COMMUNICATION AND SOCIETY

REPORTING ON
The Media, Women
in India, Malaysia
Edited by L
PROSTITUTION
and Prostitution
and the Philippines
Dis GRJEBINE
UNESCO
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
PREFACE (i)
I. INTRODUCTION 1
A Brief History of International Action 1
A Range of Concerns 4
The Present Study 5
II. INDIA: PROSTITUTION NETWORKS AND THE FLESH TRADE 8
Informing the Public 12
Press Coverage That Prompted Official Action 17
An All Too Slow Change of Attitude 20
What Prompts Coverage 21
Stirring The Public's Conscience 23
III. MALAYSIA, THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION 27
NETWORKS
Sex Tourism in Malaysia 28
Penang's Prostitution Syndicates 30
The Image of Women Projected by the Press 34
The New Straits Times 35
The Star 37
Utusan Malaysia 39
Sing Pin Jih Pao 40
Overview of Newspaper Trends 41
How the Press Image is Perceived 42
Reactions of General Readers 43
Reactions of Concerned Groups 44
How Media Professionals See Their Role 45
CC-87/WS/40
IV. THE PHILIPPINES: SOUNDING OUT MEDIA PERSONNEL 48
1. TW-MAE-W SURVEY ON MEDIA, WOMEN AND PROSTITUTION 50
2. PUBLIC FORUMS ON THE MEDIA AND PROSTITUTION 70
V. CONCLUDING REMARKS 89
Appendix A 92
Appendix B 97
BIBLIOGRAPHY 99
PREFACE
The Approved Programme and Budget for 1984-1985^mde,;prov*sion,
in para. 03262 of Major Programme III (Communication in the Service of
Man), for a study on "the aspects of the image of women that run counter
to human rights, especially those that are an incitement to the use
of physical violence against women and to their exploitation through
prostitution." This was to be undertaken in cooperation with Subprogramme
XIII.4.1 (Studies and research on the fundamental rights of women and
the elimination of discrimination based on sex) whose frame of reference
includes research into the social, economic and cultural causes of assaults
on the dignity of women, for instance in the form of forced prostitution,
procuring and sexual violence, and of the formal and informal mechanisms
conducive to such assaults.
The relatively modest financial means allocated to this
activity limited the enquiry to only one region and, within it, a maximum
of three countries. After consultation with a number of non-governmental
organizations and women groups it was decided that the study would be
carried out in the Asian region and would focus upon India, Malaysia
and the Philippines. Subsequently, the Indian study was entrusted to
the Centre for Women's Development Studies (New Delhi) and written by
Harji Malik; work in Malaysia to the School of Comparative Social Sciences,
Universiti Sains Malaysia (Penang), written by Rohana Ariffin; and in
the Philippines to the Third World Movement Against Exploitation of Women
(Manila), written by Sister Mary Soledad Perpinan. The Indian Centre
was also asked to coordinate the project, and in its final phase to assist
the Asian Mass Communication Research and Information Centre (AMIC,
Singapore) with the organization of a consultation to evaluate its results.
(i)
The consultation on "Women, Media and Prostitution" was held
from 24 to 26 February 1986 in New Delhi, India, and was attended by
some twenty participants from ten countries of the region. Its main
objective was to assess the three case-studies with a view to their
publication in a single volume. Thereafter the manuscript was edited
in its present form by Mrs. Lois Grjebine.
In spite of a considerable effort to arrive at a common method-
ology, the authors of the case-studies were obliged to adopt different
approaches, because of the diversity of conditions in the three selected
countries. The study, in its final form, is therefore short on
comparability, but it nevertheless represents a significant step in
analysing the media's attitude towards the many facets of prostitution,
including "sex tourism". These facets, it should be emphasized, have
continued to grow in practically all parts of the world, in spite of
the recognized urgency - notably within the framework of the United Nations
Decade for Women: Equality, Development and Peace (1976-1985) - to promote
equal rights for women and respect of their human dignity, and to denounce
torture and other degrading treatment of women.
The opinions expressed in the study, and the choice and present-
ation of its contents, are those of the authors, and do not necessarily
represent the views of Unesco.
(ii)
I. INTRODUCTION
A Brief History of International Action
International concern about trafficking in women is not a
new phenomenon. The first efforts date back to 1904 when members of
the League of Nations signed the International Agreement for the
Suppression of White Slave Traffic, followed by an International
Convention in 1910; both were designed to halt the trafficking of
European women. Then in 1921, an international conference was held to
determine a strategy for action. The draft convention was adopted by
30 members, with 21 member states abstaining. Finally the International
Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Women and Children was
adopted that same year; it dropped the term "white" and "European
countries" which had appeared in the 1904 and 1910 agreements, and
which had proved too restrictive.
In I922 an Advisory Committee was appointed to^ review
information that had been gathered on the subject, though it was not
to concern itself with prostitution at the national level. Its mission
was rather to try to track down culprits who operated internationally.
The Committee therefore concentrated on theatres that employed foreign
women and that often served as way station of slave trafficking, the
repatriation of prostitutes, and the like.
A systematic attempt to collect more information on
prostitution was made between 1926 and 1930, when the American Bureau
of Social Hygiene offered the League funds to conduct studies on
trafficking in women in major cities around the world that served as
bases for prostitution networks. The enquiry revealed that not only
was the traffic considerable but that very young girls, between the
ages of 14 and 16, were being recruited and shipped abroad, even to
countries where it was against the law to do so.
1
The main routes were pinpointed: they ran from Europe (primarily France,
Italy, Spain, Germany, Austria, Hungary, Greece, Poland, Rumania and
Turkey) to Central and South America (Mexico, Panama, Argentina, Brazil,
Uruguay) and to North America. The city of Alexandria was one of the
main ports through which the women and girls transitted.
In I929, fresh interest was generated, and the Fifth Commission
of the League Assembly decided to extend the enquiry to regions not
previously covered, and in particular to Asia. Accordingly, a roving
Commission of Enquiry was set up, and its findings revealed that licensed
houses were the main source of the traffic. In Asia, Chinese women formed
the bulk of the victims, followed by Japanese women and a small contingent
of Malay, Siamese, Filipino, Indian, Iraqi and Persian women. The report
also pointed out that it was primarily women from poverty stricken families
who were being exploited. This led member states to re-assess the problem,
and eventually the International Convention for the Suppression of Traffic
in Women of Full Age was passed in 1933
The League of Nations also deemed it necessary to curb the
publication and circulation of obscene films and literature which, it
felt, had a degenerating influence on society. Pornographic literature
had taken on alarming proportions following World War I.
The various enquiries conducted over the years has amply
demonstrated that brothels had a direct influence on the growth of
prostitution. The Advisory Commission on Social Questions therefore
drew up a draft International Convention of the Suppression of Exploita-
tion of the Prostitution of Others (1937) to ensure prosecution and
punishment of persons running a brothel or who forced someone to become
a prostitute.
In 19^6, the United Nations addressed itself to the question
in an attempt to unify the existing international instruments. A new
2
Draft Convention for the Suppression of Immoral Traffic was examined by
the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) at its ninth session (19^9) and
was adopted by the General Assembly, which stated that such practices
and institutions were incompatible with the dignity and worth of a person
and endangered the welfare of the individual, the family and the community.
Since that time, debate has continued within the United
Nations system, reflecting various concerns, including explanations for
the recent increase in the incidence of trafficking in women. Whether
this phenomenon is linked to transformations in the family and marriage
as an institution has yet to be. adequately analyzed. There is not doubt,
though, that thinking has evolved.
In the 19^8 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Article 16
states: "The family is the natural and fundamental unit of society and
is entitled to protection by society and the state." By 1975, the Mexico
Plan of Action adopted at the World Conference stated: "The institution
of the family, which is changing in its economic, social and cultural
functions, should ensure the dignity, equality and security of each of
its members."
In recent years, violence within the family battering,
rape, molestation, assault, harassment and mental torture has received
greater attention. At the Nairobi Conference in 1985, Forward-looking
Strategies for the Advancement of Women made specific reference to
abused women and expressly stated concern over the problem of "forced
prostitution".
Most people agree that "forced prostitution" is a form of
slavery imposed on women by procurers. But, depending on the country,
root causes can differ. One of the major causes, recognized as such in
all three of the country studies published here, is poverty. Its effects
have been reinforced by the quickening pace of urbanization that has
characterized the Third World over the past few decades. Like magnets,
the cities have been drawing the poorer people from the land in search
3
of a means of subsistence. Most of the women who migrate are uneducated
and untrained. In the cities, they discover that they are doomed to
unemployment or, at best, underemployment. They are the ones who become
easy preys to rapacious dealers in flesh.
Other reasons for forced prostitution can be political and
social upheavals that turn peasants into refugees, ordinary citizens into
missing persons. Again, women are among the most vulnerable. With
children, they are the easiest to exploit, and unscrupulous "businessmen"
have been quick to organize veritable international networks of flesh
trade, networks that will be more fully described in this report.
Any attempts at rescue, reform and rehabilitation, the three
Rs of prostitution, have failed to make any appreciable dent in the
prostitution racket in Asia, which now transcends national boundaries.
During the last ten years, there has been growing concern over the fast
rise in the number of prostitutes and the development of sex-trafficking,
particularly in those countries where governments have adopted aggressive
policies to promote tourism, thereby contributing in no small measure to
the growing problem of "package-tour prostitution".
A Range of Concerns
Prostitution raises a surprisingly large number of issues,
for it can be viewed from a variety of angles. As was pointed out at
the workshop of "Experts on Prevention and Rehabilitation Schemes for
Young Women in Prostitution and Related Occupations", organized by the
United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
(ESCAP) at Bangkok in June 1985, prevention is for some a question of
ethics and religious morality, while for others prostitution is "sexual
slavery" based on the subjugation of women and, as such, part of their
struggle for liberation. Some view prostitution as a sociological
phenomenon, an unevitable outcome of ignorance and misery.
4
A narrower yet equally valid concern is that prostitution
constitutes a health hazard, both directly in the spread of sexually
transmitted deseases, as well as indirectly, as a conduit for drug
trafficking and abuse. Law enforcement officials are aware that
criminal elements are often involved in prostitution networks. And
certain governments are concerned that their international image is
being tarnished because of the adverse publicity attached to sex
package-tours and the bride racket, among other practices.
For all these reasons, the Inter-Governmental Preparatory
Meeting of the ESCAP region held in Tokyo in March 1984 recommended
that governments be called upon to impose stricter penalties on those
responsible at all levels for organized prostitution and examine the
problem of prostitution on the regional level, so as to exert pressure
on those countries that are actively involved in the trade to put a
halt to prostitution.
The Present Study
In view of the diversity of the three countries in the
Asian region under study, broad guidelines were prepared by the Centre
for Women's Development Studies in New Delhi in the hope that the
three country studies could thus address some common issues.
The studies were intentionally limited to the press and,
whenever possible, utilized existing material. In addition, media
professionals, both editors and reporters, were sounded out on their
views of women generally and on prostitution and flesh trade in
particular. Also involved were -groups of concerned citizens, social
workers and the like, as well as women involved in prostitution.
It was felt that, insofar as possible, those responsible for
the country studies should address themselves to the follwing questions:
5
- Why the media in most countries have remained silent about
women's problems, and prostituion in particular;
- If and why the media are paying more attention to these
questions today;
- The underlying attitudes of media professionals;
- The ideal role of the media, as seen by professional
communicators, the general public and groups specifically
concerned with such issues.
All the studies try to put the problems raised by prostitution
into national perspective, be it economic, sociological or political.
They also analyze the attitudes of professional communicators and
publication policies per se. However, each has highlighted a specific
aspect of prostitution and the media.
Press coverage in India, for example, has been fairly
abundant, whereas in Malaysia and the Philippines, the most common
complaint about the media is that their coverage has been sporadic at
best, and has made little if no attempt to treat the problem in depth.
That is why we have chosen to focus on the Indian report for
ihsight into the human and economic problems raised by prostitution as
seen by
1
the press. As we explore Indian realities, it will become
apparent that Indian reporters have at times done an outstanding job of
investigative journalism and have, by their articles, even succeeded in
prodding certain state governments to take action.
In Malaysia, a study of press archives revealed a shift in
editorial coverage of women's issues and prostitution in particular over
the past two decades. While the Sixties and the first half of the
Seventies were exclusive concentration on such "typical" areas of interest
for women as cooking and beauty columns, International Women's Year in
1975 marked a turning point. Editors and journalists apparently came to
realize that woman had other, more deep-seated concerns that media men
never deemed sufficiently "serious" to merit coverage. Concurrently,
steps were taken by the Muslim government of Malaysia to tone down
6
advertising that till then had commonly used photos of "sex bomb" to
sell anything from shaving cream to sports cars.
In the Philippines, on the contrary, prostitution is apparently
still considered as a secondary issue by the vast majority of media
professionals. As there was a dearth of articles, the study was based
in part on a survey of 100 editors and journalists working in the press
conducted by the Third World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women
(TW-MAE-W). These professional communicators were sounded out about
their attitudes on prostitution, their feelings about women's questions,
the factors that, in their opinion, affect their publications' editorial
policies on these issues, and the commitment the media should show in
tackling these problems. To round out the study, forums were organized
in three major cities: Manila, Cebu and Baguio. In each city, the
findings of the media survey served as a jumping off point for panel
discussions comprised of media professionals, concerned volunteer groups
and women's organizations.
7
II. INDIA: PROSTITUTION NETWORKS AND THE FLESH TRADE*
To understand the role the press has played in exposing
the inequities of prostitution in India, a brief description of the
present situation is in order, for it differs in a few significant
ways from that in other countries. India, for example, has no equivalent
of the "high-class prostitutes" familiar to Europeans and Americans,
whether it is Hamburg's famous Raperbahn, the world of the wealthy
Roman prostitute who solicits in her expensive sports car, or the mink-
coated streetwalkers of New York.
"Prostitution tourism", which has become an accepted source
of foreign exchange in some Southeast Asian countries, does not exist
in India, nor does prostitution that flourishes around the "Rest and
Relaxation" centres for foreign military men. Both these forms of
prostitution have aroused the bitter recriminations of Asian's women
rights groups, who have lambasted their own governments for aiding and
abetting the flesh trade, albeit in an indirect fashion by licensing
prostitutes.
A variety of prostitution tourism does exist in India, but
it is not organized on a mass scale. It is confined to the "Gulf
Connection" and to call girls who "service" foreign clients in the big
international hotels in Delhi or Bombay.
India does, however, share with other Asian countries the
apalling conditions of forced prostitution and sexual exploitation of
the worst kinds in red light districts all over the country.
Although India is committed to the abolition of prostitution,
under present legislation, a woman's prostituting herself is per se not
* Written on the basis of a study prepared by Harji Malik, a well-known
Indian free-lance journalist from New Delhi.
8
illegal. As Jyotsna Chatterjee of the Voluntary Women's Programme told
the International Abolitionist Federation in Vienna in September 1984,
the incidence of prostitution in every form is on the rise in metropolitan
areas, in business centres and country markets. Stepped up urbanization
and industrialization, in addition to the growing permissiveness of the
higher-income echelons of society with their larger numbers of rich
people, all go to explain this new phenomenon.
The majority of prostitutes have been forced into the
profession by a combination of socio-economic pressures, as well as by
personal constraints created by certain centuries-old traditions. Even
then it should seem that the girls have entered the profession"volunta-
rily", a look at their past history often reveals that while the final
step may have been voluntary, circumstances made their so-called "choice"
practically inevitable.
A major factor is the basic inequality between the sexes in
India, for it leaves women terribly vulnerable to sexual exploitation,
and particularly in the least privileged sectors of society, where women
are still regarded as the property of their fathers or husbands, to be
disposed of as they see fit. What is more, the women, who for generations
have been socialized in such an environment, accept their fate with
passive resignation.
From the moment she is born, a girl child in India is considered
a potential burden on her family. She must be married off just as quickly
as possible. In most communities, marriage implies a dowry, which can
constitute a tremendous financial burden for the family. Indeed, if the
sum cannot be rounded up, it can become a fatal institution, as cases of
"bride-burning" or "dowry deaths" attest. The extent of the burden
depends upon the family's financial situation, but it all too often leads
to indebtedness.
Until she is safely married off, a girl must be protected
against the risk of a sexual mishap because, with the exception of a few
tribal societies, her virginity is the sine qua non for her finding a
9
husband. If she has the misfortune to lose her virginity, she is out of
the marriage market, and this is not only a catastrophe for her family
but a disgrace to the community as well. She may even become an outcaste.
But should a young woman who is just married lose her husband at a young
age, she is not much better off: she is once again considered a burden
on her family and her in-laws. If the marriage turns out to be an
unhappy one or if she is badly treated by her husband or her in-laws,
there is not much she can do about it, because in India once a girl
marries, it is a disgrace for her to return to her parent's home, no
matter how down-trodden and exploited she may be.
