Summary Prostitution in the Philippines

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 c   is illegal. - It is a serious crime with penalties ranging up to life imprisonment for those involved in trafficking. -It is covered by the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act. -

Prostitution is sometimes illegally available through brothels (also known as casa), bars, karaoke bars (also known as KTVs), massage parlors, street walkers and escort services. -There are an estimated 800,000 women working as prostitutes in the Philippines, with up to half of them believed to be underage. -Prostitution caters to local customers and foreigners . Media attention tends to focus on those areas catering to sex tourism, primarily through bars staffed by bargirls. - Other tourist areas such as Cebu have also developed a high profile prostitution industry. Women and children involved in prostitution are vulnerable to rape, murder, AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.[8] Ô

-Surveys of women working as masseuses indicated that 34 percent of them explained their choice of work as necessary to support poor parents, 8 percent to support siblings and 28 percent to support husbands or boyfriends.[9] More than 20 percent said the job was well paid, but only 2 percent said it was easy work and only 2 percent claimed to enjoy the work.[9] -Over a third reported that they had been subject to violence or harassment, most commonly from the police, but also from city officials and gangsters.[9] -A survey conducted by the International Labor Organization revealed that in the experience of most of the women surveyed, prostitution is one of the most alienating forms of labor. Over 50 percent of the women surveyed in Philippine massage parlors said they carried out their work ³with a heavy heart,´ and 20

percent said they were ³conscience-stricken because they still considered sex with customers a sin. Interviews with Philippine bar girls revealed that more than half of them felt ³nothing´ when they had sex with a client, the remainder said the transactions saddened them.

There are other forms of prostitution including child prostitution. 
    


    (CSEC) Prostitution of children under the age of 18 years, child pornography and the (often related) sale and trafficking of children are often considered to be crimes of violence against children. They are considered to be forms of economic exploitation akin to forced labour or slavery. Such children often suffer irreparable damage to their physical and mental health. They face early pregnancy and risk sexually transmitted diseases, particularly AIDS. They are often inadequately protected by the law and may be treated as criminals. - Client preferences for young children, particularly in the context of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, pull in additional children. Additionally, the expansion of the Internet has facilitated the growth of child pornography. -Experience has shown that certain socio-economic characteristics, such as population density, concentration of night entertainment (bars and discos), high poverty and unemployment levels, movement of people, and access to highways, ports, or borders are also associated with CSEC. - While it is impossible to know the true extent of the problem, given its illegal nature, International Labour Organization (ILO) global child labour figures for the year 2003 estimate that there

are as many as 1.8 million children exploited in prostitution or pornography worldwide.

150,000 Filipina women have been trafficked into prostitution in Japan. (Press Statement, Bangladesh National Women Lawyers Association, "Open sale of little girls at Tanbaza brothel," Ô
 , 2 July 1998) 150 Filipinas were sold into prostitution to night club operators in African countries, particularly Nigeria. The women were bought for $5,000 each by international syndicates. Four Filipinas were rescued by the Philippine Embassy in Lagos, Nigeria after they sought help from officials. (Bureau of Immigration, Lira S. Dalagin, "150 Pinays sold as sex slaves in Africa," Manila Chronicle, 31 May 1995) In 1991, Filipinas were being sold in Japan, often to the Yakuza, at $2,400 to $18,000 each. (CATW - Asia Pacific, 


  

 



) In 1996, 492 of 3,776 reported cases of child abuse involved pornography, prostitution, paedophilia and trafficking. There were 8,335 cases of child abuse from 1991-1996, 96% of the victims were females. (Department of Social Welfare and Development, "375,000 Filipino Women & Kids Are Into Prostitution," Philippine Ô
 
, 26 July 1997) -Philippine women are vulnerable to trafficking due to the Asian economic crisis. Requests for entertainer visas for Japan did not decline in the first six months of 1998. Travel to Japan increased 21% in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 1997. The label "entertainer" sometimes implies "sex worker." The w The number of prostituted persons in the Philippines is about the size of the country's manufacturing workforce, according to Rene Ofreneo, a former Philippine labor undersecretary and an expert on the sex trade. (Dario Agnote, "Sex trade key part of S.E. Asian economies, study says," , 18 August 1998)

