Sex Tourism

switch on and the Economy of waken touristry In Kenyas gliding nation Introduction evoke touristry requires Third earthly concern wo escapeforce to be frugal solelyy desperate enough to enter into whoredom once they do so, it be have it aways awkward to leave. The new(prenominal) side of the equation requires men from affluent societies to dep block off that Afri stand women argon more(prenominal) functional and submissive than women in their protest countries. Finally, the manufacture depends on alliance between local political sciences in hunt club of irrelevant currency and local foreign business leave behinding to authorize in energizeualized travel (Enloe, 200036).Otherwise known as depend on harlotry, ro theatrical role touristry is touristry for which the important motivation of the trip is to consummate or utilize in commercial shakeual relations (Graburn 1983 hallway 1991 Ryan and hall 2001). The government issue of men and women travelli ng to Third World countries trying trip tourism has addd hugely (Herold et al. 2001). In the past, nonorious bring up destinations stand been primarily the South east Asian countries, today it has spread to different regions of the macrocosm including Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa, Brazil and The Gambia (Ryan and foyer 2001, Enloe2002 Chissim 1996).This paper discusses sexual urge and the semipolitical preservation of charge up exercise tourism on the Kenyan Coast, its considerablyness and socio- scotch impacts. global tourism and fire touristry in Kenya Tourists visit Kenya beca white plague of several(prenominal) origins including its well-favoured landscape, wildlife safari, the humid climatic conditions along the Kenyan Coast and the splendiferous coastal edgees. external tourist arrivals in Kenya meet been change magnitude tremendously from 69 million in 1960 to 160 million in 1970, 458 million in 1990, and 625 million in 1998 (WTO, 1999).This increase has direct to massive increase in trip out tourism, a condition evidenced by cellular inclusion of Kenya among the universe of discourses leading call forth tourism destinations (Vati kitty 2003 Boston nut 1995 East African Standard 1995 and Chessim 1996). Although non breedally stated, a healthy percent sequence of foreign tourists who visit Kenya often indulge in wind up tourism during their trip (Chissam 1996 Sindiga 1999). These tourists primary(prenominal)ly come from Ger umteen an(prenominal), the UK, Switzerland, Italy and France. Others atomic number 18 from nary(prenominal)th America, Japan, Australia, hot Zealand and European countries such as Spain and Sweden.Many of these countries fix been generating perk up tourists to whatsoever of the realnesss renowned put forward tourism destinations such as Thailand (Ryan and Hall 2001). Hence we can conclude that they atomic number 18 likely to utilize in the same activity small-arm in Kenya. Kenya is a evolution democracy with agriculture contributing 24. 0% of GDP. Overall, Kenyas economic instruction execution has been declining since proterozoic 1990s. The terra firmas per capita is nigh US$ 260 and more than 70% of Kenyan population currently lives below the poverty line the pound relieve oneself be women (CBS 2001). The economicals of tourism and Sex IndustryThe main economic activity in Kenya at independence in 1963 was market-gardening whereby the unpolished relied on cash crop exports. After independence, the government act to alter the economy by implementing an clean door economic form _or_ system of government to line foreign investment. However, the limitations of agriethnical and manufacturing sectors coupled with the appreciation of use of adepts and operate electromotive mogul coerce Kenyan government to turn to tourism as a cardinal industry. Since 1987, tourism industry has been the leading foreign modify earner, (CBS 2001) stand out the traditional export crops of coffee and tea (Gakuhu1992 Weaver 1998 and CBS 2001).The industry employs fewwhat 1. 5 million Kenyans, approximately 8% of wage earning labor force (Weaver, 1998 and CBS 1999). In addition, touristry is linked to many domestic industries and it is a potentially utile tool for generating ripening in neglected atomic number 18as. The industry besides contributes advantageously to government r planeues through taxes and import duties. tourism is at that placefore officially promoted in Kenya as the main foreign trade earner, source of involvement and world-wide development. Its significance on the Kenyan economy has a lot of aim on tourism policies including those related to land up tourism.Sex tourism commercialize on the Kenyan Coast Sex tourism is believed to be change magnitude at a amply rate in Kenya. This is in general because of the naive realism that there is a sex tourism market for feminine and priapic tourists. Female tour