The addendum that disputes the figure is this thread of comments.

In case you haven’t noticed, most posts around here are based on single media stories, that – once posted – our readership of Muslims and their friends have the opportunity to analyze, discuss, critique, correct and rebut.

And again, you’ll notice that my questions about harsh policies and conservative Islamic response to those who have been sexually victimized stands alone from the ILO figures you dispute.

Contributing to my ‘busybodyness’ about the issue, is this new report out of Israel about Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and rape:

Victims of rape suffer from higher levels of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) than victims of war or terror, a new study reveals.
….

“Rape victims are the only trauma victims who are blamed for what happened,” Mor told The Media Line. “People say ‘she brought it on herself’ or ‘she was asking for it.’ Victims of other traumas – no one doubts their victimhood and no one questions their need for support. Rape victims have a very specific self blame which reflects the society’s accusations.”

Another hindrance to getting adequate treatment is the silence that often characterizes the society’s attitude towards rape, which tends to further exacerbate self blame.

“Unlike most traumas, in which the victims are not afraid to expose themselves and ask for help, when it comes to sexual violence there’s a public silencing of the victims,” Mor said. “This is a result of what the society reflects, and because of it, they have to keep it a secret and it prevents them from getting care, which makes the PTSD worse.”

Just in case you’re going to argue ‘That report was about Israel, Muslim communities are completely different,’ here’s an excerpt from Wikipedia’s section on ‘Women in Islam’ about rape:

…the probability of victim getting a respectable single or married status in the society is rare, especially if she gets pregnant due to rape. So, the majority of cases are neither reported nor brought to court. However, the stringent requirements for proof of rape under some interpretations of Islamic law, combined with cultural attitudes regarding rape in some parts of the Muslim world, result in few rape cases being reported; even the cases brought forward typically result in minimal punishment for offenders or severe punishment for victims.

Yes, I know, it’s Wikipedia, but it wouldn’t take that long to put together a dozen stories from the Talk Islam archives that demonstrate the accuracy of that description.

You’re right, I should be a bit more serious about the problem, when the ILO has clearly shown that every man woman and child over here is turning three tricks a day to fuel the national economy. Between that and heating our homes with virgin tropical rainforest firewood while jabbing orangutans with a sharp stick, I hardly get a chance to catch my breath.

The International Labor Organization says it contributes as much as 14 percent of the gross domestic product of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand.

I appreciate your research, and see that as the value of open source blogging.

it makes your handwringing “real question” more laughable still

Why don’t you just go all the way and dismiss me outright as a ‘liberal busybody,’ what with all my “enjoin the good, forbid the evil” liberal tropes…

And I question your response: How society responds to the problem of sex tourism is a matter of greater or lesser laughter? Casual misogyny is on the side of your better angels if that’s your point of view…

I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt and assume you didn’t mean to come off like that…

Very irresponsible, Johnpi, and it makes your handwringing “real question” more laughable still.

Fact check and then retract please, because that is utterly ridiculous. Tourism as a whole doesn’t equal 15% of the GDP of Malaysia (about 7-8% in 2008 from casual googling), so how on earth could sex tourism itself make 15%? Those sex tourists still come in on a visa, after all.