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Published on October 21, 2007

Few people in this country were surprised to learn that the worldwide search for Canadian Christopher Paul Neil, an alleged child molester, ended in his arrest in Thailand. The Thai government's first reaction upon being told by Interpol about the possibility that Neil could be hiding somewhere in the country was to deny it. This could have been an attempt by Thai authorities to put up a smokescreen and deceive the suspect in order to prevent him from trying to slip out of the country.

But one thing is certain: increasingly there is a sense of shame associated with the notoriety that the country has earned as the "sex capital of the world" and a "paedophile's paradise". Shame is a good starting point for a society that has yet to learn to take better care of its own children. But this sense of shame tends to fade as soon as international media outlets turn their attention to other topics or other parts of the world.

A sense of guilt driven by feelings that we as a society have failed to do right by our children, often described as the "nation's most valuable asset", might be best as it could actually spur people into action.

People should be made to feel guilty enough to shed their "couldn't care less" attitudes, and to serve as the eyes and ears of law-enforcement agencies assigned to eliminate the despicable sexual exploitation of young boys and girls and procurement rackets that make those young, innocent human beings commercially available for paedophiles from around the world.

Everyone in this country should take good care not only to ensure that their own children and young relatives keep out of harm's way, but they should also look out for other people's children to protect them from falling prey to sex predators.

Human-trafficking experts say the situation in Thailand regarding child prostitution has improved dramatically since the 1990s and the availability of children under 18 for commercial sex has been sharply reduced thanks to sustained crackdowns over the years.

Far fewer children are in the country's sex trade because the economy has improved and fewer poor families need to take their children out of school to help them make ends meet. But that doesn't mean that Thailand should rest on its laurels and be complacent about the problem.

Keeping child prostitution to a low or manageable level is not a success. The sex trade involving children must be eradicated and paedophiles and their procurers severely dealt with and punished to the fullest extent allowed by the law.

Unfortunately, Thailand continues to have an oversized commercial sex industry and this makes it difficult for authorities to distinguish between adult prostitutes, who are generally tolerated, and those who are minors who must be protected against sexual exploitation regardless of whether they are willing victims or are forced into the trade.

Law-enforcement activity against paedophiles has intensified not only within the country's borders but also internationally in cooperation with foreign governments in neighbouring countries as well as in other parts of the world. Internationally, the focus has been put on efforts to combat human trafficking - the smuggling of humans, including children, for sexual exploitation or bonded labour - which is regarded as modern-day slavery and a crime against humanity.

The Neil case shows that the Royal Thai Police is fully capable of using modern criminal investigative techniques to track down criminals and bring them to justice - if police officers put their minds to it, and provided they are not corrupt.

To ensure that the country's campaign against paedophiles and human trafficking can be widened and sustained, law-enforcement authorities need the cooperation of people from all walks of life and members of civil society.

One of the best ways members of the public can help is to put pressure on the government and law-enforcement agencies to weed out corrupt elements within their rank and file.