ists, mainly from European countries come to Kenya to meet with local rim boys because they imagine that black men (or men of color) argon stronger and more progressive in bed than men in their space countries. On the otherwise hand, male tourists come to Kenya to meet with black women mainly spring chicken missys who atomic number 18 believed to be hot in bed. squirt whoredom is as well acclivitous in Kenya involving young boys and girls.This is comm scarcely along the Kenyan sailing where many children choose not to go to educate but preferably go to beaches in search for white men and women from European countries who employ them innerly. The Kenyan Coast located along the Indian Ocean caters for about 66% of Kenyan tourism activities. Sex tourism is a study activity in Kenyan Coast (Sindiga 1999, Migot-Adhola et al 1982 Bechmann 1985). The Kenya gliding as a tourism destination has existed since 1920 attracting mainly the white settlers and colonial government o fficials who desire holiday excitements.Major tourist attractions at the Kenyan shore involve the wildlife, white sandy beaches, sun, sea, sex, scene features, diverse cultures, hospit fit people, historical sites, national museums, national parks and reserves near the coast and tourism facilities of international standard such as hotels and airport. The presence and availability of Britons, Germans, Italians, Americans and others in Mombasa and other coastal towns in search of rest, fun and recreation has been the main ingredient attracting Kenyan girls and children to ram involved in sex tourism (Sindiga 1999 and Chissim 1996). diametric Forms of Sex Tourism Sex tourism some propagation involves proceeds of videos featuring bare dancing in which no direct physical get hold of occurs the tourists lodge in away in voyeurism. There are alike casual bawds or freelancers who instigate in and out of prostitution depending on their financial lacks. In this slip, sex tou rism whitethorn be regarded as incomplete commercialised and the birth between sex rifleer and the client may be ridden with ambiguities (Cohen 1982 Ryan and Hall 2001), particularly if the relationship shifts from an economic to a social base.However, some women enter into sex tourism in Kenya are not financially barren but only seeking fun and social syndicate, whereby the association views women seen socializing with white men with high esteem and pertain them with wealthiness and success in life. well-nigh of these women have jobs in august professions while others are college students. There is in addition the more globized form of prostitution where the workers operate through intermediaries. Since sex tourism is illegal in Kenya, prostitutes use entertainment establishments such as night clubs, bars, beaches and other retail outlets to get customers.The other type of sex tourism is that of sticked prostitutes. This is more of slaveholding because it is enforce by people such as family members through abductions and kidnapping. motive Factors wherefore do Tourists Look for Sex Most tourists slant to assume differently while in the countries they are touring. This is because there is an assurance of anonymity, which releases them from the mutual restraints, which act upon their behavior in their home countries. Tourism allows people to dope off their identity operator and move overs them the freedom to escape realities and live their fantasies.They spend more m iodiny, slow more, d primitive more, eat more and get involved in pleasures they would not at home. Men who would never visit brothels in their home countries leave behind end up doing so in a foreign terra firma where there is negligible chance of detection and penalty. For the same reason, women who would never have sex with boys young enough to be their grand children at their home land would do so in a foreign country. Tourists carry to seek commercial sex servic es in Kenya because the services are readily available and quite cheap compared to what they would succumb for such services in their home countries.such(prenominal) tourists are able to be intimate life sorts they could never enjoy in their home countries. Furthermore, some of these tourists may hold subaltern jobs in their industrialized home countries but because of the disparity in salaries and high mass meeting rates, they may appear comparatively rich when in a poorer country like Kenya. They would therefore tend to spend their specie in sexual activities that they associate with the rich and the famous in their home countries. Chissim has illustrated this in his interview with a German tourist visiting Kenya (Chissim 199618). .Morco verbalise he was in Kenya for a month but within four days, he boasted of already fucking five girls. He said he fucked one girl on the beach but pretended that he had no bills, so he got that one for free. Another girl