The continuing taboo on the remarriage of widows in nearly
all walks of life is another, related factor that contributes to forced
prostitution. It can create incredibly cruel situations. In many rural
areas, and despite legislation that prohibits such acts, the tradition
of child brides still persists. This means that little girls can become
widows even before they reach puberty, the age at which marriages are
consumated. And as widows cannot remarry, the child is condemned to be
a burden for the rest of her life. Poor families often sell these
unfortunate girls to procurers. In other instances, the girls are so
badly neglected or worse that they run away, only to fall into the hands
of procurement agents.
Poverty, illiteracy, backwardness, the lack of employment
opportunities and of employment skills, together with the sexual ine-
quality, go to make a formidable combination that pushes women and girls
into prostitution. It is a combination that also perpetuates "hereditary"
prostitution, a tradition peculiar to certain Indian communities. This
ancient religious system of "Devadasis", or maidens dedicated to God,
dates back to the 3rd century A.D.. By the 6th and 7th centuries, the
devadases were held in great respect in southern India, as they were
considered to be the guardians of dance and music of the classical
tradition. The wealth and importance of the great temples was measured
in part by the number of devadases attached to them. Eroticism was always
10
part of the tradition, for the devadasis was a "courtean of the gods",
dedicated to their pleasure and entertainment.
Even in medieval India, priests were known to buy
attractive young girls from destitute families during periods of
famine to bring them up as devadasis. This practice has its modern
counterpart in forced prostitution. Under the pretence of dedication
to the goddess, girls from the drought-prone areas of Maharashtra and
Karnataka, for example, regularly join the rankss of the devadasis-
turned-prostitute, ending up in the prostitution cages of Bombay.
The kidnapping of girls for sale is another source of
prostitutes which, because of the huge profits to be made in the flesh
trade, has become a favourite method of procurement, particularly in
rural areas. In an extensive study of Bombay prostitutes, S.D. Punekar
and Kamla Rao found out that out of 10 cases of kidnapping, six
involved children between the ages of four and ten. These small
children were then given a strict education in brothels and were made
to embark upon their "career" as early as possible. Having known no
other life, the children accept prostitution as a fact of life. The
researchers also turned up four young women who had been kidnapped when
they were past 18 and who had been forced into the trade by threats
and physical violence. Indeed, it is thanks to a famous case of
investigative journalism that a racket in the wholesale marketing of
village and tribal girls was brought to public attention.
But before going on to the role of the press in combatting
prostitution, mention must be made of a modern phenomenon, that of the
call girl. Though a great deal more work remains to be done on the
question, it would seem that the call-girl phenomenon stems from, among
other things, a desire for the perquisites of affluence, for "excite-
ment", and as the result of family-related psychological disturbances
and/or rebellion against society. However, the lack of employment
11
skills and opportunities, as well as sexual inequality, as this affects
low-paying jobs and job insecurity, certainly contribute to the call-
girl system.
Informing the Public
How has the press responded to the issue of prostitution
in India? As a direct consequence of the just concluded UN Women's
Decade and the attendant interest in women's issues that it stirred up,
the Indian press has undeniably shown a greater awareness of the
complexity and seriousness of the problem. Still, compared with the
extent of the human tragedy that invests certain aspects of the
profession, including the shameful acceptance of child prostitution and
forced prostitution by Indian society and the massive exploitation of
girls and women caught up in the flesh trade, media exposure can be
said to be woefully inadequate.
The media have not yet played the role of which they are
capable in educating the public, in stirring up public conscience and
in inciting people to take action against professional exploiters.
Moreover, the press has made practically no effort to change the
traditionally biased attitudes towards prostitutes, who are in fact
victims, and has done little to put pressure on the authorities
concerned to tackle the inequalities and poverty that generate
prostitution.
A number of studies on various aspects of prostitution,
some of which are referred to here, in fact provide a good many leads
for journalists to follow up. But, only in rare instances has this
occurred. Perhaps because of the failure of women's organizations to
focus on the problem and play a more constructive, active role in
helping the victims, thereby creating a "news item", the press has
12
failed to cover important aspects of prostitution. No in-depth reports
have been published, for example, on clients of prostitutes, on call
girls, on child prostitution or on those women who have been rehabili-
tated to find out how they have fared.
However, it would be both unfair and untrue to say that
the press has done nothing. On the contrary, some extremely useful
stories have been published by magazines and Sunday papers, and
journalists working in different parts of the country have from time
to time done genuinely crusading work. To give some idea of what the
press is capable of, a short rundown on some of the issues reporters
have addressed themselves to is in order. In so doing, we shall try
to illuminate with concrete illustrations some of the current practices
outlined earlier.
A report published by Raviwar called "Highway Prostitution"
exposed a little known side of the profession, which apparently exists
in various places around the country. It revealed that tea-stall
owners on the main Rajasthan highways were operating makeshift brothels.
The girls were housed in sheds just off the road for the "use" of truck
and car drivers.
The reporter discovered that many of the girls came from
adjacent villages, which were poverty-ridden and where prostitution
before marriage had become accepted practice. Girls just turned 16
were first deflowered by a carefully selected man of some means; it was
he who paid for a feast for the family, which turned into a ceremonial
celebration in the community. Fathers and brothers eagerly awaited
such occasions. The highway clients, the reporter learned, came from
all walks of life and were quite open about what they were after. They
included students, merchants, government employees, politicians and
policemen who, according to the article, benefitted both from bribes
and from free service from the girls.
13
Exploitation of tribal girls was the subject of a special
report that ran in India Today. The girls from the village of Chumsar
Udaigiri, in Orissa, have always been famous for their beauty, so much
so that parents used to tatoo the faces of their daughters to ward off
capture by other, neighbouring tribes. But that was in the past.
Then "development" arrived, and "progress"; officials were sent into
the area, contractors were contacted and roads were built. But the
village women once again became victims. Because they had lived
completely cut off from "civilization", the villagers were easily taken
in by the petty officials and contractors. These men "bought" a wife,
lived with her for a few months, then abandoned her, even when she had
borne them a child. As many as 200 wives had been abandoned.
This story was one of the more sucessful exposs of the
exploitation of women. But it was never followed up by the newspaper
itself or by other publications. No other reporters visited the road-
side brothels or the village of Chumsar Udhaygiri, and readers were
left wondering what had happened to the 200 abandoned girls and their
children. Did the authorities take action against the officials
involved? Were the girls looked after by social organizations? Or did
they end up in the hand of procurers? The human tragedy of the women
themselves remains to be told, and the story is incomplete.
In contrast, another story published in India Today was
a major cover story and got in-depth treatment, no doubt because the
editors considered it was good copy and would interest a broad spectrum
of readers. The story was on the spread of sexually transmitted
deseases, or STD. According to the article, 25 per cent of the cases
reported in Bihar were children under 15- The report also quoted a
Madras psychologist who stated that, among 2,000 STD patients in the
city, "as many as three-fourths of the males and one-half of the females
surveyed were between the ages of 21 and 30, and that STD was higher
among teen-age girls than boys. More than half the people surveyed
14
were unmarried." Even though this India Today report constituted in-
depth coverage, it did not explore the nexus between STD and prostitutes,
nor did it trigger the spate of follow-up articles that it might have.
Less serious magazines also carry an occasional story or
two on the subject, but they are usually highly sensational. A recent
report on the sexual adventures of politicians is typical of the
salaciousness that can creep into media coverage on prostitution. "How
Our Sex-Hungry Leaders Lead a Lustful Life and Get Away With It" was
the title of a cover story, published by Onlooker. It went on to name
a number of political figures and to relate their escapades. The
report also highlighted the Haryana Roadways bus depot scandal where
"certain top officials of the depot" had allegedly struck on the novel
idea of hiring women on daily wages to exploit them sexually for
political VIPs and bus depot employees. The scandal broke, the Onlooker
reported, when one of the girls, a bus traffic assistant, was found
murdered. Despite the sensational presentation, it was obvious that
the reporter had put a lot of time and effort into getting his story.
An expos of another scandal was published by Probe
magazine in August 1984. Their reporter had apparently found out
about a raid conducted by income-tax officials who had unexpectedly
turned up a call-girl racket. A list of names of young women from
different social backgrounds was found, along with a description of
each one and an assessment of her "performance". Other lists found on
the premises contained the names of a well-known woman photographer
and a leading magazine editor.
Stories like these are essential because they shock readers
into awareness and can incite indignation. The main criticism one can
levy against them is that no sympathy is generated for the plight of
these women.
15
Some reporters, though, have done a good job of political
muckracking. An Observer article entitled "The Party in Kamathipura"
recounted the visit of drunken Congressmen, in Bombay for the Centennial
celebrations of the Congress Party, to the city's red light district.
"Special police arrangements had evidently been made", noted the
reporter, and "they were to protect rather than to prohibit". He
looked on as a "group of boisterous congressmen...formed a queue and
trooped up the rickety stairs that led to a brothel". They had
previously been reassured by a pimp that the girls were "safe", i.e.,
that they regularly went for medical check-ups. "In the more expensive
brothels," he was told, "there had been a flood of bookings from
delegates who did not want to be seen in the red light district".
These then are the men whose responsibility it is to legislate for the
protection of the girls made available to them, and this courageous
story is an instance where sensationalism does have a definite role to
play.
Some newspapers have also been instrumental in breaking
new ground. Such was the case of an India Today report on massage
parlours in Madras. Called "Parlour Games", it described the prolifera-
tion of such establishments and gave details: the type of massage
varied and could cost anywhere from Rs.^O to 70. Most of the clients
had small businesses or shops, and the majority of the girls came from
dirt-poor families, many of Anglo-Indian or Keralite origin. All the
girls came from out of town and had been lured to Madras by touts. A
woman by the name of Shanti acknowledged that she was married but that
her husband was working out of the city. She had "drifted into this
work" because her previous job had been too strenuous. She had
"learned the ropes on the job" and was content with the pay, which
averaged between Rs.300 to 500 a month.
The real news in the story, however, was the statement the
reporter obtained from a leading veneralogist to the effect that,
16
whereas a year earlier, all his patients had picked up a sexually
transmitted desease in a brothel, this was no longer the case. An
ever-growing number of patients were now picking up infections in
massage parlours. This aspect of the "new prostitution" had never been
touched upon before; many earlier reports on the world of call girls
had mentioned massage parlours, along with dance schools, beauty salons,
health clubs and the like, that acted as fronts for prostitution, but
no investigative reporting had been done on this dangerous aspect of
the call girl racket.
Press Coverage That Prompted Official Action
While the prime function of the journalist is to inform as
accurately and completely as possible, it does happen that a journalist
uncovers a story that is so shocking that it actually prods authorities
to take action. This does not necessarily mean that the wrong is
righted, as we shall see, but it does mean that the journalist
potential has a real role to play in correcting abuses.
Such is the case of Ashwini Sarin, whose "Kamla Story"
published by the Indian Express has become a landmark in media coverage
of forced prostitution: it is a unique combination of sensationalism
and serious reportage.
Sarin happened on the story accidentally. Assigned to cover
an election campaign, he by chance overheard three villagers talking
about "aecha maal" (the "goodies") available in a town called Pachgaon.
With them was a terrifed-looking young South Indian girl of about 18,
and Sarin instinctively understood that they were referring to her.
After discreet enquiries, he learned that Pachgaon was the site of a
regular mandi, or market, where women were sold. Brothel-keepers from
all over the country came to buy "fresh stock" and to exchange
"shopworn material".
17
Great secrecy surrounded the racket, but Sarin learned that
the girls were first taken to a place that was considered quite safe
called Dholpur. Situated in the heart of rough, ravined terrain,
Dholpur was on the borderline of three states, which made it that much
easier to elude the police of any one state.
Sarin decided to do a story on these markets, and began by
visiting the area ten times. He dressed like a local, gained people's
confidence and quietly went about collecting information. This is how
he discovered that most of the village people in the area were making
large amounts of money from the racket, whence the tight-lipped secrecy
that prevailed. But the police were not dupes, the journalist
discovered: a posting in the area was considered a prize plum,literally
fought over by the lower ranking policemen because of the bribes they
could collect from the traders and the "free service" from the women.
After some difficulty, Sarin finally found a girl called
Kamla and, after a fair amount of haggling, succeeded in buying her
for Rs. 2,300. The fact that he had actually bought a woman constituted
a sensational enough scoop to merit front-page coverage. And the
public was indeed captivated by Kamla's tale. The story, alas, was
typical: thrown out by her husband and his family, separated from her
two children, she had been bought by several successive persons over
the preceding five years until Sarin finally bought her. She was in
such a state of trauma that she could not recall any details.
Then the reporter unfolded the story of this incredible
racket. The girls are "trained and adapted" in Dholpur before they
are sold off. "Training and adaptation" is a cruel business: sociali-
zation into prostitution can be achieved either by gradual persuasion,
by gently breaking down a girl's resistance or else by torture and
beatings to force her submission. If a girl proves obdurate, her
18
spirit is deliberately broken by raping her so that she has no
alternative but to submit. To make sure that the girls can never get
familar with an area or with any one customer, the brothel-keepers
regularly exchange them. Familiarity, of course, can lead to escape
attempts, which mean that the brothel loses valuable"property".
The network is run with smooth efficiency. There are houses
in Dholpur and neighbouring villages with specially installed basements
to hide the girls waiting to be sold. Truck drivers have regular runs,
transporting girls from one location to the next, and some of them even
become traders, buying new arrivals and selling them off in Bombay for
big profits. They avidly calculate a girl's "worth": "For a girl of
16", the reporter was told, "working 250 days a year, handling up to
ten customers a day for Rs. 50 a throw...for three years...O.K., I'll
pay Rs. 6,000 for her".
Sarin learned that there was a difference between the flesh
traders of Agra and Dholpur and the girl-runners of Uttar Pradesh and
Madhya Pradesh. The latter are apparently completely ruthless and
capture and transport women at gunpoint. Uttar Pradesh is a "kidnappers'
paradise", and they are at their most active during the first three
months of the year when farmers have sold their crops and make a heavy
run on the brothels.
The gangs of kidnappers have a network of local agents, and
the girls are sold off very fast. Those who do not make the grade are
passed on to the flesh trade. Lawyers and their clerks are an integral
part of the operation, for prospective buyers and procurers need them
to file affidavits that the victimized girls are forced to sign.
Traffickers and procurers often keep lawyers on a retainer fee just to
take care of any eventuality and, when necessary, to bail out the girls.
As for the police, they are either involved or turn a blind eye. An
officer told Sarin quite frankly that the sale of women was a matter of
19
"routine"; it had been going on for years, and the police really had
no time to deal with it.
The story of Kamla made a tremendous impact on public
opinion when it was first published, and it went on to inspire a film
and a play of the same name, both of which attracted large audiences
around the country. This created awareness and provoked a certain
amount of debate on the subject of the flesh trade. More than that,
when Sarin's story broke, it was found so shocking that the Madhya
Pradesh Government ordered a probe. The Indian Express itself filed a
petition asking the Supreme Court to initiate various kinds of remedial
measures.
Since that time, nothing more has been heard of the enquiry,
and the petition is still pending in Court. Meanwhile, trafficking
continues in the same place and at the same pace. Moreover, since the
Indian Express expos, other journalists, most of them from the local
press, have discovered that more villages than ever before have become
involved in trafficking.
An All Too Slow Change Of Attitude
In the not too distant past, the only stories published on
prostitution were angled for sensationalism. But more recently, and
particularly since the start of the Women's Decade, there has been
greater interest in women's issues and the media have taken a more
serious approach to them. Generally speaking, women's magazines in
India are no longer exclusively concerned with fashion, home decoration
and cooking. Several newspapers have even assigned reporters to cover
issues that concern women directly.
As far as prostitution is concerned, there have been
stories that have escaped the pitfalls of sensationalism. Jean D'Cunha's
20
excellent story called "No, This Can Never Be A Profession Like Any
Other", which apppeared in Femina magazine, is an example of how a
perceptive writer can grip the reader's attention by highlighting the
tragedy of the exploitation of fellow women. Similarly, Preeti Mehra's
"Only A Hell to Call Home" on the fearful conditions of an Agra rehabi-
litation centre is a scathing indictment of how the authorities treat
the unfortunate women who want to escape the profession.
But despite these improvements in coverage, the immoral
traffic in women rates comparatively few stories and by and large
remains a relatively unknown phenomenon. Why this should be so is not
very clear. Even the outstanding women journalists who specialize in
women's issues and who have done excellent investigative reporting have
paid scant attention to the socio-economic factors that push village
women into prostitution. Though there were two excellent in-depths
studies of the nexus beween bonded labour and prostitution in Utterkashi,
which were picked up by some daily newspapers and printed in condensed
form, no serious journalist has tackled this aspect of prostitution.
What is even more extraordinary is that, with the spate of articles on
bonded labour over the past two or three years, no specialized journalist
has looked at the specific question of female bonded labour. The reasons
for such lacunae are no doubt tied up with society's attitude towards
"fallen" women, and particularly the lives of prostitutes. Like the
rest of the population, then, even women journalists remain oblivious
to the extent of this tragedy.
What Prompts Coverage
Media coverage seems to be directly proportional to the
amount of volunteer work carried out in a particular area. A good
example is the large amount of material available on the devadasis.
This has been sparked by the activities of organizations involved in
21
working with devadasis: they have highlighted the problem in numerous
news releases, kept the press informed and encouraged reporters to
attend their conferences.
