TI   "Children for Sale in Thailand"
 AU   Branigin, William
 SO   Washington Post (12/28/93) P. A1
 AB   Protected by police corruption, Thailand's commercial sex
      industry--particularly among child prostitutes--continues to boom
      despite the risk of AIDS.  Many child prostitutes have tested
      positive for the virus, and thousands of other young girls are still
      in brothels across the nation.  In Thailand, many clients
      specifically seek out young girls, believing them less likely to be
      infected with the AIDS virus.  In actuality, the reverse may be true,
      for the young girls are far more likely to suffer vaginal wounds,
      which aid transmission of the virus.  According to Saisuree Chutikul,
      an adviser on child protection in the prime minister's office, there
      are some 200,000 commercial sex workers in Thailand, 50,000 to 80,000
      of which are under the age of 18. The Rev. Lauren Bethel, who
      operates the New Life Center shelter for rescued minor prostitutes,
      notes that while brothel owners provide the girls with birth control
      pills, they rarely are able to use condoms.  "Usually the customers
      are drunk, and most of them aren't using condoms," she said.  The
      young prostitutes, consequently, are increasingly becoming infected
      with the AIDS virus.  But, according to Bethel, many of them do not
      comprehend the disease or know how the virus is transmitted.

      Copyright (c) 1993 - Information, Inc., Bethesda, MD.  This
      information is provided by the Centers for Disease Control &
      Prevention (CDC), National AIDS Clearinghouse as a public service. 
      Non-profit reproduction is encouraged.

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