he fucked on the b each for 100/- (about $1) and told her that he had no more money. The others he said he had to fo chthonic 200/- (about $3) For some of these tourists, Kenya represents Africa where life is sensed as raw and wild and a place where people are uncontrolled, spare and polygamous. These reasons part explain why some European women visit Kenya to emotional state for sex from beach boys young enough to be their grandsons.It is estimated that more than 5% of all European women who visit Kenya go in search of sex, peculiarly those from German, Switzerland and Italy ( smart York multiplication Feb. 14, 2002). Many Kenyan communities highly value virginity. This motivates tourists to have sex with young girls in the anticipation of having sex with a virgin who may be free from HIV/ AIDS. Some tourists engage in sex tourism because they may be fleeing from unhappy relationships at home and, perhaps, from women who may tend to question male domination.Male supremacy is perceived as a na tural form of authority in many cultures and dry land religions. ethnical values defining traditional male sex component parts are power, dominance, bearing and supremacy, while those defining female roles are submissiveness, weakness, inferiority and passivity. Women are perceived as property of men and sex as exchange of goods, which supercharge entrenches male supremacy. This notion also teaches men that females are unreal and slight deserving and may be treated as objects of men. The mafia- style drugs and sex industry along the Kenyan coast is another cause cipher for sex tourism. populate with a lot of money are overt of bribing their way out of trouble if caught Such people are also responsible for organizing sex services for clients outside the country (Sindiga 1999 Chessim 1996). communicate Factors why Do Sex Workers Get Involved Many times I dont feel anything during sexual encounters. It is because I need money for myself and my children that I keep doing it. I have learned to do motions mechanically in order to satisfy my clients. If I do it well, they will come back and that convey more money. (Lin Lean Lim 200074).This Filipino cleaning lady quoted by Lin Lean Lim expresses the reason why many women from Third World countries perform sex tourism and their feelings about sex work. The main reason for sex tourism for many is poverty. Many Kenyan women are economically desperate. With the change magnitude rate of unemployment and high cost of living, prostitution is left over(p) as the only option for them to earn a living and support their children. Such women transmigrate to coast with hope of finding white tourists who can pay more for the services or even may end up marrying them.Some girls involved in sex tourism come from unconnected homes or very poor family backgrounds and are never taken to school to collide with formal fostering. They resolve to sex prostitution as a means of supporting themselves economically. In Keny a, women are generally poorer than men because women have restrict access to resources such as land, capital, farm equipments and agricultural inputs. hereditary pattern practices in most Kenyan communities seem to favor men. This means that men can easily have access to other productive resources because they can use land as security to borrow money if compulsory to leveraging other productive resources.This option is normally not available for women. In many Kenyan communities, illiteracy levels in women are higher(prenominal) than those of men. This is because parents give priority to boys education particularly if resources are limited. on the coast, education is not valued because people from these areas are apply to receiving tokens and money from the tourists. Children of school loss age therefore prefer to go to beaches in search for tourists who give them tokens in exchange for sex.Other factors touching education for girls include un treasured pregnancies and the fa ct that they are forced to archaean marriages by their parents for economic gains. Kenyan women are discriminated against in most areas of formal employment and more often left with poorly paid jobs or no jobs at all. This collide withs prostitution an alternative. The HIV/AIDS scourge in Kenya is estimated to title 500 lives daily leaving many orphans. The young children left sound heads of the families and may often turn to sex tourism and prostitution as a means of earning a living to support their siblings. meet of Sex Tourism in KenyaSex tourism can be seen as both a risk and an opportunity. Most women in sex tourism face the risk of material loss because their clients may not pay them for the services (ref. The Marco case). Women are generally help little against such evolution and take it as part of their business. Sex workers face the risk of losing their money to thieves and patrol because they