There are 400,000 to 500,000 prostituted persons in the Philippines. Prostituted persons are mainly adult women, but there are also male, transvestite and child prostitutes, both girls and boys. (International Labor Organization. Dario Agnote, In the Philippines, a recent study showed there are about 75,000 children, who were forced into prostitution due to poverty. omen are vulnerable in Japan, not because they lack skills, but because they are young, beautiful women in a hazardous or vulnerable occupation. Trafficking laws exists but are not enforced. - There are 400,000 women in prostitution in 1998, excluding unregistered, seasonal prostitutes, overseas entertainers and victims of external trafficking. One fourth of them are children and each year 3,266 more children are forced into the sex industry. - There are 375,000 women and children in prostitution in the Philippines. Most of them, aged 15 - 20, are from semi-rural and urban backgrounds and have been victims of incest and sexual abuse ("375,000 Filipino Women and Kids Are Into Prostitution,"


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, 26 July 1997) A 1997 report put the number of child victims of prostitution at 75,000 in the Philippines.,[10] with other estimates saying as many as 100,000.[11] According to the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef)an estimated 60,000 to 100,000 children in the Philippines are involved in prostitution rings. According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO) about 100,000 children are involved in prostitution.[12] is a high incidence of child prostitution in tourist areas. An undetermined number of children are forced into exploitative labor operations.[13]

The Philippines is the fourth country with the most number of prostituted children,[14] and authorities have identified an increase in pedophilestravelling to the Philippines.[15] There are estimated to be 375,000 women and girls in the sex trade in the Philippines, mostly between the ages of 15 and 20, though some are as young as 11. [16] The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies state that there are more than 1.5 million street children in the Philippines and many end up in prostitution and drug trafficking -Filipinos are the main users of Filipinas in prostitution. -Filipino men who buy prostitutes don't care if she is 15 or 25. - In 1984, there were 7 provinces with child sex rings. Today, they are present in 37 provinces. -Children, aged 11 to 15, in prostitution said relatives introduced them to prostitution, or they were recruited by friends. -The increase in the exploitation of prostituted children is attributed to the fear of HIV/AIDS. Some people believe children have less risk of having the disease. The sex trade in children is so well established, because of the influx of sex tourists and the existence of sex tourism. -Prostitution and sex trafficking are pervasive in the countryside. According to a study made by various non-governmental organizations led by the Women's Education, Development, Productivity and Research Organization (WEDPRO), even remote rural areas are becoming favorite sites for sex traffickers and prostitution syndicates. Teen-age girls are being forced into prostitution due to the Asian economic crisis.

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The Philippines is ranked under Tier 2 Watch List in the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report of the United States (US) State Department due to the Philippine government¶s alleged failure to show evidence of progress in convicting trafficking offenders, particularly those responsible for labor trafficking. - A report published in 2004 by the Vatican stated: The Philippines has a serious trafficking problem of women and children illegally recruited into the tourist industry for sexual exploitation. The promise of recruiters offers women and children attractive jobs in the country or abroad, and instead they are coerced and forced and controlled into the sex industry for tourists.

- The Philippines is one of the favored destinations of paedophile sex tourists from Europe and the United States. -?[

   Prostituted children remain prisoners of their damaged psyche despite rehabilitation efforts. The longer a child stays in the sex industry, the harder it is to overcome the trauma. There is "no evidence" that children in prostitution can ever rehabilitate. "Few children rescued from brothels have been able to begin living anything like a healthy life again. The wisdom of trying to end the prostitution of children rather than attempting to assist the victims has been confirmed."

lonorrhea is the most common STD among children in prostitution. "They drink water with a bit a TIDE detergent in the belief this would prevent gonorrhea." - The tourism program of the government which aims to project the Philippines as a major tourist destination has increased the number of prostituted women. As more and more areas of the country are targeted for tourism, more and more women are driven to prostitution in desperation to ensure their family's survival. -The Philippines is the first Asian country to pass an anti-child abuse law. - In 1997 the Philippines signed anti-pedophilia cooperation agreements with lreat Britain and Australia. - The Philippines is the first Asian country to pass an Anti-Child Abuse law. 158 cases of child abuse - including sexual exploitation - were filed from 1994 - 1996. Five led to convictions.
 - Government policies favor the export of entertainers and domestic helpers that put women at risk The Philippines 2000 development plan has increased violence against Filipino women. It has not solved the problem of poverty but only worsened prostitution, violence against migrant women, and increased the vulnerability of women to violence. - Although according to law, prostitutes can receive 30 days imprisonment, and procurers a minimum of six months to six years imprisonment, most are only fined.

