Justice versus Conscience

14 jun 2024 #dwdocumentary #documentary

In December 2023, DW broadcast a documentary on sex tourism in Pattaya which unleashed a wave of outrage. National media in Thailand took up the story – at its center, the case of a suspected German pedophile.

The German national had been arrested in Pattaya on suspicion of child sexual abuse. He was alleged to have taken underage girls from a bar to back his apartment. But instead of being brought to justice, he was able to leave the country. Allegations followed that a significant bribe was involved. Once details of the case entered the public sphere, the Thai Prime Minister himself intervened to demand that the police and judiciary investigate any official errors.

Now, the film “The Red Light’s Dark Shadow” explores what’s happened since. How has the situation in Thailand changed? Big promises were made at the time – have these been followed up by firm action? The film crew’s findings have also prompted a debate in Thailand on whether legalizing sex work could be a way to dismantle criminal structures in the red-light milieu and thereby facilitate a more robust response to child prostitution. After all, the experts agree that sex tourism creates structures in red-light districts that acutely endanger minors.

In his documentary, author Wolfgang Luck asks whether Thailand is genuinely serious about fighting child prostitution and corruption. The film hears from child protection agencies, politicians, bar owners and high-ranking police officers. The team also checks on progress in the case against the suspected German pedophile.

Update Aug. 2024: A court has reached a verdict in the case of the arrested German. The main district court in Frankfurt am Main has sentenced him to nine months on probation. No clear evidence was presented by Thai authorities proving the youngest victim was 13 years old or younger, therefore the man was convicted on charges of “abuse of minors” and “obtaining possession of juvenile pornographic content.” He must also pay several thousand euros to a charitable foundation.

5 dec 2023

Thailand’s resort town of Pattaya is still a center of international sex tourism. Since the coronavirus is no longer an obstacle to travel, hundreds of thousands of men from all over the world are again flocking to the country in search of women and sex.

Go-go bars, seedy massage parlors and plenty of open-air beer stalls with scantily clad young women: All this is part of the draw for sex tourists of all ages, here in the coastal metropolis of Pattaya on Thailand’s west coast. After a pandemic pause, sex tourism is returning to what passes for normal here.

One German tourist sums it up for the camera: “Why are we all here? Here you get more sex for less money!” A younger German doesn’t agree: “I’m not looking for sex here, I’m looking for love,” says Stefan, complaining that his numerous conquests are always after his money in the end.

The “red light vacationers” have been waiting for two years: Pattaya’s huge entertainment district lay completely fallow due to Covid-19. For the city’s approximately 60,000 sex workers, this was a threatening situation. Because the Thai state generates billions in tax revenue from the sex business, but prostitution is officially banned, those working in the trade were excluded from all government aid programs. Take sex worker Aom, for example. She became pregnant by a German client who initially swore to stand by her, before abandoning her with the baby. Now Aom is using a lawyer to try to at least enforce child support payments, while she continues to work in the sex trade. “I’m done with German clients,” she says.

The documentary delves into Pattaya’s red-light scene — and documents a lot of hypocrisy. Some German sex tourists convince themselves that their payments ensure the survival of impoverished Thai families. One restaurant owner from northern Germany tells the filmmakers that the girls only stand on the side of the road in such short skirts because of the warm weather here.
Tour operators also earn money from the sex business, even if they don’t like to talk about it. All of them have Pattaya in their program. German tour operators are proud of the fact that they have signed a commitment to take action against child prostitution. But who monitors that?

The coronavirus lockdown massively aggravated the problem of abuse. In the red-light district of Pattaya, where according to local officials there is no longer any prostitution of minors, the film team comes across evidence of pedophilia crimes. And a German national who is still able to leave the country shortly after his arrest. How can this be? When it comes to this important issue, is international cooperation actually delivering?

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