Devadasis have always been considered newsworthy material,
though in the past it was for reasons of sensationalism. More recently,
the sensation was created not by the erotic ancient rites but by an
active reform movement. A report in 1980 focussed on what was no doubt
the first detailed description in recent times of what the reporter
called the "Godforsaken women and girls" dedicated to the Goddess
Yellama, and the work being done to change the system. Case histories
brought home to the reader the miseries of these women.
One of the devadasis who goes by the name of "Baby" was
made a prostitute by her mother. She herself is now the mother of two,
but the fathers are unknown. She has put her children in school, but
never visits them for fear they will be ostracized by their classmates.
Her clients, she told the journalist, "are all kinds of men; they pay
what they want".
Another girl told social workers that she was dedicated to
the goddess at age six. Asked why, she bluntly replied that it was
so she could be sent to a brothel. Another young devadasi was dedicated
while still an infant because her mother had previously lost a baby
during childbirth and had promised the goddess her next born living
child. She lived in the sordid red light district of Mijapur, having
left her son in the village with her parents so he would never learn
about her profession.
Social workers have helped the devadases become aware that
they are being exploited and that this has little if nothing to do with
religion. They have encouraged the women to organize themselves. All
22
this has been written up by a journalist called Jain in a full-page
story called "Devadases: Maids of God and Men". He described the
efforts of a lawyer in Pune to organize the women and showed how such
pressure helped in getting anti-devadasis legislation passed in
Karnataka. Also recounted was the story of how two devadases tobacco
factory workers set up a rehabilitation centre for women and their
children with the help of a dedicated social worker and a union man.
Another reporter, Imran Quereshi, pursued the question of
how devadases could take up the fight for their rights in this degrading
profession. He told how a former brothel keeper, who had implicitly
believed in the religious sanction of prostitution, was made to under-
stand the real situation. It was the educated daughter of another
devadasis who did this, by telling what the newspapers were writing
about the corruption of the cult. The brothel keeper, Revabai Pamanavva
Kamble, went on to create a 4,000-strong organization of devadases which
has succeeded in creating awareness of health problems among the Pune
prostitutes who, she claims, now visit the dispensary on a regular basis.
These and other reports placed the devadasis problem
squarely before the public. But what is more, the stories received so
much publicity that the government was under pressure to pass an anti-
devadasis law. The law will undoubtedly prove to be a major weapon in
the fight against this cruel system. And though the devadases' sucess
may be limited, it does provide valuable guidelines for tackling other
forms of prostitution.
Stirring The Public's Conscience
Another, very different form of exploitation has also
benefitted from the fairly wide coverage given it. A number of
23
journalists and newspapers have performed a great service by focussing
on the short-lived "Muta marriages" of Bombay and Hyderabad, an aspect
of "Prostitution Tourism". Journalist Kalyan Chander Jaiswal explained
how these so-called "marriages" are contracted and how young girls are
exploited, for the men quickly walk out on their "brides". In so doing,
the journalist blasted the myth that the husbands from the Gulf
countries are all wealthy sheikhs. Indeed, most of the men claimed
they were important officials or rich men when, in fact, they were
merely security guards, chauffeurs, petty housekeepers and the like.
Even for a rich man, though, a "muta marriage" for a few
weeks is a better bargain than having to pay for a call girl every
night. What is more, the girls are often virgins, and this means they
can command a higher price. The journalist cited cases of girls who
were "married" to men two or even three times their age for a sum of
3,000 rupees and who were then deserted. Take, for example, the case
of 13-year-old Zubeida, the daughter of a deceased car mechanic. Her
widowed mother was tempted by the money and sold her daughter to a 73-
year-old man from the Arab Emirates. He spent eight days with the girl,
had a passport made out for her, and then disappeared. Now she and
her sisters, who had never worn the chador before, do so to hide from
the taunts of their neighbours. This is typical of the poorer families,
who are sorely tempted by the prospect of a dowry.
One of the finest jobs of awakening the public conscience
to the cruel exploitation of women has been done by a journal called
Manushi, which focusses on women's condition. The Manushi staff
systematically zero in on every aspect of prostitution, from trafficking
to the arguments for licensing brothels. The journal even goes so far
as to initiate debates, something which the major newspapers and
magazines still do not do. Unfortunately, Manushi has a limited number
of readers, although they include leading opinion makers.
24
But even a crusading journal can do little if the public
is so passive that it cannot be prodded into helping those in distress.
A sad case in point is that of a Nepalese girl by the name of Tulsa.
Not so long ago, she received maximum press coverage. When Tulsa was
13, she was abducted from her home in Nepal and brought to Bombay. In
I982 an article described her being taken to hospital at death's door;
she was suffering from a severe case of syphillis, as well as from
tuberculosis and other ailments. She had somehow managed to escape
from the brothel to get to hospital.
The public was indignant. Tulsa had made headlines in a
number of publications, and offers to help came pouring in. There were
even offers of marriage. People wanted to "restore her lost childhood".
But three years went by and still Tulsa had no home. True, she had
been cured of her physical ills but the mark on her character "could
not be washed away". Homesick, she had been sent back to her family
but they finally turned her away. Even her father, who had been
anxious for her to return, found it difficult to defy the fingers
pointed at his family. "Instead of my laughing thirteen-year-old
daughter," he said, "you have sent me an old woman". Tulsa has been
given special crutches and is now following vocational training. She
wants to be independent and return to Bombay.
It is evident that the media could not and did not restore
Tulsa's former happiness, but it did lead to police action. In the
face of the publicity generated by Tulsa's story, the authorities were
forced to take action, and over 1,600 girls have now been rescued from
brothels. Moreover, the Nepalese Government opened its first home for
women, and the men who had raped Tulsa when they first abducted her
were sentenced to three years in prison. These three men, who ruined
her life, are now free, but Tulsa still remains a prisoner of her past.
25
Indeed, basic to the whole question of rehabilitation is a
change in public attitudes. Today the prostitute is still a social
outcaste. She can entertain no hope of ever returning to a society
that in fact exploits her but where she is considered a criminal. By
telling the very human stories behind the profession, newspapers and
magazines can help to gradually change the attitude not only of readers
including women but that of the authorities as well. A simple
story well told can convey more knowledge to the public than countless
numbers of scholarly studies.
No doubt one reason why there are not more stories in the
press is the fact that it is a difficult subject to cover. It is
virtually impossible to enter the homes where rescued girls are kept,
much less talk to them freely, for they are closely guarded. Nor is
it easy to talk with the inmates of a brothel without the all-powerful
madam hovering around. This has been attempted several times, but
usually without much success. Indeed, many of the girls themselves
are reluctant to talk, for they are basically ashamed of the lives they
lead. Many have a chip on their shoulder and resent being questioned by
an outsider. From bitter experience, they know that behind the
questions there is rarely genuine sympathy.
Despite these difficulties a number of publications have
responded to the challenge with sympathy and interest, even though a
certain amount of morbid curiosity also entered in. The "call girl"
phenomenon, on the other hand, has till now received only sensational
angling; not a single article has explored the underlying reasons for
this kind of activity.
As we have seen, prostitution is a hydra with many heads.
To do the subject justice and to show that prostitutes are in fact
citizens who are deprived of their basic rights, a good deal more in-
depth coverage will be necessary, for that is the only way to keep the
problem in the news and public opinion alerted.
26
III. MALAYSIA, THE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF PROSTITUTION NETWORKS*
In a number of Asian countries, there has been growing
concern over the rise of a new internationalized form of exploitation
known as "sex tourism". According to concerned women's groups, it is
one of the most dehumanized forms of sexual and economic exploitation
of Asian women, and one that the average citizen knows little if
nothing about.
At a workshop organized by United Nations Economic and
Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) in 1985, discussions
focussed on the mushrooming of the prostitution "industry" over the
past two decades which, it was felt, was directly due to the impact of
large-scale organized transnational tourism. "While prostitution and
tourism used to exist independently," the report stated, "the media
campaign to sell package tours has transformed the concept of leisure
to incorporate prostitution. The two are now interacting,and being
transformed in the process".
Of course, traditional forms of prostitution continue but
the trade has been undergoing large-scale commercialization, both
nationally and internationally. Concerned groups are questioning the
wisdom of governmental efforts to promote tourism. This report, as
well as the one that follows on the Philippines, refers to the
aggressive promotion of tourism as a governmental strategy to combat
economic stagnation and to earn foreign exchange.
According to the I982 ESCAP report, an estimated 16.2
million tourists visited Asia that year, and revenues from tourism
* Written on the basis of a study prepared by Rohana Ariffin,
Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang
27
reached US $7.4 billion, which accounted for nearly 7 per cent of the
total tourist expenditure around the world. As the authors of the
Philippine report stated, "As the national economy floundered,
strategies for recovery has been wittingly or unwittingly, at the
expense of selling human flesh...This is how sex tourism, entertain-
ment abroad, the bride market and domestic bondage abroad and other
forms of female exploitation came about".
To give some idea of the extent of sex tourism, it has
been estimated that some 3-5 million men, for the most part Japanese,
buy such package tours each year. Tour operators and certain major
corporations organize trips to such big centres as Taipeh and Seoul,
as well as to South-east Asia. An 1980 estimate put the number of
prostitutes in Bangkok alone at 100,000 women.
In the face of protests by concerned women's groups
throughout Asia which were condemning sex tours by Japanese men, the
Japanese Transport Ministry responded in 1981 by issuing a warning
to travel agencies. It threatened to cancel the licenses of at least
20 tour operators responsible for organizing sex tours. The Malaysia
Straits Times reported that the Japan Travel Agencies Association
(JTAA) actually expelled a member agency for organizing sex tours in
South-east Asian countries.
Sex Tourism in Malaysia
Though it has been officially denied, sex-tourism apparently
exists in Malaysia. It is, however, on nowhere near the scale of what
occurs in Thailand or the Philippines. This was the conclusion of a
study undertaken by the Consumer's Association of Penang (CAP) in 1980,
which nonetheless quoted one tourist as saying that "Penang comes
second only to Bangkok in the easy availability of girls".
28
In January 1981, the Malay press highlighted the fact that
tourist agencies in other countries were using sex-holiday packages as
bait to attract tourists. The Malay Mail reported that tour operators
in Hong Kong were showing a short film-strip featuring nearly naked
girls to promote a club in Malaysia. The paper also quoted a tour
agent who said that though a certain company had ostensibly been
promoting its package tour as a "family outing" to Malaysia and
Singapore, its advertisements overseas certainly did not bear this out;
indeed, the ads showed women in topless attire. In an earlier story,
the Malay Mail quoted a former tourist guide who stated that she was
in the habit of taking her clients on the sly to the red light districts
so as not to "tarnish the name" of the company she worked for.
This was not a new phenomenon. Another Malaysian paper,
the Star, ran a story in March 1978 to the effect that Japanese tourists
were by far more attracted to "activities that go on behind closed doors"
than to such traditional tourist sites as the National Monument or the
Batu caves. The reporter interviewed the receptionist at a leading
hotel in Kuala Lumpur who stated: "After checking in, the first thing
the men ask for is a map of the city, and then they ask you to circle
the girlie bars, the massage parlours and the red light districts." In
a luxury hotel in Penang that is part of an international chain, the
management had been forced to put up notices in the rooms. The notices
were in Japanese and asked clients to refrain from taking "girls" to
their rooms.
It is true that Japanese tourism has been on the rise in
Malaysia. The New Straits Times noted that the number of Japanese
tourists had gone up by 100 per cent from 1976 to 1981 and was still
rising. The increase was attributed to the Malaysian government's
effort to promote tourism with its "Look East Policy". The Japanese
showed interest in these efforts and took an active part in development
projects around Malaysia. Then in March 1983 tourism was given a
29
further boost when both governments simultaneously waived the two-
week visa requirements for each other's nationals. The world's
largest travel bureau, the Japan Travel Bureau, began offering its
first package tours to Penang in 1982.
In the face of the raising tide of tourists, it has
become all too common that a number of local people abandon their own
cultural values to pander to the whims of the rich tourists. In
extreme cases, this can lead to decadence and moral degradation.
This phenomenon is especially evident in the proliferation
of social escort agencies in Malaysia. Theoretically, at least,
social escorts make for perfect tourist guides; they can be the
hospitable hosts who know the country well and can introduce the
tourist to the finest aspects of the country's culture. In practice,
this is hardly the case, for many escorts quickly accept to become
pleasure-objects. The practice is now so common in Malaysia, that
government officials have publicly lambasted the overtness of certain
advertisements in local newspapers.
Although there have been non in-depth studies on the link
between prostitution and tourism, there seems to be enough empirical
evidence, as witnessed by the newspaper accounts just mentioned, that
the two are related and that the phenomenon is by no means on the wane.
Penang's Prostitution Syndicates
For the most part, prostitution in Penang is in the hands
of syndicates. Organized along ethnic lines Malaysia, it should be
recalled, is a multi-ethnic society each syndicate controls about 20
or so girls. The girls are generally very young, aged between 14 and
30. They work out of houses run by "Madams", and each prostitute has
30
her own account. She can keep half of what she earns, the other half
goes to the syndicate.
According to official police records, there are some ten
syndicates still operating in Penang. The police claim to have put
four out of operation and are ostensibly trying to knock out those
remaining.
A recent in-depth interview with the Anti-Vice Department
of the Penang Police Force revealed that the police continue to carry
out raids to try to curb prostitution. The raids are organized "at
random", by day or by night, on "aunty" houses, nightclubs, hotels,
massage parlours and the like. If the prostitutes picked up are local
girls, the police try to get them to tell what they know about the
syndicate's operation. Should there be enough evidence, the police can
then charge the syndicate members under the Restricted Residents
Enactment, which allows them to be placed under house arrest in out-of-
the-way areas for from two to five years. This is to ensure that they
will not "tip-off" other syndicate members who may still be at large.
Girls under 21 are handed over to the Welfare Department,
while Muslim prostitutes fall under the jurisdiction of the Muslim
court that applies the religious laws of Shariah. Should the women be
foreigners, the police can charge them under the Immigration Act and
ship them home. Foreign prostitutes and particularly girls from
Thailand and the Philippines, are reputedly more popular with Malaysian
men than local women. (Large numbers of Malaysians apparently frequent
Thailand for the same reason). In any case, of the foreign women
arrested for prostitution in 1984, 92 per cent were Thais.
Recently, a number of Asian countries, including Indonesia
and the Philippines, instituted a new practice that requires citizens
to pay a tax in order to leave the country. This ruling has made it
31
much more difficult to travel abroad and has indirectly reduced the
number of foreign prostitutes entering Malaysia. In any case, it has
been the syndicates that have been convoying the foreign women, whom
they have arranged to bring into the country as "tourists".
Malaysian girls and women arrive in Penang from other
states around the country to work in beauty salons, nightclubs and bars.
According to the police, just about every massage parlour in the city
is a front for prostitution. Although a license is required to operate
a massage parlour, it is issued not by the police but by the Municipal
Council. This, the police claim, makes it difficult for them to curb
such activities.
Last but not least, escort agencies frequently serve as
cover-ups for prostitution activities. Though some escort girls
actually do this as a full-time job, the majority hold down steady jobs
elsewhere, usually as salesgirls, factory hands or waitresses.
What pushes Malaysian women into prostitution? Several
attempts have been made by scholars working in connection with Malaysian
universities or with the Ministry of Welfare to understand the phenomenon.
Though these investigations generally date back as far as the Sixties
and Seventies, they do provide some insight into the sociological and
economic factors behind a woman's decision to become a prostitute.
A study of former prostitutes in a rehabilitation centre
in Perak seems to indicate that even if prostitutes had come from two-
parent homes, the fathers were more often than not considered to be
"irresponsible", that is, they were drunkards, wife-beaters or gamblers.
The family background was relatively unhappy, and the girls felt they
had to escape from home as fast as possible. Other reasons given were
incest or rape by a close relative.
32
Poverty was rarely mentioned as a cause by single women,
but this did not hold true for widows and divorcees. On the contrary,
a study on prostitution by Yapp Ewe Lye et al conducted in Penang and
neighbouring areas revealed that divorcees with a poor situation often
chose prostitution as a way to support their children.
Generally speaking, most prostitutes have received very
little schooling. They are therefore not equipped to hold down good-
paying jobs, and this may go to explain why they were tempted to try
prostitution in the first place. In a study conducted by Abdul Hadi
in 1975, it was found that nearly seven out of ten prostitutes surveyed
were earning at least $400 a month. If they had been holding down a
Form 3 government job, their take-home pay would have been on the order
of $235 a month. For a take-home pay of $500, they would have had to
have 14 years seniority.
In a I976 study conducted by Zakaria Ismail in Penang,
similar results were found: of the 70 prostitutes surveyed, only four
were earning less than $400 a month, while 23 earned between $600 and
$1,000 a month.