- Many victims of foreign paedophiles say they regret reporting the offense, because they often see the paedophile post bail or flee the country. - Pedophilia, unwanted Amerasian children, and the spread of sexually transmitted diseases and HIV/AIDS virus. - The International Labor Organization¶s call for governments to recognize the sex industry was protested by Filipino advocacy groups. Groups based in Angeles City, Olongapo City, Davao and the National Capital region including Buklod Center, Nagkakaisang Kababaihan in Angeles City, Bukal, and the Davao-based Lawig made statements at a press conference. Participants included former prostituted women. Statements include: —

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"Legalizing prostitution is not an assurance that violence and other forms of sexual abuses will not be committed. What it will do is to legalize the abuses of paying customers since you are now bound by a ͚legal contract͛," explained Pearly Bulawan of the Buklod Center. What women engaged in prostitution need, the survivors of prostitution said, is economic assistance in the form of jobs as well as livelihood training and educational opportunities. "We cannot accept the term ͚sex worker͛ to describe us." "You can never legalize profession or a job if it violates the rights of women and degrades them," they added. Aida Santos of the Women's Education, Development Productivity and Research Organization (WEDPRO) explained that legalizing prostitution will further aggravate the already serious gender inequality problem experienced by the women. Prostitution, she said, has to be viewed in the context of political, economic and social issues on a gender structure and system that oppress women. "One consistent factor we have observed in the course of our research

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and studies on prostitution is men's unchanging behavior toward women," she revealed, adding that "even now, most males regard women as inferiors." The women are asking for the decriminalization of prostitution and the formulation of a law that will punish the owners of the prostitution establishments, recruiters, pimps, traffickers, and the clients. They appealed to law enforcers to stop taking advantage of women during police raids, adding that these men in uniform are also in the habit of exploiting the women by allowing full-blown media coverage to the prejudice of the women, at the same time sparing their (male) clientele.

"We need to reorient the people that prostitution is a violation of human rights and that it's not okay to use or pay women for sex." ("Exstreetwalkers fight VFA: Form advocacy groups in urban centers," 


 , 18 September 1998) - There are about 50,000 Filipino Amerasians in the Philippines, fathered by American service men. They have remained underprivileged and targets of the flesh trade because of their looks. -Somewhere in Angeles city; STD cases rose five times. The RHWC treated 1,421 cases in 2005, 2,516 cases in 2006 and 6,229 cases in 2007. Most of the afflicted were women. -In 2003, Makati Mayor Jejomar C. Binay ordered a crackdown against prostitution following reports that some prostitutes are linked to criminal syndicates. - Pregnancy, abortion, the spread of disease and drug abuse were just some of the indignities imposed on Filipinas. Abortion is illegal in the Philippines. Unsafe abortions render women vulnerable not only to infections and other health complications, but even to death. Because these abortions are carried out in

illegal abortion clinics there is no record of how many women and children, if any, die each year as a result. -women are exposed to abuse, physical, emotional and psychological trauma; low self-esteem and damaging their body and spirit. ³These women, often referred to as criminals, are actually victims of the system of prostitution. The violence and abuses they suffer in the hands of customers and pimps cause deep wounds in their being. The chances of full rehabilitation are slim for children who have been sexually abused repeatedly. He adds: "We know that those children who are kept in brothels die quite young. (They) die in many cases before they have had a chance to live. We know they die from AIDS, from drugs and from committing suicide. EXTRA INFO> The problem is compounded by the fact that society, even the church, discriminates against women in prostitution.[149] -Pimps bend the girls to their will, drug them. Degrading and humiliating the girls is at the discretion of their international clients. After two, three years the girls have lost their health and beauty. From then on, they are on offer at bargain price to local clients. The humiliation these girls have to go through often drives them into self-destruction. With no self-esteem their lives are on a dead-end journey. With drug addiction, unwanted pregnancies, venereal disease and AIDS the girls go to rack and ruin. - Problems Related to Health include: lack of comprehensive health services, not just on sexual health; women¶s lack of knowledge of health issues; fear of doctors or medical professionals; and or risky health practices; drug use and risk from drugged client expensive and compulsory check-ups for

issuance of health certificates; compulsory HIV tests and the lack of pre-test and post-test counseling, as well as the violation of confidentiality (publicly announced results) or no results given; lack of funds for hospitalization and health emergencies; forced intake of contraceptive pills and unsafe abortions. Problems Related to the Law or the Legal System Abusive, discriminatory conduct of raids, including arrests, maltreatment during raids or while in custody, extortion for release. $ Women held in debt bondage. $ Restriction of movement. $ Anti-vagrancy laws are unconstitutional, i.e. they violate equal protection and are classist and sexist in their enforcement. Problems Related to Services $

Lack of education, especially in the areas of literacy, rights awareness, and peer education. $ Women have the status of criminals. $ Inadequate support systems in the areas of counseling and legal assistance, as well as child care. $ The need for skills development, such as organizational and management skills, leadership, negotiation and documentation. Problems Related to Violence Against Women $

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Trafficking in women by syndicates that practice active, deceptive recruitment. Economic abuse, i.e. no work, no food and poverty. A high rate of rape. Domestic violence.