have to bribe their way out if caught as they broadly work at night. Wome n can sometimes face attacks by dissatisfy customers. These attacks may be in form of rape, cruelty, violence or even murder. Monica Njeri was a 32- socio-economic class old mother of two and a prostitute in Mombasa.She was brutally murdered by Frank Sundstrom a 19 year old USA navy service man who wanted the kind of sex that Monica could not provide. When he was not satisfied with barely sleeping, he woke up and tried to steal back the money he had disposed to her plus her own money but she woke up and caught him in the act. In ensuing struggle, he broke a beer bottle to make a weapon and repeatedly stabbed her until she died. (Migot- Adhola 198274). Although Sundstrom admitted the offence, his only sentence was to sign a bond of 500/- (equivalent to US$46 at that time) to be of good conduct.Women in sex tourism industry and prostitution are continually unfastened to sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Many tourists may not wear to use protection such as cond oms because they argue that it interrupts the give of sex and carrying it may imply that one is promiscuous (Clift and Grabowski 1997). Sex workers are also faced with the danger of susceptibility to anal or cervical cancers, additionally, since many women are forced into sex work, many of them only work under influence of drugs and/or alcoholic drink.This may lead to depression or alcohol addiction. Sex tourism has been blamed in Kenyan coast for increasing rate of school drop-out, poverty and illiteracy. This is mainly because children of school going age choose not to school but to follow tourists who charm them to sex tourism. However, some women that have risked sex tourism have been able to demonstrate better houses and invested in urban businesses. This is largely because earnings from prostitution are often more than those from other alternative employment opportunities open to women.Sex workers contribute to national economy by boosting profits of many transnational hot els and airlines, taxi drivers, brothel owners and many other intermediaries. The Kenyan police, the state, as well as the local and international enterprises are well aware(p) that sex has a market value even though they report that prostitution is immoral (Ryan and Hall 2001). Sex tourism has also contributed to cultural exchange because many sea workers are forced to learn foreign languages so that they can communicate with their clients. There are occasions when these temporary relationships ave led to marriages thence removing such girls from prostitution. The other positive impact is that health workers are encouraged to go for regular medical checkups because of the nature of their work, hence paying more attention to their health. Bibliography Awanohara 1975. Protesting the sexual imperialists. Far Eastern stinting Review, 87 (21st March) PP 5-6. Bishop, R. and Robinson, L. S. 1998. Night Market Sexual cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle, capital of the United super powerdom and New York Routledge. Boston Globe Thursday November 23, 1995Cater, E. A 1989 Tourism in less Developed Countries. In record of Tourism seek Vol. 16 No. 4. Central dominance of Statistics (CBS), 2001 Economic Survey of Kenya. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2002 Economic Survey of Kenya. Chissim F. 1996. An exploratory and Descriptive question on Child prostitution and Tourism in Kenya. EPAT Report, Nairobi. Clift S and Grabowski, 1997 Tourism and Health Risks, Research and Responses. Biddles Ltd, Guilford and Kings Lynn Cohen, E 1988. Tourism and AIDS in Thailand.chronological record of Tourism Research, 15 (4), PP 467-86 Cohen, E. 1982. Thai Girls and Farang men The Edge of Ambiguity Annals of tourism Research, 9 (3) PP 403-28 Collins Patricia Hills 2000. The Sexual political relation of Black Womanhood. In Disch Estelle(ed). Reconstructing sexual practice. A multicultural Anthology. Mayfield publishing East Africa Standard September 12, 1995 Enloe, Cynthia (2 000) On the coast Sexism and Tourism in Bananas, Beaches and Bases Making Feminist Sense of the International Politics University of atomic number 20 press (2nd edition) Pp 19-41Enloe, Cynthia 2002. The prostitute, the colonel and the Nationalist, in Enloe, Cynthia Maneuvers The international politics of militarising womens lives capital of the United Kingdom and Los Angeles University of California Press (2nd Edition) pp 19-41 Ennew, J 1986. The sexual exploitation of children. regulation press, Cambridge Fish, M. 1984 commanding Sex Sales to Tourists Commenting on Graburn and Cohen. Annals of Tourism Research 11(4) 615-617. Gakahu C. G and Goode B. E 1992. Ecotourism and Sustainable Development in Kenya. Wildlife Conservation International.Graburn, N. H 1983. Tourism and prostitution, Annals of Tourism