"Traffickers in particular knew that Thai women were being watched more, they
were being scrutinised more," said Kathleen Altzahn from the non-government
organisation Project Respect.
"In the case specifically of South Korean women, they don't have to get the
same sort of visas as Thai women. They can get working holiday visas, so then
they can work legally in Australia without so much difficulty."
Thai women are often gang-raped, starved and beaten to coerce them into
accepting the conditions of contracts which demand they pay "debts" of up to
A$50,000 ($37,500) to the traffickers, she said.
A former sex worker, Nikki, told the Lateline programme that there seemed to be
a shift where Thai women were still being brought out to Australian brothels
but so were many Korean women.
"Traffickers are just finding another way, basically, to get around things,"
she said. "It's gone from Thai women and now there's a demand for let's say
more exotic Asian women like Korean women.
"I have a prediction that the next spate will be African women. And where there
is a demand, someone will supply."
Justice Minister Chris Ellison was quoted as saying he was pleased that the
shift from Thai women to South Korean women had been picked up because police
could now adjust their tactics.
AFP