Apart from the fact that prostitution holds out the promise
of an income higher than poorly educated women could otherwise hope to
earn, the various studies point to the role played by the new Western-
style consumer culture. More and more women are living in urban
centres, where the pressure to follow the latest fashion is greater
and where it is much more difficult to live on a small income. This
has become even more true in the Eighties, as the economic recession
continues in Malaysia. Many industries have been forced to let workers
go, and especially the textile and electronics industries where women
traditionally constitute a high percentage of the work force. Moreover,
there has been a freeze on government jobs as well. This means that
there is now a large mass of unemployed young women and this could
33
create serious social problems, unless these women are given other job
alternatives and/or re-training. Grave concern has been expressed,
notably by trade unions, over this situation, for it is feared that
these women will go to increase the already sizable number of persons
working in the sex "industry".
The Image of Women Projected by the Press
In Malaysia, women are no longer confined exclusively to
the home; some of them have become wage-earners, professionals and
leaders. Yet in spite of their growing role in society, the media
generally denied them their rightful place and have neglected to a
large extent women's contribution outside the home.
By and large, the media still depict women as the lesser
half of humanity. Magazines and newspapers, as well as the advertise-
ments they carry, still help to reinforce stereotyped images that men
have of women, while reinforcing women's perceptions of themselves as
ornaments and sex bait, thereby depriving them of their self-respect
and dignity.
In all fairness, it should be noted that compared with the
Seventies, some improvements have been made. This will become apparent
as we examine four national daily newspapers from 1970 to the present.
As Malaysia is a multi-racial country, four papers in the various
languages were chosen: the New Straits Times, The Star, Utusan
Malaysia (Malay Press) and Sing Pin Jih Pao (Chinese paper).
This study was perforce a spot check, designed to pinpoint
in so far as possible changing trends. The newspapers were examined
at five-year intervals from 1970 to 1985 and for the months of January,
July and December. (The Star begins in 197^. when it was founded.)
34
Newspapers were chosen rather than, say, television,
because the press represents a more far-reaching mode of communications
in the country.
The New Straits Times
In I97O articles on women in the New Straits Times were
mainly on such "light" subjects as fashion, beauty tips, hairstyles,
cookery and leisure. There were only three informative articles in
the months examined, which included one on detecting breast cancer,
another on careers in public relations and the third on the problems
women students encounter at the university.
There was thus a dearth of articles highlighting the role
that women can play in society, or other informative articles that
would be of real benefit to women or help ensure the well-being of
their families. Instead, the women's column, called "Mainly for Women",
projected the image of flighty, scatter-brained creatures interested
primarily in beautifying themselves. The way the articles were written
indeed implied that such subjects as fashion shows were unquestionably
of overriding importance to all women.
Alongside the editorial content, the advertisements run in
the New Straits Times in 1970 were patently exploiting women or
rather the female body to boost sales. Bikini-clad girls were used
to sell Peugeot cars, while a voluptuous girl holding a tool box
vaunted the merits of Black and Decker. A typical put-down of women's
intellectual capacities, implied rather than overtly stated, was an ad
for Olympia International calculators. The photo showed a girl holding
a calculator that blocked off part of her head with a caption that
read: "Scarcely bigger than her head, but a lot faster".
35
By 1975, which was International Year for Women, some
slight changes could be observed. The "Mainly for Women" column was
turned into "Timeswoman": there were more educational, informative
articles that previously, although the column still featured a good
many articles on fashion, beauty care and the like. However, there
were feature stories on the frustrations of being a housewife, the
rising level of intelligence of new-born babies, and the problems
posed by a high cholesterol count for women and children. In a break
with the past, the paper.also ran articles on women in business,
including one on a successful fast-food operation that had been built
up by an ordinary housewife.
While a good many advertisements continued to flaunt women's
bodies regardless of the product to be sold bikini-clad girls in ads
for Carlsberg beer, for example there were new, definitely more
decent-looking ads as well. This was due no doubt in part to the
establishment of the Advertisement Code of Ethics that set down more
stringent conditions for advertisements.
By I98O, there was a noticeable change in the focus of
"Timeswoman". Feature stories were no longer centred exclusively on
conventional women's subjects, but dealt with more current interests:
the love and understanding parents must show their offsprings, new
careers for women (in the Air Force), women in low-paying jobs (sales-
girls, salon girls, etc.); single girls who find themselves pregnant;
women who make it to managerial positions, and so on.
Ads were also less blatantly sex-oriented. This may be
because the government was in the process of incorporating Islamic
principles into legislation and government policy and extending them
to broad aspects of contemporary life such as advertising. The
Advertising Code stipulated that women are not to be portrayed in any
way that has sexual connotations.
36
Since 1980, there have been no significant changes. The
paper now runs a mix of articles, catering at once to conventional
women and to the more modern young women. Among the latter was an
article called "Problems and Challenges to Contemporary Women...In
Relation to Islamic Principles". Others dealt with, say, the new
psychological approach to child care or to the man-woman relationship.
Even so, advertisements continue to have their fair share
of bikini-clad girls: Toshiba was still showing bare-shouldered women
in their ads in 1984.
In I985, too, there was little change in the stereotyping
of women in ads. Glamourous-looking women were being used to sell
consumer goods and cars and to boost airline companies' business.
Editorially, the paper featured more interviews with women in prominent
positions, from film stars, to businesswomen and even a story on a
woman bandit in India. There were also articles on the modern way to
shop (in supermarkets) and staying fit (aerobics).
In the Eighties, then, it can be said that the New Straits
Times has changed for the better in its portrayal of women: women are
more than just housewives. Conventional articles, of course, continue
to appear and ads reinforce stereotyping. But the paper continues to
carry them for an obvious reason: they bring in money.
The Star
When The Star started up as a tabloid in 197^, the front
pages were filled with sex bait: bikini-clad or half-naked girls.
The women's column, called Trendsetters, continually used photos of
scantly dressed young women as well. The paper went to such extremes
that in the 2 January issue, for example, there was a photo of a young
37
woman dressed in nothing but jewellery. These were the days of
penthouse girls and bare-bottomed bunny girls. Articles for women on
subjects other than fashion and beauty were extremely rare.
In short, the women's pages in the early years of the Star
portrayed women as sex objects. The idea was to boost sales and,need-
less to say, the editors took a conservative line as far as women's
issues were concerned.
By I98O, the name of the women's column had been changed
to "She", and the paper had considerably toned down its emphasis on
girlies photos. This was probably due to a number of factors:
criticism from such concerned groups as the Consumer's Association of
Penang (CAP); a higher level of sales; and the islamization process
going on in the country. (The government was actually issuing warnings
for more restraint in the selection of articles and photographs). The
"She" column presented a pot-pourri of articles on fashion, dance,
health, etc., and an occasional article on a successful woman. It
also ran a story on the life of a prostitute in the United States.
Four years later, the paper was running many more informa-
tive articles. In January 1984, new columns called "Focus" and "Women"
got underway. Also new was a series of serious, practical articles on
health problems ("One Woman's Fight for the Right to Die", "Preparing
the Child for a Hospital Stay", and the like). Unlike the past, the
Star highlighted successful women in trade and commerce, in the arts,
or in the field of health, alongside articles with practical advice
on, say, how woman can obtain loans more easily.
Although advertisements in the Star were not as blatantly
sexist as before, there were nonetheless instances where women were
used for just such a purpose: to give but one example, a Japanese
38
pharmaceutical product was illustrated by a photo of a naked woman's
back.
The end of 1984 saw a new column called "Savvy", which
covered a number of social issues: the urban poor, unwed mothers,
retirement and old age, career women who live alone, and women in
politics.
This favourable evolution continued in 1985- Stories were
devoted to previously neglected women's issues such as occupational
hazards that women must face, the emancipated woman and her rights,
coping with retarded children, etc. In July of that year, there were
several articles on the fight for social justice for women, a subject
that would have been unthinkable ten years earlier. The legal status
of women in Malaysia was examined, as was rape, domestic violence and
the dire need for changes in legislation that discriminates against
women. "Savvy" also reported on a scheme to help battered wives and
those who must overcome emotional ordeals.
Utusan Malaysia
Utusan Malaysia, a daily catering to the Malay population,
has the largest circulation of the vernacular newspapers: in 1984,
circulation was around 1,378,000.
In the Seventies, the paper was characterized by its
moderate approach to women: though they were few in number, there were
articles on such subjects as how women are affected by inflation,
women's dual role in the home and at work, etc. In 1980, the paper
reflected the rapid pace of industrialization and ran stories on women
as an important segment of the work force.
39
Even sos as the paper addresses a Muslim readership, there
were also several articles that were biased against women: they
squarely put the blame on women for "khalwat", an Islamic term which
signifies close relations between men and women. By so doing, the
editors perpetuated the widespread belief that women are temptresses
by nature, with all the moral opprobrium that that conveys.
In I984, there were both very commercial stories on women
from the West alongside articles on the struggles of women in the Third
World. At present, there seems to be a fair balance in the handling
of women's issues. Editorial policy is restrained and neutral:
articles on women are neither unfairly biased against women's issues
nor overtly feminist.
As far as advertisements are concerned, photos are more
proper than in other papers, again because of the Muslim influence.
They do, however, continue to reinforce the stereotyped image of the
tornan as housekeeper and homemaker.
Sing Pin Jih Pao
Sing Pin Jih Pao is a Chinese-language paper based in
Penang, which also has a national edition printed in Kuala Lumpur.
In the early Seventies, the newspaper concentrated on
fashion, cookery, beauty care for women with an occasional article on,
say, how to teach your child to write. Women's issues were hardly a
priority. Advertisements were based largely on sex appeal.
In I975, women's articles still dealt mainly with house-
wifely concerns. There was, however, a story on prostitution in the
country which discussed the history of prostitution, and sexually
transmitted deseases related to the flesh trade.
40
At the time, the tendency was to put sexy-looking ads on
the front page and to run sensational stories for front-page copy
(one carried a half-naked woman). From time to time, there was more
serious material, such as a series of interviews with women candidates
for government posts, or the story of a blind girl who had managed
to enter a local university. This tendency was confirmed during the
early Eighties.
Overview of Newspaper Trends
To sum up, it can be said that in the early Seventies, the
press presented stereotyped views of women's role. All the papers
studied were definitely conservative in their approach. Women's
articles were confined largely to cookery and fashion, which were
obviously deemed the only subjects that could possibly be of interest
to women readers.
Of the newspapers studied, the New Straits Times seemed
the most progressive in 1975, as it had started to feature articles on
why women want to join the work force, profiles of successful women,
and the like. At that time, the Star was barely getting its operation
off the ground; it was basically a scandal-cum-sensational tabloid
where sexy, scantily dressed women filled page after page. The women
covered were types like nightclub entertainers. The Sing Pin Jih Pao
also ran a fair amount of sensational articles, and their handling of
these stories was similar to that of the Star.
The Utusan Malaysia did not succumb to these practices
though it was not particularly supportive of women's issues. As for
the New Straits Times, it rarely printed sexy photos or sensationalized
news, but its approach to women's issues was definitely conservative.
41
In the Eighties, there has been a noticeable change. All
the papers continue to run copy on fashion, cookery and home-making,
but there is less emphasis on sex bait and more on women's issues.
This applies even to the Star, where ads were also toned down. The
Chinese-language paper has been giving more prominence to women's
issues, and the New Straits Times can be commended for its more thougt-
provoking articles on women's issues.
As regards advertising, the findings of the study indicate
that present practices are not in accord with government regulations.
(The latter stipulate that women must not be used as the principal
object to attract attention and should not be used to sell products
that are of no relevance to women). Indeed, the opposite is true:
beautiful women are still being used today to sell anything from a
hi-fi set to a car.
The advertising code also clearly states that women models
must be decently dressed, i.e. there are to be no low necklines and
skirts should cover the knees. Women are not to be depicted in the
process of undressing, as this might provoke undesirable thoughts.
Though these guidelines were no doubt filled with good intentions,
their effectiveness is still highly questionable.
How The Press Image Is Perceived
At the heart of the debate on the power of the press is
its potential role as an agent of socialization and social change.
This is especially true of women's issues and the role the press can
play to combat the worst effects of prostitution.
Having examined the evolution of four national Malaysian
dailies and seen how their treatment of women's issues changed since
42
1970, the authors of this study then went on to do a limited number
of in-depth interviews with women and men readers to sound out their
reactions. Was the Malaysian press doing a commendable job or could
it do better? Were women being portrayed as successful people or
merely as sex objects? Was there any relationship between the image
of women projected by the press and prostitution?
Reactions of General Readers
Of the general readers interviewed, most found out that
the articles that appear on the women's pages are educational and
informative. However, nearly 70 per cent felt that there was no
correlation between the portrayal of women in the media and prostitution
in Malaysia. A quarter of the respondents felt that there was a
certain correlation, i.e. when the press runs photos of scantily
dressed women, this arouses desire and incites readers to seek an outlet
for them.
Only 15 per cent felt that newspapers can play an important
role in curbing the increase of prostitution by presenting a more
positive image of women, thereby curbing to a certain extent sex crimes
and prostitution. In addition, when the media report on prostitutes
being caught by the police, this can act as a deterrent for local girls
who may be tempted to become prostitutes.
When asked to specify what they consider to be alternative
portrayals that the press could present, the respondents stated that
women should be portrayed as successful people with social responsibili-
ties and concerns. They should be shown as capable workers as well as
leaders for the future.
From our findings, only one out of four persons interviewed
had taken steps to voice their discontent about how women are portrayed
43
in the press. Most of the time this was done informally by, say,
telephoning a journalist friend.
Reactions of Concerned Groups
Among the concerned women's groups interviewed, none felt
that newspapers give more than average attention in their coverage to
women's issues. About half the respondents felt that the image of
women that is projected by the press is unfavourable. The main
criticism of editorial content was the class bias that these groups
perceived: the foour papers under review catered, these groups
believed, to a privileged! urban minority. They seemed quite content
with the status quo and made no attempt to bring about social changes.
In other words, more attention was given to the problems and concerns
of upper-class women living in cities, whereas the women living in
poor rural areas were sadly neglected.
More specifically, of the groups interviewed, half found
the women's page informative, while one-third felt concerned by the
articles.
Not a single group saw a correlation between the way the
press portrays women and the existence of prostitution in the country;
prostitution, in their opinion, is rather related to socio-economic
problems. Moreover, newspapers do not play a major role in curbing
the increasing number* of women who become prostitutes, since prostitu-
tion is caused by a great many factors, such as how sex is perceived,
how men perceive their right to self-gratification, the male-dominated
values that women adopt and by which they view themselves, women's own
self-image, family stability, the lack of social security, poverty,
the lack of jobs, etc. They feel that there might be a relation
between the way women are portrayed in the media and the rising, incidence
of violence, particularly the growing number of rapes, including gang
rapes.
44
The groups believed that the press should be presenting
more positive images of women and should become the instrument to forge
a new image of women. Women should, in fact, be shown as they really
are: as complex human beings with all their inherent strengths and
weaknesses. They must no longer be shown as the weaker, inferior sex
but as capable, confident people who possess the same capacity as men
for self-development and who have great potential to be of service to
Malaysian society's development.
One group spokeswoman felt that more women should actively
participate in the media; as journalists and editors, they could exert
influence for better and more relevant stories about women. They could
challenge from within existing media attitudes, which are largely
dominated by men.
When questioned about concrete action that they might have
taken, some groups said that they had made specific efforts to voice
their discontent not by writing letters to the press but by sending
memoranda to the government departments and ministries concerned and
by organizing forums at the regional and national levels.
How Media Professionals See Their Role
Media professionals in fact see their role quite differently
than the average readers or special interest groups. Those working on
the Chinese-language paper felt that the press does play an important
role in curbing prostitution, and in particular by highlighting the
dangers of sexually transmitted diseases. On the other hand, they felt
that it would be a mistake to run stories on prostitutes too often
because this might produce a boomerang effect and actually encourage
readers to seek out prostitutes.
45
Journalists working for the English-language papers, on
the other hand, felt that the press's ability to curb prostitution is
minimal and that a cruisading campaign would be ineffective. In their
opinion, prostitution has always existed and will continue to do so,
whether openly or otherwise. There was no reason to become excessively
concerned as prostitution was not as widespread in Malaysia as in
neighbouring countries.
Chinese journalists again felt that there was a correlation
between the way women are portrayed in the media and prostitution,
while their English-speaking counterparts thought otherwise. When
asked whether there are papers that blatantly exploit women, both
agreed that some Malaysian newspapers do aggressively portray women
as sex objects.
English-speaking journalists condemn the exploitation of
women by the media in order to boost sales, even though the papers they
work for have been known to do just that. For those working at the
Chinese-language newspaper, the practice was felt to be permissible,
but within limits.
As far as the distorted image of women projected in advertis-
ing was concerned, most journalists took a liberal stand, so long as the
ads stayed within the boundaries staked out by the advertising code.
By and large, the Chinese paper still went in for certain
stereotypes about women (shown either as housewives or as the weaker
sex). This kind of stereotyping is rarely to be found in the English-
language papers, which seem to have moved with the times and to have
adapted their editorial policies.
Nonetheless, the Chinese journalists said that their
women's page is due to be expanded and will include more sophisticated
46
articles for both working women and housewives. They will include the
latest fashions from the West and Japan, and articles on ways of living
in the developed countries. The editorial angle will, however, continue
to emphasize the fact that women have different interests than men.