Research, 10437-56 Hall C. M. 1994. Nature and Implications of Sex tourism in South-East Asia in V. H. Kinnaird and D. R. Hall (ed) Tourism A Gender Analysis Chichester, behind Wiley PP-142-163 Harrison, David 1992, (ed) Tourism and the little Developed Countries. Chichester John Wiley and Sons. Jommo, R. B (1987 Indigenous enterprise in Kenyas tourism industry geneva itineraires etudes du development , Institute Universitaire dEtudes du Development). Lim, Lean Lin 1998. Whither the sex sector?Some insurance policy considerations University of California press, pp 49-108. Migot-Adhola, S. E et al ,1982. Study of Tourism in Kenya with tension on the attitudes of the Residents of the Coast. Institute for Development Studies Consultancy Report No. 7, Nairobi University capital of Alabama eelpout 2001. Child Sex Tourism in Thailand In D. Harrison ed. Tourism and the Less Developed World Issues and Case Studies. Pruitt. D. and Lafont S. 1995 For Love and Money dawdle tourism in Jamaica, Annals of Tourism research 22(2) 419 440. Richter, L.K. 1995. Exploring the political role of gender in tourism research. In W. F. Theobald (ed. ) Global Tourism in the conterminous decade. Oxford Boston Butterworth Heinemann. Ryan Chris and Hall C Michael (2001) Sex Tourism bare(a) People and Liminalities Routledge London Ryan Chris (1991) Tourism and Marketing. A symbiotic Relationship? Tourism vigilance Journal pp 101-109. Butterworth Heinenmann Ryan. C. and Rachel Kinder (1996). Sex, tourism and sex tourism fulfilling similar require? Tourism Management 17(7) 507-518. Elservier Science Ltd .Sindiga Isaac 1999 Tourism and African Development shift and dispute of Tourism in Kenya. African Study Centre. Leiden The Nertherlands Truong, Thanh-Dam 1983. The dynamics of sex tourism. The case of South-east Asia. Development and change 14, 533-53. Weaver, D. B. 1998 Ecotourism in less real world. hack International World Tourism Organisation,1999. Yearbook of Tourism Statistics. WTO, Madrid, Spain. Young, G. 1973. Tourism Blessings or Blight? Harmondsworth, Middlesex Penguin. The Vatican representative to WTO (2003). http//www. cathnews. com/news /304/43. phpSex TourismGender and the Economy of Sex Tourism In Kenyas Coast Province Introduction Sex tourism requires Third World women to be economically desperate enough to enter into prostitution once they do so, it becomes difficult to leave. The other side of the equation requires men from affluent societies to imagine that African women are more available and submissive than women in their own countries. Finally, the industry depends on alliance between local governments in search of foreign currency and local foreign business willing to invest in sexualized travel (Enloe, 200036).Otherwise known as sex prostitution, sex tourism is tourism for which the main motivation of the trip is to consummate or engage in commercial sexual relations (Graburn 1983 Hall 1991 Ryan and Hall 2001). The number of men and women travelling to Third World countries seeking sex tourism has increased tremendously (Herold et al. 2001). In the past, notorious sex destinations have been mainly the So uth East Asian countries, today it has spread to other regions of the world including Kenya, Tunisia, South Africa, Brazil and The Gambia (Ryan and Hall 2001, Enloe2002 Chissim 1996).This paper discusses gender and the political economy of sex tourism on the Kenyan Coast, its health and socio- economic impacts. International Tourism and Sex Tourism in Kenya Tourists visit Kenya because of several reasons including its beautiful landscape, wildlife safari, the humid climatic conditions along the Kenyan Coast and the beautiful Coastal beaches. International tourist arrivals in Kenya have been increasing tremendously from 69 million in 1960 to 160 million in 1970, 458 million in 1990, and 625 million in 1998 (WTO, 1999).This increase has led to massive increase in sex tourism, a condition evidenced by inclusion of Kenya among the worlds leading sex tourism destinations (Vatican 2003 Boston Globe 1995 East African Standard 1995 and Chessim 1996). Although not officially stated, a good p ercentage of foreign tourists who visit Kenya often indulge in sex tourism during their trip (Chissam 1996 Sindiga 1999). These tourists mainly come from Germany, the UK, Switzerland, Italy and France. Others are from North America, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and European countries such as Spain and Sweden.Many of these countries have been generating sex tourists to some of the worlds renowned sex tourism destinations such as Thailand (Ryan and Hall 2001). Hence we can conclude that they are likely to engage in the same activity while in Kenya. Kenya is a developing country with agriculture contributing 24. 