not the eldest. The eldest daughter within a Thai family usually stays at home to assist her parents in maintaining the house, farm, and younger siblings. It is the middle-born daughters who are expected to financially assist the family. Youngest daughters usually receive more schooling than their elder sisters due to the earnings of older siblings; however, this may be a risk factor for youngest daughters being recruited and/or forced into the sex industry as well. Religious beliefs More than 90% of Thailand's population is Buddhist. Buddhist beliefs, especially in northern Thailand, contribute to community acceptance of prostitution and sex trafficking. Thai Buddhists hold that "each person’s soul inhabits many physical bodies over time, with the quality of each life influenced by the soul's store of merit". Merit can be earned by providing aid to one's parents, which can be through earnings from sex work, despite the nature of the work itself. The merit gained would, in essence, bless the victims in their next life, negating the effects of having been involved in the sex industry. Nearly US$300 million is transferred yearly by trafficked persons engaged in prostitution back to their families in Thailand. Business culture According to Boonyarit Nipavanit, a local official in Mae Hong Son, teenage girls are often procured for superiors and VIPs in both the private and public sectors, in a practice known as “treat to food, lay down the mat". Methods used by traffickers Common methods of trafficking include, but are not limited to, physical force, coercion such as debt relief for family, job, marriage, threats, and passport theft. Girls can also be kidnapped or lured into the industry by promises of high paying work as dancers, waitresses, domestic servants, or sale representatives. Recruitment is another method commonly used by traffickers. Girls are recruited at a young age into the sex industry, often by former prostitutes who are agents of a brothel or "massage parlor". These agents have a specific agenda. They scout poor villages and when a potential candidate is found, the agent offers a down payment for the girl to her parents. The agent returns when the girl is 12 to make the final payment and to pick up the "goods." Appeal of young women and children One reason that young women and girls may be disproportionately recruited into prostitution is the demand of the sex industry clientele. Advertised promises of youth, virginity,