Philippines has almost a million prostitutes

The Straits Times, 21 July 2000

MANILA—Not only does the Philippines lead in providing labourers, it also leads in providing the world with prostitutes.

According to the Manila Standard, the Philippines tops the list of countries whose women are lured into the trade by supplying almost a million prostitutes.

It quoted Sister Mary John Mananzan, of the organisation Gabriela, that the Philippines has the biggest number of prostituted women, numbering about 800,000.

Of those, 100,000 are children, she said, quoting from International Labour Organisation (ILO) statistics.

India may have more prostitutes in absolute terms owing to its huge population of close to one billion, but the Philippines is tops on a per capita basis.

If the ILO statistics are correct, more than 1 per cent of the country's population of 70 million are prostitutes.

Gabriela on Wednesday launched the International Conference against Sex Trafficking of Filipino Women and Children during an annual meeting of women's organisations.