Don't! Buy! Thai! was a campaign initiated in the early 1990s by child welfare

advocate An advocate is a professional in the field of law. Different countries' legal systems use the term with somewhat differing meanings. The broad equivalent in many English law–based jurisdictions could be a barrister or a solicitor. However, ...

and author Andrew Vachss to

boycott A boycott is an act of nonviolent, voluntary abstention from a product, person, organization, or country as an expression of protest. It is usually for moral, social, political, or environmental reasons. The purpose of a boycott is to inflict som ...

goods and services produced in Thailand until its government introduced formal and practical reforms to significantly curtail the

prostitution of children Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child p ...

. The organization of Don't! Buy! Thai! was willfully informal, with promoters refusing donations. The campaign had great difficulty attracting attention from television, radio, and print media, so discussion was conducted largely on the Internet. Online, it came under vociferous attack by Sean Parlaman, who presented himself as a crusader against the prostitution of children. Parlaman variously accused the Don't! Buy! Thai! campaigners of being fundamentalist Christians, right-wing bigots, and

pedophiles Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

. In 2000, frustrated by the lack of traction and noting that the prostitution of children to

sex tourists Sex tourism refers to the practice of traveling to foreign countries, often on a different continent, with the intention of engaging in sexual activity or relationships in exchange for money or lifestyle support. This practice predominantly oper ...

had become less concentrated in Thailand, Vachss and most of those involved abandoned the boycott.

References

* de Lint, Charles; “Books to Look for”, ''The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction'', v 89 #4 (October/November 1995). * Herbert, Bob
“In America; Kids for Sale”
''New York Times'', 22 January 1996. * Bishop, Ryan, and Lillian S. Robinson; “Batman: The Ultimate Evil”, ''the Nation'', 29 January 1996. * van Esterik, Penny; ''Materializing Thailand'' (2000), Berg .

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See also