It is reported that more and more Hong Kong teenage girls are offering men paid companionship and sex, an immoral trade originated from Japan. Those young women engaged in the business are usually in the age between 15 and 25. They provide companionship and sex to mostly middle-aged businessmen or professionals in return for a few hundred or thousand dollars.
The practice is surely a tragedy. Those young ladies involved in compensated dating have to face many hazards of prostitutes, including venereal disease, violent clients and legal penalties. Some are even unpaid after services.
With all the hazards, what makes the girls enter the seedy business?
Deepening materialism among young people is the chief factor for the emergence of paid dating. Many teenage girls who are engaged in this unscrupulous trade say that they have to finance their addiction to expensive designer gear. But is it worthwhile to exchange the chastity with some coins?
Easy communication through the internet is also a reason giving rise to teenage paid companionship. Very often, those adolescent girls get into contact with their clients via MSN or some websites advertising paid-dating services. As they can discuss all the terms and payment with male clients online, parents find it hard to know if their children are engaging in such seedy trade, leading to a surge of the vicious business.
Some girls claim that they do such thing to alleviate their families’ financial burden and pay for their tuition fees. However, in my opinion, this is not a good ground for them to get involved in such immoral activity. There are plenty of ways to earn money other than venturing into the shameful trade. They can do part-time jobs while they are studying. There is not any excuse for anyone to engage in compensated dating!
Lack of parental care is another reason for the rise in the seedy business. Many parents are busy with work nowadays and overlook the needs of their children. This problem is particularly serious in the impoverished and single-parent families. Selling their bodies is the last resort to cope with their financial difficulties when the girls cannot get help from their parents. Therefore, uncaring parents should bear some responsibilities of the problem.
Lastly, the men who pay for the sex are to blame. The grown-ups should be able to distinguish between right and wrong. But still, they desire for the freshness of girls and destroy the lives of them. Don’t they feel ashamed when dating with teenage girls?
The hurt of compensated girls, sadly, can never be compensated. They often develop distorted notions of sex and love. They may even no longer believe in true love and men after participating in the business for some time. This can be a permanent metal scar in their lives. So, we should not overlook this problem.
It is time that we had more educational programs on morals and sex, teaching teenagers, especially girls the most important asset is their bodies.
The government should also tighten laws in order to deter people from engaging in compensated dating. It should ban the websites advertising paid-dating services.
Our future is determined by the young generation. If young people are immoral, our society is unlikely to have hopes in tomorrow.
We had better sort the problem out before it is too late!