Articles on the family and the like will continue to be run, because
the sanctity of the family is the basic building block of a stable society,
through this should in no way be interpreted as restricting women to
the home exclusively. They fell, in fact, that more opportunities should
be given to women.
As for their role to initiate change, the English-language
media professionals emphasized that they hope to be able to counter-
balance the rising tide of conservatism that is engulfing Malaysia.
These forces, they pointed out, are bent on pushing women back into
their traditional, secondary roles.
47
IV. THE PHILIPPINES: SOUNDING OUT MEDIA PERSONNEL*
As was noted in the introduction, this UNESCO-sponsored
study comes in response to a recommendation by the United Nations
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), namely that the Council:
"Encourage the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization to draw up, with Member
States, programmes for use in schools and in the
media concerning the image of women in society".
This recommendation was based on a report on the suppression
of traffic in persons and the exploitation of the prostitution of others.
In the report, mention was made of the Third World Movement Against the
Exploitation of Women (TW-MAE-W), which this writer has been co-
ordinating since its inception in late 1980 and which was granted
consultative status in the ECOSOC in 1985-
Research and technical support from TW-MAE-W and BALAI
Asian Journal as well as the co-operation of media personnel, women's
groups, schools and other civic organizations were essential to produce
this paper for the Asian regional study.
Guidelines received from the Centre for Women's Development
Studies in New Delhi set the parameters of the research.
Data was based on:
1. TW-MAE-W survey of media personnel;
2. Reflections of media people on their role;
3. Three forums, held in Metro Manila, Cebu City and
Baguio City.
* Written on the basis of a study prepared by Sister Mary Soledad
Perpinan, Coordinator of the Third World Movement Against the
Exploitation of Women, Manila.
48
In designing the Research, the aim was to get maximum
participation from media personnel, and this can be seen in the
construction of the questionnaire, as well as the survey itself
and the forums. Other sectors were drawn in during the public forums.
In a sense, this study is participatory research: the
survey findings, the views of media personnel, the results of the
forums, and this writer's analysis will be given back to the public,
particularly the participating groups, to serve as a launching pad for
further discussion and action.
49
1. TW-MAE-W SURVEY ON MEDIA, WOMEN AND PROSTITUTION
Objectives:
The TW-MAE-W Survey on "Media, Women and Prostitution"
had as its overall objective to find out media personnel's attitudes
and views on women and prostitution.
The specific objectives were:
1. to bring to the surface sexist biases and other aspects
related to the "women's question";
2. to assess media's grasp of prostitution as an issue;
3. to explore factors that affect the policies of decision-
makers and professionals to publish certain stories in
preference to others;
4. to incite the media to tackle the problem.
Conceptual Framework:
The survey was based on the assumption that attitudes and
views are related, i.e., that how one feels about a particular matter
can colour one's perception and conversely, that the views one holds
also have bearing on one's affectivity. To be more precise, views on
prostitution are influenced by underlying attitudes towards women in
general (assuming that most prostitutes are females).
The next assumption is that the projection of a role is a
first step towards assuming that role. Hence, it is important for
media people themselves to articulate what media people should do.
50
Research Instrument:
The questionnaire was so designed as to meet the objectives
of the survey, based on the stated assumptions. After providing
personal and socio-demographic information, all the rpondent had to
do was tick off the appropriate answer - "Agree", "Partially agree",
or "Disagree" - to each statement. At the end of the questionnaire,
ample space was provided for comments. (See Appendix A).
Sampling Area
The survey was carried out in Metro Manila, Cebu City, and
Baguio City, the first two being the most populous urban centres in
the Philippines.
Metro Manila is the capital of the Philippines. It has a
population of 8 million, making it the second largest city in Asia,
after Tokyo. It is the financial, political, and economic centre of
the Philippines. All the major national newspapers and magazines are
published here, and all the big international news agencies have their
offices here.
Metro Cebu, commonly known as Cebu City, is the "Queen City
of the South". The oldest city in the country, it is located in Cebu
Island, roughly 600 kilometers south of Metro Manila. It has a
population of roughly 1 million.
Cebu is the commercial and industrial centre for Central
and South Philippines, and boasts an international port and airport.
The Americans used to have a military base on Mactan Island. Japanese
male tourists shifted to Cebu, after organized protests against their
presence took place in Manila.
51
Ceb has a very vigorous press: there are four daily
newspapers with a circulation of some 500,000, as well as radio and
television stations.
Baguio City, dubbed the "summer capital" of the Philippines,
lies 250 kilometers to the north of Manila. It has about 100,000
inhabitants, a large percentage of whom are students from Northern and
Central Luzon. At the peak of the tourist season, the population can
soar to 1 million people. Tourism is the major industry; Camp John Hay
is a vacation spot for American military personnel.
Three major weeklies are published in Baguio City, and most
of the journalists working there are also correspondents for national
publications. There are also several radio stations.
Findings
The survey was distributed to media personnel working at
the major national dailies and weeklies, tabloids, magazines and foreign
news agencies. Tabulations were based on 100 questionnaires returned.
The percentage figures therefore correspond to the number of respondents
for each item mentioned, except when more than one answer was ticked.
1. Gender Specific Attitudes
To find out whether there are significant differences
between male and female media professionals reflecting personal
attitudes and possible sexist biases in the press, the Pearson product-
moment correlation coefficient was computed for certain items. (2)
Personal Attitudes. Answers to the following statement show
how the respondents feel about various aspects of prostitution. Their
52
answers indicate whether they approve or disapprove of the following:
"Going to a prostitute occasionally is better than
keeping a mistress".
Not a single woman agreed, but 15-5 per* cent of the
male respondents agreed; 71.4 per cent of the women disagreed, compared
to 55-2 per cent of the men.
"Men should not be denied a fling now and then".
Sixty-nine per cent of the women disagreed, whereas the
men's response was a significantly lower 22.4 per cent. More males
(3^.5 per cent) were in favour of a fling now and then, but only J.1
per cent of the women were that permissive.
"Problem wives push men to go to prostitutes".
More men blamed the wives (27.6 per cent) than those
who did not (19 per cent). But 40.5 per cent of the women did not
think so, as against 14.3 per cent who did.
"It is scandalous for matrons to go after machos".
A higher percentage of men (75-9 per cent) than women
(52.4 per cent) believed it was scandalous. Those who did not think
so were about the same for both sexes: 23.8 per cent of women and
22.4 per cent of men.
"It is not offensive to print pictures of scantily clad
females".
Female respondents (69 per cent), compared with only
29.3 per cent of the men objected to this statement. Only 7.1 per cent
53
of the females agreed, while 24.1 per cent of the men agreed with
partial agreement from 44.8 per cent.
"It is not fair that women only are made to be clean
for men".
This statement refers to the fact that female prostitutes
are subjected to regular VD check-ups but no such practice is mandatory
for men, be they prostitutes or clients.
A higher percentage of women (73-8 per cent) thought
it unfair, compared with 51-7 per cent of the male respondents. More
men (12.1 per cent) and less women (2.4 per cent) thought it fair
enough.
"Foreigners should not be denied escort services".
A majority of the female respondents (73.8 per cent)
disagreed; only 4.8 per cent of them favoured escort services for
foreigners. As for men, 22.4 per cent of them agreed with the statement
and 39-7 per cent believed foreigners should not be given escort
services. Once again gender responses differed significantly.
"There is a racist element in the use of Asians for
military prostitution and sex tourism".
Less women (2.4 per cent) than men (17.2 per cent) did not
see any racist element. A bigger percentage difference is seen among
those who agreed with the statement (78.6 per cent of the women and
53-4 of the men).
"It is all right for marriage bureaus to sell brides".
Here, the gender gap narrows: 83.3 per cent of the
54
women and 72.4 per cent of the men disapproved of marriage bureaus.
Very few (2.4 per cent of the women and 5.2 per cent of the men) felt
it permissible to sell brides.
"There is nothing wrong in promoting bold films".
More women (59-5 per cent) than men (37.9 per cent)
disagreed with this moral attitude. Nineteen per cent of the male
respondents against 9-5 per cent of the females approved the promotion
of bold films.
"There should be stricter laws against the procurers".
The majority of respondents (88.1 per cent of the
females and 70.7 per cent of the males) agreed.
Sexist Biases of the Media. A few items gave a clue to
sexism in the print media. Here is how male and female respondents
showed their gender leanings.
"Newspapers glorify sex"
Media women (38.1 per cent of them) affirmed this; so
did 25.9 per cent of male respondents. More men (20.7 per cent) than
women (11.9 per cent) denied the statement.
"Sex is necessary to sell tabloids".
A good 50 per cent of female respondents, compared
with 34.5 per cent of the men did not agree.
"Tabloids favour sexploitation".
As far as local tabloids were concerned, 59.9 per cent
55
of the female respondents thought the statement was true while only
32.8 per cent of the men did. A far bigger percentage of men (24.1 per
cent than women (7-U did not think this was true.
"The graphics of my paper/magazine can be sexist".
Of all items in the survey, this one received the largest
number of "no response": 20.7 per cent of male respondents and 26.2 per
cent of female respondents did not answer. Should this be taken to
mean that their papers had no graphics, or was the word "sexist" not
properly understood?
Only a third disagreed (33-3 per cent of the women and
39-7 per cent of the men) while 19 per cent of the females and 10.3 per
cent of the males recognized sexist elements in their paper's graphics.
"The media tend to sensationalize victims".
There is a marked difference between female and male
responses. More women (40.5 per cent) than men (25.9 per cent) agree
that media tend to sensationalize victims. 15-5 per cent of the male
respondents disagreed, as did 9-5 per cent of female respondents.
2. Views on Prostitution
Just how do media people look upon prostitution? Do they
have a grasp of the problem?
Answers to these questions indicate how the media are likely
to treat this issue. If prostitution is not properly understood, it
cannot be presented as an issue, nor is it likely to be given priority
among the various news items.
56
Mass Prostitution. How many of the respondents are aware
that prostitution has taken a new form in recent years, i.e. that it
is no longer a small-time affair but that it involves thousands of
recruits brought to urban centres or exported abroad?
Eighty-three per cent admitted that prostitution has become
a national problem, and 76 per cent felt it was a problem in their own
locality.
Sixty-seven per cent disagreed with the statement that
since it is an old problem, it is not newsworthy.
Of all the respondents, 76 per cent recognized the fact
that the past decade has seen the rise of mass prostitution. Yet in
answer to another question, only 57 per cent realized that the kind of
prostitution that has proliferated in recent years is more massive and
transnational. Twenty-four per cent did not see any difference with
the type of prostitution that existed a generation ago.
Sex Tourism. Eighty-three per cent linked tourism with
prostitution, which they believed is used as a come-on.
Obvious only to 49 per cent was the connection between
the sex strips in Olongapo City and the US military presence, which
periodically swells when the Seventh Fleet that plies the Pacific and
Indian Ocean arrives in port.
Marriage Markets. Fifty-three per cent considered the
commercialization of marriage as a form of prostitution. Thirty-four
per cent were in partial agreement.
Fashion Shows. Forty-five per cent of the respondents
were aware that fashion shows often serve as fronts for prostitution.
Forty-one per cent were not quite sure, but tended to agree.
57
Conference Prostitutes. Sixty-one per cent agreed that
some conferences do provide prostitutes for the participants. Twenty-
one per cent partially agreed.
Child Prostitution. The sexual exploitation of children
(under 15 years of age) elicited the ire of 96 per cent of the
respondents (the highest percentage).
As for older persons, 78 per cent believed that age
does not give them the prerogative of entering the flesh trade. However,
6 per cent agreed and 12 per cent partially agreed that it is all right
for those of age.
Cause of Prostitution. Poverty was seen by 72 per cent
as the driving factor behind prostitution, while 20 per cent were in
partial agreement, and 4 per cent disagreed.
Economic Gain. That prostitution be tolerated for the
good of the economy was the stance of only 3 per cent; 78 per cent
would not fill the country's offers at the expense of women and children.
Forty-nine per cent of the media respondents did not
think that fighting prostitution will deprive prostitutes of a living.
The Government's Hand in Prostitution. Aside from
development strategies such as tourism schemes, there are various ways
in which the government may aid or abet prostitution.
Seventy-one per cent of the media people were of the
opinion that the licensing of "hospitality girls" is a form of legalized
prostitution.
The respondents did not take a clear stand regarding
the indictment of prostitutes: 32 per cent believed they should not
58
be indicted; 28 per cent were for their indictment; and 30 per cent
partially agreed to penalizing prostitutes.
The responses to the item on decriminalizing prostitutes
showed that 33 per cent partially agreed not to treat them as criminals
while 39 per cent did not want to decriminalize prostitution. Perhaps
the term "decriminalization" was not properly understood.
That stricter laws be directed against the procurers
was agreed upon by 78 per cent of the respondents.
Eighty-seven per cent were of the opinion that police-
men protect sex syndicates.
The government's credibility was questioned by 59 per
cent, although 5 per cent agreed and 28 per cent partially agreed that
the government is sincere in its attempts to eradicate prostitution.
The Churches. As for members of the clergy, 21 per cent
of the respondents felt that they have not properly understood the root
causes of prostitution. Thirty-nine per cent were in partial agreement.
However, 3'+ per cent believed churches understand the root causes.
Filipino Consciousness. Thirty-four per cent thought
that Filipinos are very conscious of the prostitution phenomenon but
30 per cent did not agree.
Geopolitics of Prostitution. One reason why the issue
is poorly understood is because the geopolitics of prostitution is
rarely tackled, according to 5^. per cent of the respondents.
3 Coverage and Media Policy
What have the media done about prostitution?
59
Police Raids. Tabloids have regularly printed accounts
of police raids. Of the respondents, 7 4 per cent had no illusion that
this would stop prostitution. This belief was supported by 18 per cent
in partial agreement.
Personal ads. The dailies run "personal ads" which have
become a venue for soliciting sexual services, according to 63 per cent
of the media respondents.
Sensationalism. Fifty per cent were in partial agreement
with 32 per cent who believed that the media tend to sensationalize
victims.
Silence. On the other hand, almost nothing is said
about the people who profit from the sex industry, in the opinion of
70 per cent, with 23 per cent in partial agreement.
The Cause of Women. Fifty-seven per cent said that the
policy of the publications they work for upholds the cause of women.
Protest Movements. Media people acknowledged the news-
worthiness of protest movements against prostitution. Fifty-eight per
cent felt that the coverage given these protests has been quite
satisfactory. Six disagreed.
Investigative Journalism. Ninety-one per cent were of
one mind in saying that investigative journalism has contributed to
exposing the problem.
4. Media's Perceived Role
How do media people perceive their role? Are they helpless
or can they be effective?
60
Three-fourths of media respondents were optimistic about
being able to do something about prostitution. Only 7 per cent felt
helpless and hopeless.
A high 85 per cent were confident that media people can
be effective agents for change, despite the fact that 42 per cent were
of the opinion that there are few cause-oriented media people, with
38 per cent in partial agreement.
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How Media Personnel See Themselves
Space was provided on the questionnaire for media
professionals to write in their own personal insights on the role of
the media as regards women and prostitution. Here are some samples
of how they saw the role that the media are playing and the role they
could play.
The spectrum of opinions ranged from fatalistic to
hearteningly optimistic; some were conscious only of the media's
shortcomings while others were convinced of their potential as a force
for good.
Along with these responses, two women editors each sent
in a provocative paper that stand as a challenge to the world of the
media.
The following excerpts have been grouped according to some
of the main themes that emerged from the responses as to the perceived
and ideal role of the media.
"The Media Cannot Change A Thing"
-"Prostitution has been with us since Biblical times, or
maybe even earlier. There is no way we can eliminate it, so long as
there is catering to men's sexual desire. The only thing that can be
done is to minimize and/or regulate prostitution to keep it at an
acceptable level". (Male correspondent, aged 49)
-"Tabloids will resort to anything, including sex and
violence to survive. Films can be more powerful than the press in
shaping the way people look at sex, prostitution and violence. However,
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quality and not censorship is the answer". (Male writer, aged
34)
-"What's so special about women and prostitution? They're
like any other subject. If something happens that is newsworthy,then
it's worth running a story". (Male staff writer)
"The Media Are Not As Effective As They Might Be"
-"The media claim they are interested in exposing the
syndicates behind the prostitution dens. However, just like the drive
undertaken by the law-enforcement officers, the media's campaign was
short-lived". (Male reporter, aged 26)
-"With the upsurge of prostitution in this country, the
media should be playing a more vigorous role. I'm afraid that if they
continue to do such a hit-and-run job, the time will come when
prostitution will spread to even the remotest areas of the country".
(Male correspondent and stringer, aged 40)
-"I have yet to see the media bring concrete results in
the fight against the exploitation of women, and especially of young
girls. The same holds true for what the media have done to combat
prostitution.
-"True, the papers do cover police raids on prostitution
houses, but the accompanying photos are chosen with a view to boosting
circulation. This is especially true of the tabloids".(Woman ad
account executive writer, aged 40)
"The Media's Role Is Perforce Limited"
-"The media's role as far as prostitution or any other
issue is concerned, is to inform, educate and influence public
63
opinion and perhaps even affect official mores, but this is as far as
the media can go. With so many wrongs to right in Philippine society,
it may be that the media play down, consciously or unconsciously,
prostitution and women's issues. (This may also be the case of
officials in a position to do something about it).
