Prostitution and trafficking are the result of economic developments. “The growth of the sex industry in Southeast Asia is not an accidental by-product of poverty,” (Kuo p. 43). There is a market for prostitution that traffickers are meeting the demand for. Disturbingly the largest demand is of younger women and children. Younger victims are thought to be less infected with HIV, AIDs, and other STDs. This is not the case, rather, adult prostitutes are less likely to be infected, as there is a lesser demand for these women, (Kuo p.43).
Poverty, while a factor that gives rise to prostitution, is not the only global economic factor. Rather “globalization and economic development have shaped the growth of the sex factor,” (Kuo p. 43). Globalization is largely created through the influx of “tourists” coming for sex tourism. Economic developments are made every day, with new tourists brings more money, which in turn helps develop the growth of the economy, (Kuo p.43).