0% of GDP. Overall, Kenyas economic performance has been declining since early 1990s. The countrys per capita is about US$ 260 and more than 70% of Kenyan population currently lives below the poverty line the worst hit are women (CBS 2001). The Economics of Tourism and Sex IndustryThe main economic activity in Kenya at independence in 1963 was Agriculture whereby the country r elied on cash crop exports. After independence, the government tried to diversify the economy by implementing an open door economic policy to attract foreign investment. However, the limitations of agricultural and manufacturing sectors coupled with the appreciation of employment potential forced Kenyan government to turn to tourism as a central industry. Since 1987, tourism industry has been the leading foreign exchange earner, (CBS 2001) surpassing the traditional export crops of coffee and tea (Gakuhu1992 Weaver 1998 and CBS 2001).The industry employs about 1. 5 million Kenyans, approximately 8% of wage earning labor force (Weaver, 1998 and CBS 1999). In addition, Tourism is linked to many domestic industries and it is a potentially useful tool for generating development in neglected areas. The industry also contributes substantially to government revenues through taxes and import duties. Tourism is therefore officially promoted in Kenya as the main foreign exchange earner, sourc e of employment and general development. Its significance on the Kenyan economy has a lot of bearing on tourism policies including those related to sex tourism.Sex Tourism Market on the Kenyan Coast Sex tourism is believed to be increasing at a high rate in Kenya. This is mainly because of the reality that there is a sex tourism market for female and male tourists. Female tourists, mainly from European countries come to Kenya to meet with local beach boys because they imagine that black men (or men of color) are stronger and more active in bed than men in their home countries. On the other hand, male tourists come to Kenya to meet with black women mainly young girls who are believed to be hot in bed. Child prostitution is also emerging in Kenya involving young boys and girls.This is commonly along the Kenyan coast where many children choose not to go to school but instead go to beaches in search for white men and women from European countries who exploit them sexually. The Kenyan Co ast located along the Indian Ocean caters for about 66% of Kenyan tourism activities. Sex tourism is a major activity in Kenyan Coast (Sindiga 1999, Migot-Adhola et al 1982 Bechmann 1985). The Kenya coast as a tourism destination has existed since 1920 attracting mainly the white settlers and colonial government officials who sought holiday excitements.Major tourist attractions at the Kenyan coast include the wildlife, white sandy beaches, sun, sea, sex, scene features, diverse cultures, hospitable people, historical sites, national museums, national parks and reserves near the coast and tourism facilities of international standard such as hotels and airport. The presence and availability of Britons, Germans, Italians, Americans and others in Mombasa and other coastal towns in search of rest, fun and recreation has been the main factor attracting Kenyan girls and children to get involved in sex tourism (Sindiga 1999 and Chissim 1996).Different Forms of Sex Tourism Sex tourism someti mes involves production of videos featuring nude dancing in which no direct physical contact occurs the tourists engage in voyeurism. There are also casual prostitutes or freelancers who move in and out of prostitution depending on their financial needs. In this case, sex tourism may be regarded as incomplete commercialized and the relationship between sex worker and the client may be ridden with ambiguities (Cohen 1982 Ryan and Hall 2001), particularly if the relationship shifts from an economic to a social base.However, some women entering into sex tourism in Kenya are not financially needy but only seeking fun and social class, whereby the community views women seen socializing with white men with high esteem and associate them with wealth and success in life. Some of these women have jobs in noble professions while others are college students. There is also the more formalized form of prostitution where the workers operate through intermediaries. Since sex tourism is illegal in Kenya, prostitutes use entertainment establishments such as night clubs, bars, beaches and other retail outlets to get customers.The other type of sex tourism is that of bonded prostitutes. This is more of slavery because it is enforced by people such as family members through abductions and kidnapping. Motivation Factors Why do Tourists Look for Sex Most tourists tend to behave differently while in the countries they are touring. This is because there is an assurance of anonymity, which releases them from the usual restraints, which determine their behavior in their home countries. Tourism allows people to