"Besides, what other alternatives do these women have? If
we have any solutions to propose, let's make them realistic". (Female
associate editor and publisher's representative, aged 41)
"The Media Are Sex-Peddlers"
-"The media often run stories on prostitution just to
boost sales. As far as most media professionals are concerned,
women and children do not make for newsworthy copy. That is why women
professionals are needed. (Female freelance writer, aged 41)
-"Prostitution is an old problem, but today the media are
overdoing it. They print lascivious photos in sex-entertainment ads
and widly overplay sex crimes". (Female feature writer and news-writer,
aged 30)
-"In the Philippines, it has become common practice for
certain dailies and periodicals to jazz up their covers or front pages
with pictures that, to put it midly, can be called 'come-ons'. If
someone dares to protest, the media put him or her down by calling
them prudes...
"The point I want to make though is that such shows of
skin not only sell the periodical, they also sell women. This kind of
'women-are-for-sale' message demeans women. And because this message
is imparted by ostensibly legitimate institutions, men are all the
more easily convinced that women exist for the taking. If a woman
cannot be bought, then she can be raped or similarly subdued without
this weighing on a man's conscience...
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"I agree that publishing is first and foremost a business,
but even businessmen follow a code of ethics; part of our code should
be not to make money at the expense of womanhood".(Female editor of
"Depthnews" women's section)
"The Media Are Run By Male Chauvinists"
-"I think that by and large the men working in the media
have become more cognizant of the capabilities as well as the rights
of women. This is evident in their obvious admiration for professional
women who excell in their particular field. Whenever these women
receive awards for distinguished work, stories about them can be
expected to come out in the papers...
"On lean days, however, decision-makers in the media have
to depend on sensational pictures of women to whet their readers'
appetite--the male readers, that is...And they show no compunction
about featuring women (as sex objects). Male editors chuckle as they
scrutinize the pictures, not for their technical qualities but for the
impact they will create on male readers...
"This is not to say that female editors of general
publications as well as women's magazines are not guilty, too. Again
the money factor comes into play here. Because of the business
manager, a magazine editor is forced to put out articles on women
that...generate advertising income.
"Advertisements can be even more blatant manifestations
of the exploitation of the female sex. Over the past decade, there
has been a proliferation of lunch or dinner fashion shows. The ads
for these shows feature nearly nude women with enticing captions and
text...A recent ad in the Bulletin actually showed an Arab inviting
his compatriots to come to the Philippines, to the arms of as warm-
blooded, exciting and hospitable females as the one shown in the
picture, a former housemaid of his who had become his mistress...
"It is not an exaggeration then to say that, deliberately
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or unwittingly, newspapers encourage prostitution even though they
publish articles that condemn the exploitation of the female sex, of
pedophiles and of activities that tend to demean and dehumanize men,
women and children...
"The media can indeed help promote a more positive attitude
towards women on one condition: that decision-makers are made
thoroughly aware of their pivotal role in helping to create a just
and humane society, and that their editorial prerogatives remain free
from the demands of profit-oriented management". (Female editor of
Panorama, the Sunday magazine with the biggest circulation)
"What The Media Could Do"
-"I think the media could play a critical role in the fight
against prostitution by exposing the involvement of certain government
and police officials in the proliferation of the flesh trade". (Male
correspondent, aged 35)
-"The radio, press and television should do more to expose
the owners and managers of prostitution dens rather than only cover
police raids that publicize the prostitutes.' If the stigma of operat-
ing a sex den could be pinned on those responsible, the crimes they
commit for it is they who convince young girls from the provinces
to work in the city as 'maids' could be brought to the fore and then
eliminated. Radio broadcasters could warn unsuspecting parents of
unscrupulous flesh traders and how they operate, so the parents would
at least try to stop their girls from going to the big cities".
(Female co-host of a radio programme called "Woman's World", news-
writer and feature writer, aged 31)
-"The media should explain the root causes of the problem,
which are basically economic, and re-educate the public. Ours is a
feudal society that exploits and discriminates against women". (Female
correspondent, aged 32)
66
-"The media can be double-edged swords. If they handle the
issue of women and prostitution, they can either promote the cause of
decency or can become a source of indecent thinking. It all depends
upon how the material is handled. The media's guns should be trained
on the men behind the prostitution scene and less on the prostitutes,
otherwise it's like jailing a drug addict without going after the drug-
pusher. If the business of enterprising "flesh vendors" were more
risky, there would be less chance that women would go into prostitution.
"The causes of prostitution are multifarious, but its
proliferation depends upon whether prostitution as organized business
is allowed to flourish freely thanks to the laxity of law enforcers
and the indifference of the public". (Female administrator, aged 48,
Chief of General Information and Production Director of the Office of
Media Affairs)
-"The media's contribution to the solution of the problem
of prostitution should be sustained, in-depth reporting and especially
on its causes and how it has been turned into an international racket".
(Male editor of "Depthnews Philippines", aged 55)
-"Every now and then, the media have been quite effective
in exposing prostitution. But there has been no proper assistance
from the authorities concerned, not to mention the fact that some
authorities have actually been illegally supporting it.
"The news reporters who cover crime and vice stories can
attest to the fact that most of their exposs have established a link
in one way or another between prostitution and ranking police and
military personnel who protect the racket.
"Although the media may be the only way to effectively
expose what is going on, it is up to the authorities to prosecute the
people behind this nefarious activity. It is the journalist's job
to write, not to prosecute".
67
Agents For Change
-"The press, radio and television have a vital role to play
to improve their communities. Ideally, the media people should act
responsibly and be service-oriented. Unfortunately, this is far from
the case. Many of them are, on the contrary, money - and power -
oriented and lack credibility.
"If only the media people would join hand in fighting sex
exploitation and all the other crimes committed against women, then
this could be a better place to live". (Female broadcaster)
-"The media should do more to discuss the new role of
Filipino women to liberate themselves from such feudal traits as
helplessness, submissiveness and passivity. They should more actively
cover protest actions and campaigns against prostitution". (Woman
reporter, aged 28)
-"The media should do more to change the attitudes of men
towards women. That would help solve part of the problem of prostitu-
tion". (Female free-lance writer, aged 37)
Champions of Human Dignity
-"There are no two ways about it.. Exploitation of another
human being, whether sexually or otherwise, is always immoral. The
media must champion human dignity, for we are all the children of the
Creator, fashioned in His likeness.
"Respect for life must be paramount and prostitution,of
men and women, must be condemned'because it is degrading". (Female
newscaster)
-"Whenever the subject comes up, newspapers usually
denounce prostitution. But what they claim to believe in is a far cry
68
from what they actually practise. Newspaper publishers regard their
own power not so much as a responsibility to their readers but as a
business venture. However, this is something they admit to only in
private. In public, they tend to be highly moralistic". (Female
reporter, aged 28)
69
2. PUBLIC FORUMS ON THE MEDIA AND PROSTITUTION
Stimulating exchanges among media decision-makers and
professionals, and special interest groups were held in three key
cities of the Philippines: Metro Manila, Cebu City, and Baguio City.
In each of these cities, a "Forum on Media and Prostitution"
was organized to present the preliminary findings of a survey on the
attitudes, views, and role of media people with reference to women and
prostitution. The meetings were sponsored by, among others, the Third
World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women (TW-MAE-W), which
conducted the survey. For each forum it worked closely with local
groups, who invited key media people and mobilized the public.
The Manila Forum
The meeting was held at the University of the Philippines,
Manila, in October 1985- The co-sponsors were the Social Sciences
division of the University, the Women's Desk of the Concerned Artists
of the Philippines, and the education committee of STOP (Stop Trafficking
of Filipinas). Also in attendance, were the bureau chiefs of the
Associated Press (US), Kyodo News Service (Japan) and Bernamo (Malaysia)
who joined Philippino media professionals from Bulletin Today, Daily
Express, Mr. and Mrs. Magazine, and Radio Veritas (Asian coverage),as
well as women from the sponsoring organizations (Alamat, BALAI,
Gabriela, Ladies of Charity, Philippine Women's Research Collective,
and Progressive Women for Spiritual Action).
The presence of foreign correspondents put the discussions
into an international perspective, while activists presented the
feminist point of view. A third dimension was given by the Third World
stance taken by some Filipinos.
70
Here are some excerpts from the session:
On Sex Tourism
Filipino: Too much attention is given to foreign prostitutes here;
there are also our own people. Because of the difference
in living standards, many country girls go to Manila and
enter the prostitution business. After a while, they
become professionals and go abroad.
TW-MAE-W: How does it happen? Do the girls apply or what?
Malaysian: There are some recruiters who come from Japan. There is
a supply-and-demand relation... In Japan, Filipino
prostitutes are ranked lower than Chinese and Koreans,
who make more money. Maybe this is racial. But there is
an over-supply of girls here. You go out at night and so
many girls just offer themselves ...
TW-MAE-W: How much publicity does prostitution get in Japan?
Japanese: A great deal. There is a tendency to look at women as
victims, but what about the men? In Japan the most
exploited class of men comes to the Philippines to meet
the most exploited class of women. It is pathetic.
Comment: Not too long ago, college girls wearing uniform demonstrated
against prostitution. While I agree with how they feel, I
wonder whether their efforts were not misdirected:
they addressed the prostitutes in Ermita rather
than those responsible in the government ... who allow this
to happen; by their policies, they are responsible ...
I remember how some women groups in the 70's demanded that
71
the Ministry of Tourism change its policies. They even
squatted in the Minister's office. Package tours could
not have come about if they were not allowed. So it is not
the prostitutes who should be the victims.
Comment: I read somewhere that even the police reporters get free
service from the prostitutes; it's another kind of
protection racket.
Male
Reporter: When I was covering the police beat, it didn't take me
long to see this kind of thing. It is common knowledge
among media men that this sort of thing goes on.
Comment: Since this is a catholic country, we should ask how the
Catholic Church approaches the problem, and especially
the priests in Ermita and Malate where the prostitutes
come from. Do they give sermons that say "You must reform
your ways" or "The end of the world is coming" or do they
show some compassion? Do they suggest practical solutions
and pinpoint the root causes of this phenomenon. I think
the Church has a big hand in the persistence of the prosti-
tution business, and that we should look at it from a
dialectical point of view. Why should women be driven into
the objectification of their bodies? Why should they allow
their bodies to be profitted from, not only by the customers
but also by the pimps, procurers and nightclub owners?
TW-MAE-W: What is known about the connection between prostitution
and the military bases in the Philippines?
American: I know absolutely nothing about it. I do know that
communities have cropped up around the bases as they do
around every military installation in the world. What do
I think about it? Well, it's there.
72
TW-MAE-W: Do the American military men need to relax at the expense
of our women?
American: No, that's absurd. You have a lot of men who are away
from their wives or girlfriends, and it is natural that
they seek female companionship. But that doesn't excuse
the kind of phenomenon that has cropped up around the
bases, which is something Filipinos should be concerned
about. If you talk about what the Americans ought to do,
I don't have a very strong opinion about it because I'm
not involved with the military. All I know is that it
exists everywhere in the world and always will. I would
suggest that you go to the military authorities and talk
to them. Find out where they are willing to make changes.
TW-MAE-W: Has this ever been treated by the news media in America?
American: Yes, it is occasionally touched on. It is generally
treated in connection with abuses: say, if an American is
involved in the murder of a prostitute. And then everybody
gets all upset about the way prostitution is conducted
around the bases ... An American was accused of raping
young girls in Olongapo and was convicted in Guam, I think.
But if something abnormal occurs - actually prostitution
is considered normal - like the Japanese sex tours, then
there is publicity.
Comment: The view that prostitution is "normal" is a normal view in
capitalist society, where everything is seen as a potential
commodity.
Comment: There are new and more sophisticated forms of prostitution
- like the modelling sessions in Makati restaurants. It's
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a fast way to make money for restaurant owners. Fashion
shows ... beauty contests ... These are indirect forms of
prostitution for they encourage carnal interest in women.
During small-town fiestas, girls parade around in bathing
suits. They are subjected to hooting and are humiliated.
In schools, there are even parades for little girls. Big
companies have raffles for Christmas; the prize is a free
overnight or two or three holidays.
Female
Journalist: Personally, I feel hopeless. One writes about what happens
but one must do more than write. One must find
alternatives.
Comment: We can't tell the prostitutes to quit the business because
we don't have alternatives to offer them ... except to
teach them to read and show them that other ways of making
a living exist.
I'm less concerned with those who go into prostitution with
their eyes open than with the exploited ones.
Question
to STOP: Do you publish pictures of pedophiles to scare them away?
What about jailing theml
STOP: Most pedophiles come from Australia. The Philippines is
a poor country and it's less expensive to deport them than
to pay for their stay- in jail.
Comment: Publishers should be confronted and asked why they accept
ads promoting prostitution.
STOP: We have to do our work quietly. The heads of prostitution
74
dens want us dead because they run a multi-million dollar
business. There are not many of us, and we don't want to
expose ourselves.
Comment: Perversion comes from the West. In the United States,
pornography is a billion-dollar business. There is even
dial-a-porn.
Male
Reporter: Prostitution canot be separated from the economy. It is
a part of our colonial heritage. The brothels with the
worst conditions are those that cater to Filipinos.
Comment: Prostitution is connected with the three ism's: capitalism,
imperialism, feudalism.
The main points raised at the Manila Forum were more
summed up by Fe Mangahas of the Concerned Artists of the Philippines.
1. In the Philippines, not enough attention is given to the
problem of prostitution. Even if the press does give it coverage,there
is a feeling of helplessness. Journalists feel that there should be
in-depth analysis and suggestions for solutions, especially now that
the problem has reached abnormal proportions. Even children are now
involved; they service pedophiles disguised as tourists, most of whom
come from Japan, Germany, New Zealand and Australia.
2. The government is just as helpless, it seems. The Ministry
of Tourism is unable to check the rise of prostitution in the country.
Prostitution around the military bases (Olongapo, Angeles, etc) is
considered part and parcel of the R&R of American military personnel
assigned to or vacationing in the country. It means good business
for the communities around the bases. Of course, that's the point of
view of the business sector and the impoverished masses in those places.
75
But for a feminist, the problem is an alarming one. While it is true
that women and children need to survive, the solution is not
prostitution.
3- Who is it to be blamed for prostitution?
Here the media people and representatives of women's groups
expressed different opinions. Except for the Filipino male journalist,
the media professionals felt that the problem is as old as mankind.
Prostitution thrives because of the law of supply and demand: it
answers some basic need of the male population and there is not much
that anyone can do about it. The Philippino male journalist, on the
other hand, saw the problem as not only a question of sexual inequality
but also one of poverty and neocolonial politics, where government
priorities are lop-sided.
The Japanese journalist was disturbed by the fact that
Philippino prostitutes are being exported to Japan and the Japanese
family is being affected by this. What is worse, both the Japanese
clients and the Filipino prostitutes come from the lower classes; it
is a case of the poor exploiting the poor.
The Malaysian journalist commented that Malaysians appear to
be among the world's most avid patrons of prostitutes. Although sex
trade is almost nil, it's because Malaysian men go to Thailand. He
also said this may be so because of the repressive character of
Malaysian culture when it comes to sex, which means that censorship
or moralizing will not solve the problem.
The women representatives had very different reactions.
Prostitution should not be looked at as a human problem. In the capitalist
countries of the West, prostitution is considered 'normal'. In the
capitalist system, it is 'normal' to exploit anything, including women,
for profit. In fact, women as commodities command huge profits. Now,
76
more sophisticated forms of exploiting women are invading the
Philippines fashion shows, nude painting sessions, sex tours and
the like.
The women brought out the fact that the present economic
and political situtation under Marcos made the exploitation of women
even worse: some women have had to resort to prostitution to survive
and to support their families. The government came under attack as
did foreign male tourists. As an institution, the Catholic Church was
singled out, for it was felt that no positive course of action had
been adopted. It had contented itself with condemning prostition per
se as immoral but by so doing put the blame on the victims rather than
on the system and on patriarchal values.
4. What can be done about prostitution? The answers ranged
from deportation of pedophiles to the passage of stricter laws, pickets
and rallies, more magazine articles land letters to the editor, to
forums on feminism and on prostitution.
The Forum At Cebu City
The Cebu forum entitled "Media Views on Prostitution" was
held at St. Theresa's College and brought together members of the city
government, lawyers, university professors, journalists and members
of women's groups to discuss prostitution.
The forum was sponsored by the Third World Movement
Against the Exploitation of Women, a feminist group of women in the
media called STET and the Cebu Women's Forum, a newly formed conscious-
ness-raising and action group.
A slide-show describing Filipino prostitution in Japan was
shown, and Sister Mary Marcia Mercado, RGS, presented an overview of
77
prostitution to set the tone for the open discussion that followed.
Many blamed the present magnitude of prostitution on
unjust societal systems and structures, and several participants
timidly suggested that the Marcos Government tacitly condoned
prostitution. It was noted that not a single governmental agency
existed in Cebu to rehabilitate prostitutes.
