RUNNING HEAD: Standpoint on Human Trafficking in Thailand

Standpoint and Social location of Human Trafficking in Thailand

Alina Vilaysom
Human Services Professionals and Personal Systems
Dr. Samit Dipon Bordoloi
October 27, 2015

RUNNING HEAD: Standpoint on Human Trafficking in Thailand

Standpoint on Human Trafficking in Thailand
Where was when I when I first heard about the term human trafficking? Well, it was
not in English when it was explained to me. I was tucked in my bed; my mom was sitting at the
edge and asked in our native tongue, Never trust anyone, do not trust men, and always take the
right route, you must be very careful these days. This was followed by an explanation of why
people are very vulnerable for many reasons. I was about seven years old when my mom finally
blurted out how she was afraid of young girls being manipulated, how in Thailand and many
other places that this was considered a living. Till this day, I still receive multiple phone calls,
text messages and Thai amulets from my mom. Phone calls and text messages regarding the
same saying she said at the edge of my bed when I was seven and Thai amulets to wear every
day to keep me safe. I am not surprised that my mom still talks to me about subjects involving
sex, rape, and assault because she makes a good point every time, but it is still not my position to
interpret these victims or feelings and put them into words then immediately know every point
associated with human trafficking. The way I view human trafficking in Thailand is limited
because I cannot speak from experience, only from my current approach that was given to me
from my social location and culture.
I did not know what sex was at all, definitely much less about the meaning of rape.
The event leading up to my mom sitting at the edge of my bed was after our relatives from
Oregon left. My relatives had a son who at that time was around thirteen. We were playing a
game of hide and seek with my sister outside at night; he and I decided to hide in the car. I
remember that he did absolutely nothing to me, we just talked and giggled about how my sister
was going to find us or not. During dinner my mom overheard that we hid in the car and later
came up to me and asked, Did he touch you? Did he tell you to do things you did want to do?

RUNNING HEAD: Standpoint on Human Trafficking in Thailand

You can tell me. At this point, I was extremely confused. I did not know what was going at all
because at this age, I did not even think about why someone would touch me a certain way or tell
me something I did not want to do because I was so young. My mother worked with various
human trafficking organizations and has witnessed horrible things when she was a refugee in
Thailand. As a young child, my thought process was simple, my idea was that children, teenagers
and older women lost everything and could forget about it. As I grew older, I began to
comprehend the danger and seriousness of what my mom has seen in her past. Now that I am
looking at the memory where my mom decided to bring up the hide and seek incident today, it is
interesting and unexpected how she went beyond talking about touch, healthy boundaries and
sexual assault to jumping right into the subject of human trafficking at an age where my mind
could not process this. I believe being a female, especially at this age also plays a significant part
in how my knowledge and outlook was shaped. It concerns me how young females are primarily
targeted by being lured into these crime networks. Sometimes these women agree to work for
jobs in need of waitresses or entertainers only to find themselves tricked and unfortunately
sexually exploited. I suddenly became more interested in the topic and read books, watched
documentaries, but it never compared to the stories I never imagined possible coming from my
mothers memory.
A true story that stuck with me throughout my whole life was when my mom stayed
in a small village in Thailand, she knew a girl who was about fifteen who had two younger
siblings. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother passed away when she was a child. Her
father willingly sent her to the streets to become a sex worker where her own virginity was sold
to the highest bidder, which was probably around a few hundred dollars. She and her younger
siblings were separated because like her too, they were forced into human trafficking. They all