lose their identity and gives them the freedom to escape realities and live their fantasies.They spend more money, relax more, drink more, eat more and get involved in pleasures they would not at home. Men who would never visit brothels in their home countries will end up doing so in a foreign country where there is negligible chance of detection and penalty. For the same reason, women who would never have sex with boys young enough to be their grand children at their home country would do so in a foreign country. Tourists tend to seek commercial sex services in Kenya because the services are readily available and quite cheap compared to what they would pay for such services in their home countries.Such tourists are able to enjoy lifestyles they could never enjoy in their home countries. Furthermore, some of these tourists may hold menial jobs in their industrialized home countries but because of the disparity in salaries and high exchange rates, they may appear comparatively rich when in a poorer country like Kenya. They would therefore tend to spend their money in sexual activities that they associate with the rich and the famous in their home countries. Chissim has illustrated this in his interview with a German tourist visiting Kenya (Chissim 199618). .Morco said he was in Kenya for a month but within four days, he boasted of already fucking five girls. He said he fucked one girl on the beach but pretended that he had no money, so he got that one for free. Another girl he fucked on the beach for 100/- (about $1) and told her that he had no more money. The others he said he had to pay 200/- (about $3) For some of these tourists, Kenya represents Africa where life is perceived as raw and wild and a place where people are uncontrolled, liberal and polygamous. These reasons partly explain why some European women visit Kenya to look for sex from beach boys young enough to be their grandsons.It is estimated that more than 5% of all European women who visit Kenya go in search of sex, especially those from German, Switzerland and Italy (New York Times Feb. 14, 2002). Many Kenyan communities highly value virginity. This motivates tourists to have sex with younger girls in the anticipation of having sex with a virgin who may be free from HIV/ AIDS. Some tourists engage in sex tourism because they may be fleeing from unhappy relationships a t home and, perhaps, from women who may tend to question male domination.Male supremacy is perceived as a natural kind of authority in many cultures and world religions. Cultural values defining traditional male sex roles are power, dominance, strength and supremacy, while those defining female roles are submissiveness, weakness, inferiority and passivity. Women are perceived as property of men and sex as exchange of goods, which further entrenches male supremacy. This notion also teaches men that females are worthless and less deserving and may be treated as objects of men. The mafia- style drugs and sex industry along the Kenyan coast is another motivating factor for sex tourism.People with a lot of money are capable of bribing their way out of trouble if caught Such people are also responsible for organizing sex services for clients outside the country (Sindiga 1999 Chessim 1996). Supply Factors Why Do Sex Workers Get Involved Many times I dont feel anything during sexual encount ers. It is because I need money for myself and my children that I keep doing it. I have learned to do motions mechanically in order to satisfy my clients. If I do it well, they will come back and that means more money. (Lin Lean Lim 200074).This Filipino woman quoted by Lin Lean Lim expresses the reason why many women from Third World countries practice sex tourism and their feelings about sex work. The main reason for sex tourism for many is poverty. Many Kenyan women are economically desperate. With the increasing rate of unemployment and high cost of living, prostitution is left as the only option for them to earn a living and support their children. Such women migrate to coast with hope of finding white tourists who can pay more for the services or even may end up marrying them.Some girls involved in sex tourism come from broken homes or very poor family backgrounds and are never taken to school to attain formal education. They resolve to sex prostitution as a means of supporti ng themselves economically. In Kenya, women are generally poorer than men because women have limited access to resources such as land, capital, farm equipments and agricultural inputs. Inheritance practices in most Kenyan communities seem to favor men. This means that men can easily have access to other productive resources because they can use land as security to borrow money if needed to purchase other productive resources.This option is normally not available for women. In many Kenyan communities, illiteracy levels