped all the women for two days
and two nights. Afterwards, the soldiers reportedly killed all the 99 villagers. (1996
Shan Human Rights Foundation report, Shan resistance leader Sao Ood Kesi, Denis Bernstein
and Leslie Kean, "Ethnic Cleansing: Rape as weapon of war in Burma," The
Nation, 16 June 1998)
Factbook Table of Contents
CATW
Homepage
Coalition Against Trafficking in Women
Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation
Donna M. Hughes, Laura Joy Sporcic, Nadine Z. Mendelsohn and Vanessa
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