RUNNING HEAD: Standpoint on Human Trafficking in Thailand

shared similar stories of being threatened with weapons, beaten, raped and starved. Its
heartbreaking to hear that some parents believe going into this industry to sell their own children
is the only source of their income. Its even more heartbreaking to hear that some of these kids
are born into human trafficking; its difficult to get out of this situation because even if someone
escaped, they are not only exposed to sexual and reproductive health complications, they are left
with a traumatizing past that will haunt them. Human trafficking victims are severely
traumatized that it will most likely lead them to feel guilty, depressed or isolated in their
community. Since all of this usually takes place in rural areas where no psychological help can
be accessed, the mental angst could even resort to going back into the human trafficking industry
or worst, suicide. The first intense research I did was in fifth grade, where we could choose any
topic we want and explore its history and background. I remember all the students in my class
had fun topics that had to do with animals, events or holidays. The day finally came to present
our research paper in front of the entire class and when I first talked about this particular topic,
mouths dropped and my teacher was a bit curious where I learned about such a thing. Those
were the exact words that came out of her mouth, and I simply replied, My mother told me and
it is very important to me. She tilted her head and I could tell she was a bit uncomfortable to
have a student talk about this topic so soon to others who never even knew this existed. I felt
good actually; I did not feel weird at all explaining this to my class because its something that is
an ongoing issue worldwide and needs awareness. Although this subject is something I am
highly passionate about, I do not see or know what this perspective is like just because I am an
individual who has heard about human trafficking from her mother or did a research paper on it,
I am truly unable to see what these victims have been through.

RUNNING HEAD: Standpoint on Human Trafficking in Thailand

My social location really does influence my experiences and how I see the world.
My social location whether it be my gender, religion, ability, language, sexual orientation, etc
gives me a point to voice my way of thinking. I believe that two components of my social
location that play a huge part in my voice are my parents and cultural background. My cultural
upbringing and childhood were filled with strict sayings of Do this, do that, believe in this, do
not believe in that. Its interesting to see how standpoints take place within my parents. For
example, my mom hates body modifications, especially tattoos. She does not believe any women
should get them because it breaks their innocence. Yet, she approves of Sak Yants, which are
spiritual and magical tattoos that are given by monks in Thailand. Buddhism is important to my
mother; it impacts her own decisions and how she views our society. I cannot have an
appropriate stance on human trafficking in Thailand because I cannot speak from experience. I
have not experienced the pain and neglect these individuals go through on a daily basis. I cannot
speak for the woman who is my age in Thailand struggling to find an income to survive. There is
no first person point of view story for me to even come close in comprehending a persons story.
I believe the original viewpoint I have of the reality of human trafficking will remain the same.
To expand my viewpoint to a better understanding, I must have critical awareness and reflection.
I realize that my gender, age, family, ethnic background, education, economic status gives me an
epistemic advantage to view human trafficking in Thailand more better than others, but like I
mentioned, the standpoint I currently have is a partial view of the reality human traffickers have
to face. This makes me think about my mothers standpoint about human trafficking in Thailand
in particular. Even though she has witnessed these women in Thailand while she was
immigrating to the states, who really told her the truth behind all of this? Before she even
witnessed this happen, did my grandma give her the same talk she gave me that time after I

RUNNING HEAD: Standpoint on Human Trafficking in Thailand

played hide and seek? It is something for me to ask if I want to dig deeper into my mothers
beliefs and the way she molded her knowledge of human trafficking. The way she told her stories
and constructed her advice that was given to me impacted myself so much to play an active role
within this community. By going to Thailand this winter through a study abroad program, I will
participate in research projects that will include the topic of human trafficking. Through this
research experience, I would want to run into agencies or organizations that assist victims of
human trafficking, violence and trauma within children and women. This will hopefully even
deepen my understanding and knowledge behind this difficult topic that will be necessary in
achieving an improved standpoint that I never had before.
Even though our own standpoint offers us to see how we want to view part of the
world, this may still block a point of view we cannot see that is a reality to others. I do not have
emotions that are coming from a first person point of view such as the pain or the trauma that
will follow them around. The stories that are told by my mom, her advice and lectures lead me to
a path that gives me more background knowledge on this topic but I cannot sympathize or
knowledgeably be aware about the nature of this subject. My heart does feel heavy whenever I
hear about the deception these women encounter, parents tend to sell their childs virginity to
earn money or even force them to spend nights with multiple men who may abuse and rape them
to death. Just because I have a particular social location that may seem like I have an advantage
to know more about the background on human trafficking in this country, it is still not my place
to tell neither anyone nor the reader that I know so much and easily analyze the victims
emotions. My mothers stories regarding this matter has made me more conscious in me to have
an even stronger sense of persistence on human trafficking in Thailand while also understanding
standpoint does not come close in comparison to the victims perspective.

RUNNING HEAD: Standpoint on Human Trafficking in Thailand