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Violence caused by barangay (village) officials (fees, competition, harassment). Harmful physical, emotional, and psychological effects on the women.

The ³salvaging´ or summary execution, especially of sick women.

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LAWS: -Republic Act 6955 declares as unlawful "the practice of matching Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals on a mail order basis." It is also unlawful under the R.A. 9208, the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003, a penal law against human trafficking, sex tourism,sex slavery and child prostitution. The Philippines Government first outlawed bride agencies in 1990 after being alarmed at reports of widespread abuse of Philippine women in other countries.

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    Vagrants and prostitutes; penalty. ² The following are vagrants: 1. Any person having no apparent means of subsistence, who has the physical ability to work and who neglects to apply himself or herself to some lawful calling; 2. Any person found loitering about public or semi-public buildings or places or trampling or wandering about the country or the streets without visible means of support; 3. Any idle or dissolute person who ledges in houses of ill fame; ruffians or pimps and those who habitually associate with prostitutes; 4. Any person who, not being included in the provisions of other articles of this Code, shall be found loitering in any inhabited or uninhabited place belonging to another without any lawful or justifiable purpose; 5. Prostitutes. For the purposes of this article, women who, for money or profit, habitually indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct, are deemed to be prostitutes. Any person found guilty of any of the offenses covered by this articles shall be punished by arresto menor or a fine not exceeding 200 pesos, and in case of recidivism, by arresto mayor in its medium period to prison

correccional in its minimum period or a fine ranging from 200 to 2,000 pesos, or both, in the discretion of the court. Ô & c  
   ( Penal Code article 341 imposes a penalty to any person who ³shall engage in the business or shall profit by prostitution or shall enlist the services of any other person for the purpose of prostitution."[156] Ô     Section 4 of Republic Act 9208, otherwise known as the "AntiTrafficking in Persons Act of 2003", deems it unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, to commit any of the following acts: (a) To recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, provide, or receive a person by any means, including those done under the pretext of domestic or overseas employment or training or apprenticeship, for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (b) To introduce or match for money, profit, or material, economic or other consideration, any person or, as provided for under Republic Act No. 6955, any Filipino women to a foreign national, for marriage for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling or trading him/her to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (c) To offer or contract marriage, real or simulated, for the purpose of acquiring, buying, offering, selling, or trading them to engage in prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor or slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (d) To undertake or organize tours and travel plans consisting of tourism packages or activities for the purpose of utilizing and offering persons for prostitution, pornography or sexual exploitation;

(e) To maintain or hire a person to engage in prostitution or pornography; (f) To adopt or facilitate the adoption of persons for the purpose of prostitution, pornography, sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, involuntary servitude or debt bondage; (g) To recruit, hire, adopt, transport or abduct a person, by means of threat or use of force, fraud deceit, violence, coercion, or intimidation for the purpose of removal or sale of organs of said person; and (h) To recruit, transport or adopt a child to engage in armed activities in the Philippines or abroad. Ô    )*(Ô+  c
 

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  Sec. 5. Child Prostitution and Other Sexual Abuse. - Children, whether male or female, who for money, profit, or any other consideration or due to the coercion or influence of any adult, syndicate or group, indulge in sexual intercourse or lascivious conduct, are deemed to be children exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse. The penalty of reclusion temporal in its medium period to reclusion perpetua shall be imposed upon the following: (a) Those who engage in or promote, facilitate or induce child prostitution which include, but are not limited to, the following: (1) Acting as a procurer of a child prostitute; (2) Inducing a person to be a client of a child prostitute by means of written or oral advertisements or other similar means; (3) Taking advantage of influence or relationship to procure a child as prostitute; (4) Threatening or using violence towards a child to engage him as a prostitute; or