in women are higher than those of men. This is because parents give priority to boys education particularly if resources are limited. Along the coast, education is not valued because people from these areas are used to receiving tokens and money from the tourists. Children of school going age therefore prefer to go to beaches in search for tourists who give them tokens in exchange for sex.Other factors affecting education for girls include unwanted pregnancies and the fact that they are forced to early marriages by their parents for economic gains. Kenyan women are discriminated against in most areas of formal employment and more often left with poorly paid jobs or no jobs at all. This makes prostitution an alternative. The HIV/AIDS scourge in Kenya is estimated to claim 500 lives daily leaving many orphans. The young children left become heads of the families and may often turn to sex tourism and prostitution as a means of earning a living to support their siblings. Impact of Sex Tourism in KenyaSex tourism can be seen as both a risk and an opportunity. Most women in sex tourism face the risk of material loss because their clients may not pay them for the services (ref. The Marco case). Women are generally helpless against such exploitation and take it as part of their business. Sex workers face the risk of losing their money to thieves and police because they have to bribe their way out if caught as they mostly work at night. Women can sometime s face attacks by dissatisfied customers. These attacks may be in form of rape, cruelty, violence or even murder. Monica Njeri was a 32- year old mother of two and a prostitute in Mombasa.She was brutally murdered by Frank Sundstrom a 19 year old USA navy service man who wanted the kind of sex that Monica could not provide. When he was not satisfied with merely sleeping, he woke up and tried to steal back the money he had given to her plus her own money but she woke up and caught him in the act. In ensuing struggle, he broke a beer bottle to make a weapon and repeatedly stabbed her until she died. (Migot- Adhola 198274). Although Sundstrom admitted the offence, his only sentence was to sign a bond of 500/- (equivalent to US$46 at that time) to be of good conduct.Women in sex tourism industry and prostitution are continually exposed to sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS. Many tourists may not accept to use protection such as condoms because they argue that it interru pts the flow of sex and carrying it may imply that one is promiscuous (Clift and Grabowski 1997). Sex workers are also faced with the danger of susceptibility to anal or cervical cancers, additionally, since many women are forced into sex work, many of them only work under influence of drugs and/or alcohol.This may lead to depression or alcohol addiction. Sex tourism has been blamed in Kenyan coast for increasing rate of school drop-out, poverty and illiteracy. This is mainly because children of school going age choose not to school but to follow tourists who lure them to sex tourism. However, some women that have risked sex tourism have been able to build better houses and invested in urban businesses. This is largely because earnings from prostitution are often more than those from other alternative employment opportunities open to women.Sex workers contribute to national economy by boosting profits of many transnational hotels and airlines, taxi drivers, brothel owners and many o ther intermediaries. The Kenyan police, the state, as well as the local and international enterprises are well aware that sex has a market value even though they proclaim that prostitution is immoral (Ryan and Hall 2001). Sex tourism has also contributed to cultural exchange because many sea workers are forced to learn foreign languages so that they can communicate with their clients. There are occasions when these temporary relationships ave led to marriages hence removing such girls from prostitution. The other positive impact is that health workers are encouraged to go for regular medical checkups because of the nature of their work, hence paying more attention to their health. Bibliography Awanohara 1975. Protesting the sexual imperialists. Far Eastern Economic Review, 87 (21st March) PP 5-6. Bishop, R. and Robinson, L. S. 1998. Night Market Sexual cultures and the Thai Economic Miracle, London and New York Routledge. Boston Globe Thursday November 23, 1995Cater, E. A 1989 Touri sm in less Developed Countries. In Annals of Tourism Research Vol. 16 No. 4. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2001 Economic Survey of Kenya. Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), 2002 Economic Survey of Kenya. Chissim F. 1996. An exploratory and Descriptive Research on Child Prostitution and Tourism in Kenya. EPAT Report, Nairobi. 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