When the question "Can the media afford the luxury of
being cause-oriented?" was raised, one panelist answered: "At present,
they cannot. The media would have to be restructured so that they are
not hampered by financial considerations".
In a similar vein, another panelist noted that advertising
is the lifeline of any publication. When asked how sexually exploita-
tive advertising could be done away with, she answered that the best
approach would be to warn advertisers to tone down certain ads because
specific groups like Catholics could bring pressure to bear.
The Baguio Forum
A "no holds barred" approach characterized the forum held
in Baguio City in October I985 at St. Louis High School. The answers
of the media decision-makers were marked by striking honesty. The
editor of the Baguio Midland Courier, for example, admitted that even
though she knows it is immoral, she accepts advertisements from
prostitution houses in her paper.
A number of panelists pointed out that for a long time
city officials had turned a blind eye to the problem of prostitution.
What is worse, the mayor had actually denied that prostitution even
existed in the city. It took a year, and the rape and murder of a
13-year-old to prove that a certain restaurant was the centre of
prostitution in Baguio.
78
The station manager of the state-owned radio, Joel Son
Panti, told the audience about a typical prostitution front: "A few
months ago", he said, "a few journalists and I went to a nightclub,
pretending to be customers. After dancing for a while with the girls
who work there, we were led downstairs. There we discovered a series
of small rooms with a girl in each. Claiming that we wanted to see
all the choices available, we made the rounds of the rooms to talk to
the girls. We then collared the operators, asking 'Are you satisfied
to make lots of money from these young girls you are victimizing?'
It is up to the media to expose such goings on and raise a public
outcry".
Sister Mary Presentation Rosales, RGS, whose master's
dissertation on adolescent migrants within the tourist belt was judged
the best thesis of the year, gave an account of these young victims:
"The girls take all the risks of veneral disease,
abortion, sadistic clients, and the like. Most of them consider they
are "bad" girls. Losing their sense of traditional values, they come
to look upon the operator of the brothel and his wife as their
benefactors! They are so caught up in the system that they are even
forced to buy their clothes on credit from the owner's relatives".
Kit Tolentino of Gold Ore reported that 30 establishments
exist in the city. In the first quarter of 1985, 600 women registered
as "hospitality girls", many of whom were students and immigrants
from other regions.
Ninety per cent of the prostitution houses are owned by
women with the man acting as the front. For feminists, that means
that women are actually fighting other women. Moreover, the prostitutes
readily admit that the police act as their protectors, and can come in
free of charge, which means that any attempt to fight prostitution
79
comes face to face with the law enforcers.
When the head of an organization for the protection of
children questioned the wisdom of printing stories about prostitution,
as this might serve to promote it, she was answered by a male panelist:
"It is better to sweep the dirt under the rug or out the
door? In Baguio, there are ten prostitutes per square kilometre. One
out of every 350 inhabitants is a prostitute. To say that exposs in
the press contribute to prostitution is sheer hypocrisy!"
The incidence of prostitution is on the rise. Many
attribute this to the economic recession as well as to sex tourism.
To attract tourists, for example, a casino was imposed on the city
despite protests from its inhabitants. The result has been an
increase in the number of "pleasure houses" within the city limits.
The crime rate has risen concomitantly.
In the home town of Minister of Tourism Jose Aspiras there
has been a notable increase in the number of pedophiles. Ironically,
it was under this minister's tourism programme that the government
"legalized" hospitality girls, who were required by law to undergo
regular check-ups for the protection of foreign tourists.
According to the participants, the inhabitants of Baguio
are by and large indifferent to the problem, though the press has been
running stories more frequently on the subject given the significant
rise in the number of prostitutes. The mayor even declared that he
was going to intensify the drive against prostitution.
Nonetheless, many media professionals continue to feel
that this is not a particularly newsworthy subject. Indeed, as most
of them are men, they tend to think that there is no point in "forcing
80
the issue". There has been no investigative reporting to speak of,
nor has there been any serious research done.
It was felt that such initiatives could be undertaken by
women's groups, as there seemed to be little hope that the media would
launch an anti-prostitution campaign. Indeed, many participants felt
that only with a strong women's movement could the problem of prostitu-
tion be effectively challenged.
An Assessment
Looking over the results of the survey, the reflections of
journalists on the role they do and could play, as well as the rsums
of the forums, it is now possible to attempt an assessment of the role
of the media.
To do this, we should ask a number of questions: What is
and can be the media's role as an instrument for change? What
positions do the media take and promote? Whose interests do they
defend?
Moreover, when we look at the individuals working in the
media, that is, the decision-makers and the journalists themselves,
we must ask what their attitudes reflect about their value judgements
and their perceptions.
When we look at the.media from an institutional point of
view, we must ask whether it is possible to do an institutional
analysis to throw light on how women and the issue of prostitution
are treated.
Finally, we must ask how the media professionals can work
to promote a counter-ideology, an alternative cultural system to
create a more just and equitable society.
81
As we saw in the answers to the questionnaire, the
responses of media professionals are coloured by gender. Moreover,
they are products of their culture, conditioned by the times they
live in, and this is reflected in the way they approach women's
issues including prostitution.
Let us briefly recapitulate the findings of the TW-MAE-W
survey. Of the 42 women and 58 men who responded to the questionnaire,
gender differences are statistically significant.
A significantly higher percentage of women than men did
not agree on the following points:
an occasional visit to a prostitute is better than
keeping a mistress;
men should be allowed a fling from time to time;
"problem" wives push men to go to prostitutes;
only women should be obliged to have medical check-ups;
foreigners are entitled to escort services;
it is acceptable for marriage bureaus to sell brides;
there is nothing wrong with promoting "sexy" films;
sex is necessary to sell tabloids.
Fewer men than women agreed on the following:
- newspapers play up sex;
tabloids favour "sexploitation";
their own publication's graphics were sexist;
the media tend to give the victim sensationalized
treatment ;
there should be stricter laws against procurers;
there is a racist element in military prostitution in
Asia as well as in sex tourism.
82
It is worth noting that male respondents did not feel
concerned by women's exploitation, though they were willing to fight
child prostitution. For them, adult prostitution is "natural", as
old as mankind. Significantly, a Western correspondent scoffed at
the whole idea of the survey, stating that he had tossed the
questionnaire into the wastebasket. For him, it was purely a "women's
issue". The fact that prostitution flourishes near military bases
was also felt by a number of male respondents to be a "feminist
exaggeration".
Indeed, a number of Filipino journalists as well as
foreign professionals share certain sexist leanings, which colour
their views on what the media can and should be doing. It is not
surprising then that some of the newer forms of "sexploitation", such
as fashion shows that are in fact fronts for prostitution or the
raffling off of a woman for a night or two are often shrugged off as
inconsequential.
The media professionals "breathe in" these ambient values.
There is a "macho" element in society, and even some women are prone
to it. Media decision-makers tailor their periodicals accordingly.
Why should this be so? For the simple reason that it makes for good
finances: it sells papers.
Nonetheless, an active minority of media professionals
stated that they are deeply committed to women's rights and the fight
against prostitution. Some have published fiery protests, including
the two influential women editors who have explored the media's
treatment of women. One of them accused the media of "selling" women,
while the other denounced male chauvinism among the media's decision-
makers. In certain instances, some concrete measures were proposed.
In Baguio, for example, some heartening activities were undertaken
following the forum.
83
Still, many decision-makers and professional communicators
are not sufficiently aware of the many facets of the prostitution
issue, let alone women's questions. Of the 100 professionals who
answered the questionnaire, 76 recognized that mass prostitution is
on the rise, and 53 said that it differs from previous forms. Indeed,
83 judged it to be a national problem, though only 63 felt it to be
newsworthy.
As for the causes of new types of prostitution, 83 linked
them to tourism, while 49 connected them with the Seventh Fleet.
Among the new forms of prostitution, 53 felt that the
marriage market was one new form, and 45 considered fashion shows to
be another, while 61 believed that prostitutes were available at
certain conventions.
As for the legal aspects, 71 agreed that licensing is a
a way of legalizing prostitution. As many as 87 stated that they are
convinced that there is police connivance, and 59 doubted the govern-
ment's sincerity in tackling the problem.
By far the most important reason why women enter prostitu-
tion was given as poverty by 72 out of 100 respondents.
Is The Press Doing Enough?
Judging from the surveys and the forums, it appears that
there is broad consensus: the press' treatment of women's issues,
and prostitution in particular, is inadequate. Moreover, participants
levelled a barrage of criticism against certain practices, among them:
whetting the appetite of male readers with sensational
pictures ;
84
producing articles on women only to generate
advertising;
accepting "personal ads" that are in fact
sollicitations to prostitution;
sensationalizing the victims, especially in press
reports of raids on brothels;
keeping silent about those who directly profit from
the sex industry;
failing to pursue issues and to undertake
investigative reporting.
If it is the editors and journalists themselves who air
such complaints, then who determines the policies that run counter
to such principled professional's beliefs?
fin Institutional Analysis
An analysis of the press as an institution may throw some
light on the question.
It is common knowledge that the press is so potent a force
that whenever a government wants to tighten its hold on the people,
it begins by slapping controls on press publications. In the
Philippines, this is exactly what happened when martial law was
declared in 1972. In one fell swoop, the Manila Times, the Manila
Chronicle, the Philippines Herald and the Free Press were done away
with. They were replaced on the newsstands by periodicals that were
owned and published by cronies and relatives of former President
Marcos.
Even when martial law was lifted in 1981, government
control of the media remained as stringent as ever. Before Marcos
was forced to leave the country, a series of presidential decrees
85
(nos. I876, I834, I835 and 197M were issued to ensure that all
publications toed the government line. Any person using or allowing
another to use communication facilities "for the purpose of mounting
sustained propaganda assaults on the Government" could be sentenced
to a minimum of six years and a day to eight years in prison and a
fine not exceeding P8,000.
Obviously the press was meant to be part of the State's
ideological apparatus. Whatever was printed had to support the
government's stand. The Office of the President had a direct line
to the major dailies, and censorship was enforced in no uncertain
terms. As far as sensitive information was concerned, the papers
were told what to print and what not to print.
If the media professionals followed instructions, there
were no problems, but if they dared to print anything controversial
or something unfavourable about the establishment, the State was
quick to intervene. Repression was harsh: there were arrests and
detention, disappearances and "salvagings" (secret killings). In
the not too distant past, several editors and journalists were
arbitrarily executed.
One sensitive issue was the link between tourism and
prostitution. When several publications touched upon this thorny
problem, the government responded by accusing the media of being
responsible for the decline in tourism, "particularly because of
reports about child tourism". Foreign correspondents came in for
special tongue-lashings and it was suggested that these "ugly"
foreign correspondents should be ferreted out and sanctions imposed
on them.
The government did not bother to pinpoint prostitution
as the problem to be solved, nor were procurers and pimps singled out
86
as the "ugly people" to be punished. Instead, the authorities
justified their attitude by stating that "Child prostitution,
pedophilia and other offences involving girls and minors stand at a
negligible 2 per cent of the critical spectrum, less than the records
of Paris, New York, Tokyo or other large cities".
The Press Misused
In times of national crisis, the press is often used to
distract public attention from the real issues. Following the death
of Benigno Aquino, for example, there was a proliferation of "girlie"
magazines. The sexy girls on the covers were eye-catchers, designed
to take people's minds off the more serious matters at hand.
As far as advertising is concerned, the Philippines has
seen an avalanche of advertising invade the pages of newspapers and
periodicals, exactly as it did in the West. Insidiously, women
readers are induced to become part of the consumer culture, and even
the editorial content of women's magazines is chosen to create a
world of escapism. It is not surprising then that women end up with
an unrealistic assessment of their own needs and fall prey to
Western-style consumerism.
Alternative Solutions
Is it utopie to think that the media professionals may
realize that they themselves may soon be caught in the trap of
commercialism? They may then begin to find ways to put the press at
the service of a new kind of social order that is more just and
humane.
Is that wishful thinking? Not necessarily, for 85 per
cent of the respondents stated their belief that media professionals
87
have the capacity to become effective agents for change.
If they continue to work alone, this may prove to be a
difficult, if not an impossible task. It is conceivable that working
in conjunction with concerned groups, they could create an alternative
press that is fearless in its fight for justice and truth. The creed
of this new press could be never to deceive readers nor turn their
attention away from matters of import. Nor should the media's role
as a public service be at the expense of any human being, male or
female, young or old, brown, yellow or black.
This alternative, ideal press would, on the contrary,
give preference to the deprived and the down-trodden, to the victims
of exploitation, who at long last would be given a chance to speak
up. Among them are the sexually exploited, marginalized women,
prostitutes. Their needs cannot be met without a press that is fully
conscious of the importance of women's questions. Only then can the
media fruitfully advance the cause of women.
88
V. CONCLUDING REMARKS
Prostitution in Asia has many faces. At one end of the
spectrum are the bestial "cages" of Bombay's red light district,
where women of all ages offer themselves literally from behind iron
bars, symbolizing the prison of their existence. At the other end
are the five-star international hotels in all the major cities where
call girls in increasing numbers operate in luxury. Both types of
women are practioners of what is popularly called "the oldest
profession in the world", their trade is their body.
Both are victims of value systems that tacitly accept an
unequal status for men and for women: women submit to the demands
of men to "safeguard" the morality of society. In affluent circles
as in poor ones, prostitution exists because society continues to be
male dominated. In an apparently unilateral decision, it has been
decreed that men are "biologically different", hence prostitution is
a "necessary" evil.
The number of prostitutes is on the rise, and with it,
the incidence of sexually transmitted deseases. Even though this
constitutes a real health hazard, citizens in the various countries
surveyed generally remain oblivious to the serious implications of
the problem. Needless to say, they are even less aware of the
emotional damage done to the prostitutes themselves, to say nothing
of the demoralizing effect on women at every level.
While there is growing international recognition that a
country's development depends upon its women playing an active role,
which is possible only if they are freed from the bondage of
illeteracy and ignorance, few people seem to be aware that prostitu-
tion is the worst form of physical and mental bondage. Because
89
custom and tradition have relegated women to second-class citizenship,
exploitation of women for prostitution has met with little resistance
until the very recent past, and then only in a few isolated instances.
This partially explains why the public gives only minimal
support to attempts by the authorities to deal with the legal aspects
of traffic in women. It also goes to explain why so few voluntary
women's organizations are involved in rehabilitation programmes for
those women who desperatly want to escape from the profession. And
lastly, it helps explain why so little is done to implement laws in
an effective manner or to initiate new legislation.
Irrespective of their socio-economic status, people
generally would like to "forget" about prostitution, to ignore its
existence. The affluent and the middle classes relegate prostitution
to some kind of sordid, sub-human world where young girls and even
children are mercilessly exploited. For the so-called elite, this is
the domaine of the lower classes, of the poverty stricken. They
consider the more expensive, sophisticated world of prostitution,
of which they constitute the clientele, to be another phenomenon
altogether. In any case, the majority of men who frequent the red
light districts consider prostitutes as a commodity to be used and
paid for, and not as fellow human beings with real emotions and
problems.
So, unlike other "unpleasant" socio-economic issues that
are forced onto the public conscience, prostitution has remained
relatively invisible, even in the media. Women have not identified
themselves with prostitutes, nor have men identified their womenfolk
with those whom they exploit.
In the past decade, however, as a result of the interest
generated by International Women's Year and the UN Women's Decade,
90
the media have paid more attention to women's issues. As a result,
the condition of prostitutes and the worst forms of abuse have
received greater coverage. There have even been instances of
crusading journalism that have succeeded in jolting public opinion
out of its indifference and of forcing the authorities to take
action against what were patently criminal activities. This is
indeed a step forward.
True, journalists have all too often handled prostitution
stories as "hot copy" manifestly designed to boost newstand sales.
True, too, media professionals have often considered certain aspects
of the fight against prostitution as "unnewsworthy": attempts at
rehabilitation, for example, are not nearly so "glamourous" as, say,
the dismantling of a prostitution syndicate. Even so, progress has
been made, and this should be an encouragement for all concerned to
press ahead.
It is to be hoped that women's groups as well as other
concerned activities will make greater efforts to keep the press
informed of all aspects of prostitution, from heinous cases of
bondage to reform and rehabilitation. It is also to be hoped that
media professionals for their part will strive to go beyond the
bounds of sensational journalism. What is needed is the kind of
serious, regular coverage that till now has been reserved for such
"noble" newsworthy subjects as national politics, or international
diplomacy. Journalists have a real role to play in keeping their
readers informed of an exploitative system that involves thousands
of their fellow citizens. Only then can they fulfill their role in
a genuinely constructive and meaningful fashion.
91
Appendix A
Philippines Survey Form on
MEDIA, WOMEN AND PROSTITUTION
This is a UNESCO project commissioned to the Third World
Movement Against the Exploitation of Women, Room 404, FMSG Building,
9 Balete Drive, Q.C. The purpose of this survey is to get an
overview of media personnel's attitudes and views on women and
prostitution.
Please feel free to fill in the blanks, tick the best answer,
and complete open-ended statements. The quality of your in-put
determines the value and validity of this survey. So thank you for
your cooperation!