(5) Giving monetary consideration goods or other pecuniary benefit to a child with intent to engage such child in prostitution. (b) Those who commit the act of sexual intercourse of lascivious conduct with a child exploited in prostitution or subject to other sexual abuse; Provided, That when the victims is under twelve (12) years of age, the perpetrators shall be prosecuted under Article 335, paragraph 3, for rape and Article 336 of Act No. 3815, as amended, the Revised Penal Code, for rape or lascivious conduct, as the case may be: Provided, That the penalty for lascivious conduct when the victim is under twelve (12) years of age shall be reclusion temporal in its medium period; and (c) Those who derive profit or advantage therefrom, whether as manager or owner of the establishment where the prostitution takes place, or of the sauna, disco, bar, resort, place of entertainment or establishment serving as a cover or which engages in prostitution in addition to the activity for which the license has been issued to said establishment. Sec. 6. Attempt To Commit Child Prostitution. - There is an attempt to commit child prostitution under Section 5, paragraph (a) hereof when any person who, not being a relative of a child, is found alone with the said child inside the room or cubicle of a house, an inn, hotel, motel, pension house, apartelle or other similar establishments, vessel, vehicle or any other hidden or secluded area under circumstances which would lead a reasonable person to believe that the child is about to be exploited in prostitution and other sexual abuse. There is also an attempt to commit child prostitution, under paragraph (b) of Section 5 hereof when any person is receiving services from a child in a sauna parlor or bath, massage clinic, health club and other similar establishments. A penalty lower by two (2) degrees than that prescribed for the consummated felony under Section 5 hereof shall be imposed upon the principals of

the attempt to commit the crime of child prostitution under this Act, or, in the proper case, under the Revised Penal Code. -    *--Ô' Ô
    RA 6955 basically declares as unlawful "the practice of matching Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals on a mail order basis." -    Ô' "
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   RA 8042 (Long title: An Act to Institute the Policies of Overseas Employment and Establish a Higher Standard of Protection and Promotion of The Welfare of Migrant Workers, Their Families and Overseas Filipinos in Distress, and for Other Purposes.) The act contains provisions which regulate the recruitment of overseas workers; mandate establishment of a mechanism for free legal assistance for victims of illegal recruitment; direct all embassies and consular offices to issue travel advisories or disseminate information on labor and employment conditions, migration realities and other facts; regulate repatriation of workers in ordinary cases and provide a mechanism for repatriation in extraordinary cases; mandate establishment of a Migrant Workers and Other Overseas Filipinos Resource Center to provide social services to returning worker and other migrants; mandate the establishment of a Migrant Workers Loan Guarantee Fund to provide pre-departure and family assistance loans; establishes a legal assistance fund for migrant workers; and other provisions related to Filipino migrant workers. The act, approved on June 7, 1995, mandates that pursuant to the objectives of deregulation the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) shall, within a period of five (5) years, phase-out the regulatory functions of the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration(POEA).[159] !
  

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)) House of Representatives of the Philippines Citizen's Battle Against Corruption (CIBAC) Reps. Emmanuel Joel Villanueva and

Cinchona Cruz-Gonzales, on September 24, filed House Resolution No. 779 to intensify the fight against human trafficking on all levels, from legislation, policy formulation, enforcement and prosecution, to rehabilitation and support for victims. Villanueva said: "Human trafficking is fast becoming a major transnational crime next only to the illegal drugs trade and illegal arms trade. Most of the victims of trafficking are being exploited as commercial sex workers, forced laborers and even unwilling organ donors. We must consider the reports of the victims that lack of funds and resources are key problems in the full implementation of the Anti-Trafficking of Persons Act, including the necessary support and protection." The National Bureau of Investigation (Philippines) reported "more than 400,000 persons from both government and non-government organizations who are victims of trafficking and almost 100,000 of these victims are children." Cruz-Gonzales said: "As of last year, only a little over a thousand cases were officially reported."[160]    % The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime has designated human Trafficking as a crime against humanity. [3][4] [6][7] In 2002, theInternational Criminal Court (ICC) was established in The Hague (Netherlands) and the Rome Statute provides for the ICC to have jurisdiction over crimes against humanity. For the purpose of this Statute, "crime against humanity" means any of the following acts when committed as part of a widespread or systematic attack directed against any civilian population, with knowledge of the attack: (a) Murder; (b) Extermination; (c) Enslavement; (d) Deportation or forcible transfer of population; (e) Imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental rules of international law;

(f) Torture; (g) Rape, sexual slavery, enforced prostitution, forced pregnancy, enforced sterilization, or any other form of sexual violence of comparable gravity; (h) Persecution against any identifiable group or collectivity on political, racial, national, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender as defined in paragraph 3, or other grounds that are universally recognized as impermissible under international law, in connection with any act referred to in this paragraph or any crime within the jurisdiction of the Court; (i) Enforced disappearance of persons; (j) The crime of apartheid; (k) Other inhumane acts of a similar character intentionally causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or to mental or physical health.