act as kingpins, agents, and entrepreneurs in the sex services trade, working with
traffickers and even engaging in commercial sex acts with children (Trafficking in
Persons Report 2015 ). In other words, efforts to eradicate trafficking and slavery are
detrimentally impeded by government complicity in trafficking crimes.
Thai law on child pornography also provides little protection to child victims, as
thereisnodefinitionofchildpornographyandnoprohibitionandpunishmentforthose
who disseminate offer or possess child pornography (ECPAT International 2011 ).
Furthermore, the government prosecutes journalists and advocates for exposing
traffickers, thereby attempting to hide aspects of the human trafficking issue.
Government corruption and lack of enforcement of anti-trafficking laws are not
just issues in Thailand. By analyzing 76 variables on data from all countries of the
world, Bales found that governmental corruption is a key predictor in determining
traffickingfroma country. In determining the factors that drive traffickingtoa
country, Bales found that the strongest predictor is the destination country’s male
population in the 60+ age bracket, followed by the level of governmental corruption
(Bales 2007 ). This analysis suggests that“reducing corruption should be thefirst
and most effective way to reduce trafficking,”as corruption in both politicians and
law enforcement officers only contributes to the lack of accuracy in information on
human trafficking and the ease of transportation and exploitation of victims.
Transparency International ( 2015 ), in a special report on ASEAN, observes that
each ASEAN member state has taken some steps to addressing corruption at the
national level, such as ratifying the United Nations Convention against Corruption
(UNCAC), but much more is urgently needed to stop corruption. If economic
integration is not built on a strong foundation of transparency, accountability, and
integrity, then the ASEAN community’s vision will be jeopardized. A robust
strategic regional anti-corruption framework through the formation of an ASEAN
Integrity Community is therefore a critical step.
References
Bales, K. (2007). What Predicts Human Trafficking?.International Journal of Comparative and
Applied Criminal Justice, (online) 31 (2), 269–279. Available at:http://www.tandfonline.com/
doi/abs/10.1080/01924036.2007.9678771. Accessed June 6, 2016.
Bangkok Post. (2016a). US promotes Thailand out of Tier 3.Bangkok Post, June 29, 2016
Available at:http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/politics/1022357/us-promotes-thailand-out-
of-tier-3. Accessed August 4, 2016.
Bangkok Post. (2016b). Thailand gets upgraded in US TIP report.Bangkok Post, July 1, Available
at: http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/security/1024141/thailand-gets-upgraded-in-us-tip-
report. Accessed August 4, 2016.
Boden, A.L. (2012). Human trafficking in Cambodia.Report from the Princeton University Office
of Religious Life. Available at:https://lisd.princeton.edu/sites/lisd/files/Boden.pdf. Accessed
August 4, 2016.
Chambers, P. (2015). Thailand must end its own Rohingya Atrocity. Bangkok needs to address its
brutal mistreatment of the persecuted minority.The DiplomatAvailable at:http://thediplomat.
com/2015/10/thailand-must-end-its-own-rohingya-atrocity/. Accessed August 4, 2016.
8.7 How to End Corruption in Thailand? 123