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Cambodia: A Poster Child for Modern-Day Slavery
Children sold for small change.
02/19/2007
By Janet Root, Assistant Web Editor
Contributing Writer: Chamnap Nay, Cambodia Communications
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 After telling about how her aunt had sold her to a sexual predator, her "grandmother cried," says Lan. View an interactive slideshow about Lan's journey from poverty, betrayal, and abuse — to hope.
Sold by her aunt and brutally raped by a sex predator, Lan’s experience parallels that of the approximately 2 million children in the world today enslaved in the global sex trade.
"I Thought He'd Kill Me!"
Last year, Lan recalls, she was invited to visit her aunt's house a few miles from the home she shared with her grandparents in Phnom Penh. During the visit, Lan's aunt asked her to walk with her to see a friend.
When they arrived at an abandoned house, "My auntie told me that it was her friend’s house," she says. Claiming she needed to go shopping, the older woman told her niece to wait.
"My auntie promised to return, but [hours] later a man with a long beard came rushing toward me. He was very big, and when he pushed me, I had no energy to defend myself." When the man began to rip her clothes, she said "I thought he'd kill me. I wanted to call out … but could not shout."
Lan was brutally raped three times that night. It was just the beginning of a horrific siege of abuse. "I was imprisoned in that house," she explains. "The man kept doing the same thing to me every night. During the daytime, my legs, arms, and mouth were tied.”
How could a relative sell her own flesh and blood to a sex predator?
Exploitation's Origins
There are no easy answers. But we do know that poverty makes children more susceptible to exploitation. Cambodians are among the world's poorest people; around a third of the population live on less than a $1 a day, and the vast majority go without electricity or running water. In this deeply impoverished Southeast Asian nation, the asking price for a child's body is $50 to $800.
While most of the men who abuse children in the country are local Cambodians, foreigners from wealthy countries searching for sex with children fuel an increased demand for young victims. Traffickers and brothel owners quickly service the demand. So-called sex tourists come to Cambodia, where they know they'll find impoverished, hence vulnerable, children; low-cost prostitution, anonymity, and a likely escape from prosecution.
The result of this toxic equation? An estimated one-third of prostitutes in Cambodia are children. Like Lan, these youths typically have been abuducted, lured, or deceived into sexual slavery — many of them sold to brothels.
Yet there is hope!
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| Amazing Grace: Wilberforce Film Brings Modern Day Slavery to Light
 Modern-day slavery takes many forms -- sexual exploitation of children, child laborers, and child soldiers chief among them. World Vision and the Amazing Change Campaign are working to increase awareness of historical and contemporary forms of slavery. Read more ... | |
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Incremental Progress
Cambodia's government took a promising step to reduce child trafficking five years ago, forming the anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection department. Arrests and prosecutions have increased since then. However, justice for abused children is limited because legal enforcement is lacking.
As part of World Vision's commitment to protecting children, we are addressing this issue. We've joined forces with national governments, U.S. law enforcement agencies, and other organizations to combat child sex tourism through the Child Sex Tourism Prevention Project — a program that has proven effective in Cambodia, as well as Thailand, Costa Rica, and the U.S.
Earlier this year in Cambodia, World Vision spearheaded a conference at which some 100 attendees — from government ministries, law enforcement agencies, embassies, the private sector, and nongovernmental organizations — were presented tools and methods to help them safely and effectively expedite the investigation and prosecution of sex offenders.
Such progress is to be applauded, but what about helping girls like Lan who have already been abused?
"I Was No Longer a Good Girl"
Lan's physical torment ended one humid, hot afternoon, two months after her ordeal had begun. Her rapist rushed breathlessly into the abandoned house where she had been imprisoned. "He untied my legs and arms and gave me $10 to leave. I jumped up and ran to find a taxi to take me home."
After telling her story to her grandparents, her grandmother cried, An says, adding: "I thought I was no longer a good girl for having my virginity taken away from me." "Child in Crisis Partners"
Hearing of the small girl's tragic ordeal, one of Lan's neighbors suggested taking her to the Neavea Thmey Center. A sexual trauma recovery facility operated by World Vision, it is supported by donors who participate in our "Child in Crisis Partners" program.
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| World Vision's Trauma Recovery Center: Neavea Thmey
Neavea Thmey, which means “new ship” in Khmer, infers the new journey girls embark upon in recovering from sexual abuse. In this protective, nurturing center, girls aged 8 to 18 are supported in a peer environment through the provision of:
- Basic services to assist the process of healing and recovery, including medical assistance, psychosocial counseling, spiritual counsel, and sports as well as recreational activities.
- Educational and developmental support through informal education, and vocational and skills training for income generation.
- Support for reintegration back into society through family reconciliation services, foster care or group homes (whatever is appropriate for each girl).
- Sexual exploitation prevention through research, networking, and targeted advocacy work.
Most girls' stay in the center is for a period of six to 12 months before starting their new life. More than 700 girls have been assisted by the Neavea Thmey Center since it opened in 1997. | |
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"Like Entering Heaven""After arriving at the center, I felt like I was [entering] heaven … just day[s] before, I was imprisoned in a dark room with my legs and arms tied and had nothing to eat," Lan explains.
Staff at Neavea Thmey helped Lan to file a local police report about her abuse, but as is too often the case, Lan's aunt and the offender had already slipped away.
During the six months she stayed at the center, Lan made many friends. "The center staff loved me and took care of me like their own daughter," she adds.
In addition, she learned new skills. "I found it enjoyable to learn new skills at the center, especially hairdressing.” Lan also learned to read and write basic Khmer and English.
This approach fits the core of World Vision's work to tackle the causes of poverty, helping to reduce a child's vulnerability to enslavement. Educational opportunities are one of the best means to alleviate poverty, which puts young people like Lan at risk of being exploited.
New Beginnings
Since completing her stay at the Trauma Recovery Center, World Vision staff members have continued to follow up on Lan’s progress. They've also provided her and her family with a bicycle, food supplements, and two months of rent and school expenses so Lan has a head-start on her education, something the family could not afford before.
"I send my appreciation to World Vision for providing care to girls like Lan," says her grandfather, who acknowledges his granddaughter is much happier since returning home.
"I want to learn more," Lan concludes, "so I can qualify to work for a big company or start my own business."
Learn More
>> View our interactive slideshow telling Lan's story.
>> Read about child sex tourism ; a common form of slavery in the 21st century — discover more about what you can do to help stop it.
>> Read another girl's gripping account of recovery from a Cambodian brothel.
>> Download this UNICEF article : "For Cambodian girls, education is antidote to poverty and sexual exploitation." Get Involved
>> Pray that World Vision, working in partnership with the U.S. and foreign governments, can help protect more girls like Lan from sexual predators.
>> Become a Child Crisis Partner to assist exploited children. Help other children in crisis — raped, forced into early marriage, enslaved in the global sex trade or used for bonded labor — to recover from exploitation.
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Federal Way, WA 98063-9716 Who Is World Vision?
World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization dedicated to working with children, families and their communities worldwide to reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice.
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