StreetWise Philippines Dot Biz!

A report just in alleges a New Zealand woman was lured to the Philippines for a martial arts camp and then forced to be a prostitute before being dumped on a Manila street by her tormentors. As one who has a lot of experience with Filipino Martial Arts and taught Arnis to the locals while living there, I can understand her excitement at being invited to attend a month long training camp at the ‘source’.

I can only begin to empathise with her over her treatment, it must have been horrendous. I wonder how anyman could carry out a sexual act with a woman who was obviously not a local and not a willing participant? Surely, even passive resistance and total non-participation by the woman would signal there is something horribly wrong here? It goes to the heart of the matter, what is the mindset of those men who would use her in such a way?

Many may claim the foreigners who travel to the Philippines and engage bargirls in prostitution are no different but I beg to differ. Those girls have not been forced by anything other than the poverty forced upon their country by the ruling elite ripping off the people in every way. bad enough that that is, it is a very different scenario to the one endured by the Kiwi woman.

The reality is that whatever your personal position, prostitution is the oldest profession and it will remain so while ever there are men and women and we have the attitude to sex that it is something special and can be used as a commodity or for gain. Whether that is on a date, in a marriage or a more obviously commercial transaction, so long as there is a ‘price’ put on sex there will be exploitation. That exploitation is bad enough when it is the person offering the sex exploiting the person accepting the offer, but when it is done via a third party it takes on a sinister mantle all of its own.

The origin of the invitation was Facebook. When will people learn? Facebook is a prime catchment area for the evil people of this world and they are very convincing and very good at what they do. If there is any country in S.E. Asia you don’t travel to alone, as a female, it has to the Philippines, probably followed by Indonesia, Cambodia and Thailand. I hope this lady can put this behind her and move on.