Map of Cambodia

Firsthand Experiences

A couple years ago my friends went on a missions trip to Cambodia, the stories they brought back with them, or poverty and pain, hope and hard work, were compelling. We got on the subject of sex trafficking and I asked them about the children in Cambodia who had experienced this, how they acted, and what it was like to work with them. Here are a few of the things that they said:

“It was so heartbreaking to think what they had been through. And many of the girls were hesitant around guys because they were afraid of them. But when they saw that we only wanted to help, they began to open up and it was very good internal healing.” -Christian

“Us guys, we didn’t get to spend alot of time with the girls who were specifically rescued from sex slavery, obviously because guys make them uncomfortable. But even from the moment we stepped from Thailand to Cambodia, we noticed how the kids desired our attention.” -Michael

“The kids love anyone who gives them attention, especially ones who seem like they want to help the kids. It makes it seem like they would be more vulnerable because of that. It’s scary to think about how easily they can be taken advantage of because of poverty.”-Audrey

“There are a lot of organizations that get girls out, but then what do the girls do? Nothing. They can’t get ahold of their families because it’s been years and many people see the girls as being impure or unclean, so they don’t associate themselves with the girls. The girls don’t know what else to do, but go back to the life they just left.” -Janine

The History of Cambodia and its Contribution to Sex Trafficking

Sex trafficking thrives because of this country’s history. During the Khmer Rouge everyone’s sole goal was survival, because of this many families were forced to split up, and people began to turn on each other. People who had before been so supportive and caring of one another were now betraying one another in their effort to fight for survival. The result of this is that Cambodia is now a place with a survival of the fittest mentality, and people will do whatever it takes to make a living and feed themselves, which includes entering prostitution and/or being a brothel owner. Brothel owners are a prime example of the exploitation of other human beings for one’s own benefit. Brothel owners often trick girls into entering prostitution and, once there, they do not allow them to leave. Brothel owners will also utilize torture, fear, and degradation to makes the girls compliant and submissive. Often the brothel owner takes all the earnings of the girls, the girls never see a penny of it.

Cambodia’s legal system was also destroyed during the Khmer Rouge and has yet to be  rebuilt. Without a proper legal system, crimes such as sex trafficking are often left unpunished, and many brothel owners simply pay off the authorities if they are caught.

Why and How Sex Trafficking Occurs

Sex trafficking is driven mainly by poverty. Many families are so desperate for money that they are willing to sell their children in prostitution, and many women need to make a living and do not believe that they have any other choice. Once a women enters prostitution, whether by force or by choice, she may choose to stay because she has no other skills and doesn’t think she can make money doing anything else, or because she believes she is to “dirty” to get a higher class job.

Women either willingly consent to go into prostitution, are bonded into it, or are tricked or kidnapped into it. Most of the women who willingly enter prostitution are given false information about the conditions they are going to work under, and once they go into prostitution they aren’t allowed to leave. About 50% of girls are sold by a close parent or relative. This is called bonding. The girl then has to work until she has paid off the money that the brothel owner spent on her, and as time goes on more things are added to her debt (such as clothes, food, and shelter). Many women are lured from their home with the promise of a high paying job, and then they are trafficked into prostitution.

Consequences

The biggest widespread consequence of sex trafficking is the spread of HIV. Because condoms are not required nor provided by brothel owners sex is often unprotected which makes the spread of HIV and other STIs very common. 20% of all sex workers are HIV positive, and as the girls continue to service costumers, HIV will continue to spread. Education is the best fight against the spread of HIV and other STIs. The more education there is about STIs and protection methods the less it will spread. However, ending sex trafficking and prostitution would be the most effective preventive method.

Solutions

The best approached to fighting sex trafficking is education and prevention, reenforcement, and rehabilitation. First, there is education. There is so little education on the subject that many people (especially in the U.S.) do not know that it is going on. If sex trafficking were to be exposed, people would be less willing to take the risk involved in doing it, and also more people would work to fight against it. Education will help prevention, but there also needs to be solid enforcement in the law against sex trafficking. Right now the legal system is weak and corrupt, and even though there is a strict law against sex trafficking it is not being properly enforced.  If the law was strictly enforced, more and more people will stop doing it because they are afraid of getting caught.

Rehabilitation for the sex workers is also very important. When the girls get out of the brothels, they are scared, alone, and traumatized. Many of the girls are separated from their families and are unable to find them. They need someone who cares, they need attention and compassion. There are a decent amount of places that help rescue girls from brothels, but not many that help them to recover afterwards.

There are some organizations that devote themselves to rescuing and taking care of these girls. One of which is AFESIP (Agir Pour les Femmes en Situation Precaire), which is owned and operated by Somaly Mam, a women who was once forced to be a sex worker herself. She escaped and has now devoted her life to rescuing girls from brothels and helping them to recover. Recovery is a very important for rescued sex workers, because if they are not cared for and do not learn to cope with their past trauma they may fall back into prostitution again.

A Cry For Help

Sex trafficking is a large and continuing problem not only in Cambodia, but in many other countries as well. People need to be informed and alerted about this problem so that we can start to take preventative action.

In order to do this, other countries need to get involved to help Cambodia enforce their law. This has been happening a little bit in the United States when Congress passed The Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000 which would allow sanctions against countries that permitted trafficking. And in 2008, Congress passed The Wilberforce Act, which is a strengthened version of the trafficking legislation. However, many other countries are still uninvolved, and the United States isn’t making this a priority.

Cambodia is a very poor country with a tragic history that they are still recovering from. Everyday, so many girls and women in Cambodia are being kidnapped, tricked, or bonded into prostitution. Cambodia may not have the resources or the ability to fight it, but so many other countries do. The women and girls tricked into prostitution suffer from it greatly, and often they will never know another way of life. There needs to be education about sex trafficking, strict enforcement of the law against sex trafficking, and rehabilitation centers for the girls that are recovering from forced prostitution. It is imperative that we take immediate action in order to help these girls, and to help improve the situation in Cambodia.

“But it was painful, seeing young bright faces, and knowing pain they’ve experienced, and terrible things they’ve seen… But, it didn’t seem to bother them alot, and that’s because in most of Southeast Asia, saving face and maintaining respect and dignity are incredibly important, so they wouldn’t show their pain even if they were depressed and hurting.” -Michael