Name : (optional)
Civil status: single married
widow/widower separated/divorced
live-in arrangement
Sex: Male Female
Age: Religion
Educational attainment :
Current position in media:
Kind of print media served :
Daily newspaper Weekly newspaper
Sunday magazine/supplement Weekly magazine
Tabloids Foreign news agency
Others (specify)
Positions held in media:
Publisher/owner Editor
Editorial Board Member Business Manager
Journalist/stringer .....Feature writer
Advertising person Columnist
Photographer Artist
Others (specify)
Number of years in print media:
Area of circulation:
Metro Manila Provincial
National International
Type of material that you produce:
92
Agree Partially Disagree
agree
There is no difference with the kind
of prostitution today as that of a
generation ago.
Prostitution has become a
national problem
Prostitution is an old problem
and is not newsworthy.
The past decade has seen the rise
of mass prostitution.
Prostitution has been used as a
come-on for tourism.
If there were no Seventh Fleet,
the sex strips of Olongapo would
not thrive.
Newspapers glorify sex.
Sex is necessary to sell
tabloids.
Accounts of raids do not
necessarily stop prostitution.
Tabloids favour sex-exploitation.
"Personal ads" are venues for
soliciting sexual services.
The marriage market promotes a
form of prostitution.
It is all right for marriage
bureaus to sell brides.
Fashion shows often serve as
prostitution fronts.
It is obscene to print
lascivious pictures in ads.
93
There is nothing wrong with
promoting bold films.
The licensing of "hospitality
girls" is a form of legalizing
prostitution.
Poverty drives girls into
prostitution.
Fighting prostitution deprives
prostitutes of a living.
Laws should indict prostitutes.
Some conferences provide
prostitutes.
There are policemen who protect
sex syndicates.
Stricter laws should be directed
against procurers.
The government is sincere in
eradicating prostitution.
Prostitution is not a problem in
my locality.
The media tend to sensationaliz
the victims.
It is not offensive to print
pictures of scantily clad
females.
Nothing much has been said
about the people who profit from
the sex industry.
For the good of the economy,
prostitution has to be tolerated.
Child prostitution is to be
condemned.
Agree Partially Disagree
agree
It is all right for older persons
to enter the flesh trade.
Going to the prostitutes
occasionally is better than
keeping a mistress.
Men should not be denied a fling
now and then.
Problem wives push men to seek
prostitutes.
It is scandalous for matrons to
go after machos.
Decriminalization of prostitution
is a good thing.
The media cannot do anything
about prostitution.
The policies of my publication
uphold the cause of women.
The graphics of my paper/
magazine can be sexist.
My paper/agency has given good
coverage to protests/programmes
against prostitution.
Investigative journalism has
contributed to exposing the
problem. .....
Foreigners should not be denied
escort services.
It is not fair that women only
are made to be clean for men.
There is racist element in the
use of Asians for military
prostitution and sex tourism.
95
Agree Partially Disagree
agree
Media people can be effective
agents for change.
The consciousness of Filipino's
about prostitution as a
phenomenon is high.
The root causes of prostitution
are not properly understood by
the churches.
There are few cause-oriented
media people.
The geopolitics of prostitution
is rarely touched upon.
Comments on the topic: (i.e. your personal insights on media's role
with reference to women and prostitution.)
96
Appendix B
1. Profile of the respondents: of the 100 media personnel who
responded 47 were based in Manila, 31 in Cebu City and 22 in Baguio
City. Forty-two per cent were women and 58 per cent male, which
indicates the higher percentage of males in the Philippino media.
Half the groups (51) are married; four are separated,
one has a live-in arrangement; and 40 respondents are single..
Only four respondents are above 50 years of age; ten
are in their forties; 23 in their thirties; 45 in their twenties;
and two under 20.
Sixty-eight profess to be Catholic; six Christians;
two Aglipayans; one Iglesia in Kristo member; one pagan; one
yoga practicioner; and 21 did not answer.
Eight of the respondents had received higher education.
Fifty had college degrees, 45 of which were in the Liberal Arts.
Seventeen had some college schooling; one is currently enrolled,
and two finished high school only.
Except for 25, all the respondents work in the print
media, often for more than one publication. Fourteen are connected
with foreign news agencies; 10 with weekly magazines; 11 with
Sunday magazines; 12 with tabloids; and 53 with daily newspapers.
They hold and have held various positions in the media:
3 publishers/owners; 8 members of the editorial board; 19 editors;
1 business manager; 49 journalists; 5 advertising personnel; 11
photographers; 26 feature writers; 17 columnists; 3 artists.
97
Forty-seven of the respondents had less than five years'
experience in the media. As for the rest, twelve with from 6-10
years in the field; nine with 11-15 years; eight with 16-20 years;
four with 21-25 years; and two with 31-35 years.
The type of news covered was international (for 22
respondents); regional (1); national (52); provincial (39);
Metro Manila exclusively (4).
2. There was a strong correlation, Pearson r.78, for points of
agreement and a moderately strong relationship, Pearson r. 75, for
points of disagreement.
In order to test the Pearson r for its statistical
significance, the T-test for correlated samples was applied.
Results showed that with a T computer value of 5.0 for the "Agree"
responses and 4.54 for the "Disagree" responses there is indeed a
significant difference between the male and female answers for
both cases.
98
BIBLIOGRAPHY
BOOKS
1. CAP, "The Abuse of Women in the Media", CAP, Penang, 1982.
2. CAP, "See the Third World While It Lasts - The Social and
Environmental Impact of Tourism with Special Reference
to Malaysia", CAP, Penang, 1985.
3. Kamla Bahsin & Bina Agarval, "Women Media - Analysis,
Alternatives and Action", ISIS International, Rome, 1984.
4. Lebra, Joyce and Paulson, Joy,'Chinese Women in South-East
Asia', Times International. Singapore, 1980.
5. Mathur, A.S., & B.L. Gupta, "Prostitutes and Prostitution",
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6. McCaghy, Charles H., "Deviant Behaviour", New York:
Macmillan, 1976.
7. Sheedy, Gail, "Hustling", Delacorte Press, New York, 1973.
8. Winich, Charles and Kinsie, Paul M., "The Lively Commerce:
Prostitution in the United States", Quadrangle Books
Chicago, I97I.
ARTICLES
1. Asian Wall Street Journal, August 1978.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Business Times", March 12th 1984.
Business Times", January 31st 1984.
Business Times", May, 18th 1982.
Business Times", June, 17th I98I.
Business Times", January, 1st I98O.
99
7. Ericsson, Lars 0., "Charges Against Prostitution: An Attempt
at a Philosophical Assessment", in "ETHICS", April 1980.
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May 6 - 8, 1985.
9. ISIS No. 13, I979.
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12. "Malay Mail", January 26th, I98I.
13. "Malay Mail", January 14th, I98I.
14. "Malay Mail", May 17th, 1977.
15. Malaysia, "Mid-Term Review of the Fourth Malaysian Plan I98I-
I985", Jabatan Percetakan Negara, Kuala Lumpur, 1984.
16. May, Geoffrey, "Prostitution" in, "Encyclopedia of the Social
Sciences", Vol. 12, I983.
17. "Misguided Tours" in "New Internationalist", February 12th,
I974.
18. New Straits Times.February 20th, 1984.
19. New Straits Times, January 27th, 1983.
20. New Straits Times, May 17th, 1982.
21. New Straits Times, August 18th, 1982.
22. New Straits Times, September 16th, 1982.
23. New Straits Times, "Japan Our Biggest Non-ASEAN Supplier of
Tourists", May 14th, 1982.
24. New Straits Times, November 20th,I98I.
25. New Straits Times, April 14th, 1977-
26. New Straits Times, "Fewer Tourists Cross Causeway, December
29th, I976.
27. New Straits Times, August 29th, 1974.
100
28. Penang Development Corporation, "Penang's Tourism", paper presented at
MITTA Convention, January 12-13, 1985-
29. "The Star", December 27th, 1982.
30. "The Star", March 3rd, 1978.
31. Sulochini Nair, "Working Mother Dilemma", in "New Straits Times",
January 27th, I985.
32. "Sunday Mail", March 25th, 1984.
33. "Sunday Star", January 15th, 1984.
STUDENT PROJECTS
1. Abdul Hadi Zakaria, "Some Patterns High-Class Prostitution in Kuala
Lumpur and Petaling Jaya", M.A. Thesis, Anthropology Department,
Universiti Malaya, 1975-
2. Ruslan Khatib, "Prostitution in Kuala Lumpur", an Academic Exercise
submitted to the Malay Studies Department, Universiti Malaya,
Kuala Lumpur I966.
3. Shail Mohamed B. Mohamad Said, "Prostitution: Social Control and
Laws in Malaysia with special reference to Penang", a project
paper for the Law Faculty, Universiti Malaya, 1976-
4. Shamsiah Abdullah, "The Erosion of Morals Among Teenage Girls",
an Academic Exercise submitted to the Anthropology and
Sociology Dept., Universiti Malaya, 1977-
5. A. Kamugajothi, Oh Chen Bee & Goh Chai Huat, "Women's Image :
Change and Continuity of Women's Activities and Evaluation of
Women in The Star", Term Project Paper, University Science of
Malaysia, 1985.
6. Nik Man Mamat, Ahmad Tajudin Ishak, Quek Phaik Im & Sagaram
Krishan Nair, "Women as Outcast (Prostitutes)",Term Project
Paper, University Science of Malaysia, 1984.
7. Boey Lai Yin, Azizan Ismail, Yapp Ewe Lye & N. Balu, "Prostitution"
Term Project Paper, University Science of Malaysia, 1984.
8. Raja Nordin Zainal Abidin, "Why I Become a Prostitute:A Case Study
on Inmates in Taman Seri Puteri, Batu Gaja", Term Project
Paper, University Science of Malaysia, 1984.
101
BIBLIOGRAPHY
I. Papers
Alday, Lucina. "Briefing Materials on Women Workers in the
Hospitality Industry", Bureau of Women and Minors (BWM),
Ministry of Labour, Manila, 1980, 10 pp.
Bureau of Women and Minors. "A Study on the System of Women
Workers: Daily and Monthly Cash Earnings of Women Workers
in Night Clubs, Saunas, Beer Houses" Phlippiness, 1980,
29 pp.
David, Rina and Pennie Azarcon-de la Cruz. "Towards Our Own
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Evangelista, Susan. "Massage Attendants in the Philippines:
A Case Study on the Role of Women in Economic Development",
Philippines, October 1974, 142 pp.
Fernandez, Susan Vibal. "Child Prostitution in the Philippines:
An Exploratory Study on Child Labour Exploitation",
Philippines, April 1984, 215 pp.
Forrest, Diane. "Child Prostitution" (unpublished) Philippines,
1984, 10 pp.
Generoso, Letitia. "Consulta on the Problems of Prostitution",
Ministry of Social Services and Development, Philippines,
17 May I98O, 20 pp.
Manuel, Recellita Ann C. A Content Analysis of the Writings of
the Four Women Columnists of the Bulletin Today: Arlene
Babst, Melinda de Jesus, Sylvia Mayuga, and Niez Cacho
Olivarez. University of the Philippines, 1982, 100 pp.
Perez, Virginia. "A Summary Report on the First Consulta on
the Problems of Prostitution in the Philippines", Asian
Women's Committee of the Philippines, Manila, Philippines,
September I98O, 5 pp.
Perpinan, Sister Mary Soledad, R.G.S. "Confronting Prostitution
Tourism", Case Study, Third World Forum on Women, Law and
Development, U.N. NGO Forum '85, Nairobi, Kenya, July I985.
102
"Development Strategies Affecting Women and the
Household", Women and the Household Conference Paper,
New Delhi, India, January 1985.
"The Geopolitics of Prostitution", BALAI Asian
Journal, December I98I, Philippines, 1981, 4 pp.
"Philippine Women in the Service and Entertain-
ment Sector", Paper presented at the Second International
Inter-Disciplinary Congress on Women, Groningen, the
Netherlands,17 April 1984, 12 pp.
"Prostitution in Asia", Background paper
prepared for the General Assembly of the World Council of
Churches, Vancouver, 1983, 40 pp.
"Prostitution Tourism", Workpaper presented at
the Church and Tourism International Conference sponsored
by the World Council of Churches, Stockholm, Sweden,
2 November I981, 22 pp.
"Stemming the Tide and Empowering the Trapped",
UNESCAP Workshop of Experts on the Prevention and
Rehabilitation of Prostitution, June 1985-
"Stop Trafficking: Strategies Against Sexual
Exploitation", Paper presented at the 38th Congress of
International Abolitionist Federation, Vienna, Austria,
3 September 1984, 12 pp.
The Trafficking of Philipina Women", Report
presented at the Asian Consultation on the Trafficking of
Women, Philippines, March 1982, 4 pp.
"Transnationalized Prostitution", Presented at
the press conference of the International Feminist
Networking Against the Traffic in Women, Rotterdam, the
Netherlands, April I983, 5 PP-
"Women and Transnational Corporations: The
Philippine Experience", Paper presented at the International
Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES)
Congress, Amsterdam, April 1981, 15 PP-
Rosales, Presentacin C , R.G.S. "Adolescent Migrants in
Hospitality Industry Along Ermita and Malate Areas", Thesis
for a Degree of M.S.W., Institute of Social Work and
Community Development, University of the Philippines,
April I983, 171 PP.
103
United Nations Committee on Social Development. "The Situation
of Young Women in the Service and Entertainment Industries
in the ESCAP Region", Bangkok, Thailand, November 1982,
15 pp.
United Nations Economic and Social Council. "Measures to Prevent
the Exploitation of Prostitution", Vienna, I98I, 16 pp.
Van de Velden. "Traffic in Women in the Philippines:
Prostitution in Debtonage", Amsterdam, the Netherlands,
I98O-I98I, 4 pp.
"Visitors in the Philippines and Their Possible
Demand for Prostitution", Amsterdam, the Netherlands,
I98O-I98I, 4 pp.
II. Articles in Periodicals
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC). "Mobilization Against
Sex Tourism in Asia", AFSC Women's Newsletter, USA, 1981,
p.l.
Asian Women's Association. "A Position Paper on Prostitution
in the Philippines", Asian Women's Liberation, No. 3, June
I98O, p. 11.
Cleto, Pet G. "Women of the Countryside" Sunday (A weekly
supplement of Ang Pahayagang Malaya) 21 October 1984,
p. 13-16.
Doyo, Ma., Ceres, P. "Dead End for the Women of the Night",
Philippine Panorama, 22 May 1983, P- 16.
"Help for Prostitutes", Philippine Panorama,
29 May I983, p. 36.
Evangelista, Susan. "Massage Attendants: Mainstream or
Deviant? Philippine Sociological Review, July 1977,
pp. 105-112.
Golley, Linda. "For Sales: GIRLS", Southeast Asia Chronicle,
Issue 89, California, USA, april 1983, p. 32.
104
Humphrey, Peter. "World Forum Discusses Prostitution, Slavery",
Business Day, Philippines, 11 September 1984, p. 4.
Lanot, Marra PL. "Must Women Be Victims of Sexual Violence
to be in the News?" Weekend, Philippines, 6 January 1985,
pp. 22-24.
Lawton, Hank. "The Other Thriller in Manila (Why Bangkok is
no Longer Asia's Top Resort), Australian Playboy, January
1982, Australia, 1982.
Matsui, Yayori: "Militant Women in the Philippines", Asian
Women's Liberation, No. 4, Asian Women's Association,
Japan, August 1981, p. 21.
McRoe and Roland de la Rosa. "Sex Industry", Life Today, Vol.
39, No. 2, Philippines, February 1982, pp. 15-26.
McRose, Roe. "Anatomy of Prostitution", Life Today, Vol. 39,
No. 2, Philippines, February 1982.
Moselina, Leopoldo. "Olongapo's Rest and Recreation Industry:
A Sociological Analysis of Institutional Prostitution with
Implications for a Grassroots Oriented Society", Philippine
Sociological Review, Vol. 27, No. 3, Philippines, July 1979,
pp. 181-193.
Neumann, Lin A. "Hospitality Girls in the Philippines",
Southeast Asia Chronicle-Pacific Research, SRC No. 66/
PSC Vol. 9, No. 5.
Paredes, Divina; "Pagsanjan Folk Denounce Prostitution by
Aliens", Daily Express, Manila, Philippines, 22 December
I983.
"Pagsanjan Residents Ask Government to Stop
Influx of Homosexuals", Daily Express, Manila, Philippines,
8 February 1984.
Suarez, Domini T. "Keeping Olongapo City Clean", Philippine
Panorama, January 1982, Philippines, 1982.
Third World Movement Against the Exploitation of Women
(TW-MAE-W), TW-MAE-W Action Bulletin, No. 8, Philippines,
March 1982.
TW-MAE-W Action Bulletin, No. 13, Philippines,
January 1983-
105
TW-MAE-W Action Bulletin, No. 16, Philippines,
July 1983.
TW-MAE-W Action Bulletin, No. 18, Phillipines,
November 1983-
TW-MAE-W Action Bulletin, No. 22, Philippines,
July 1984.
Withol, Robert. "Hospitality Girls in the Manila Tourist Belt",
Journal of Industrial Relations, Vol. IV, Nos. 1 & 2, I982.
106