Stop normalising exploitation!
Many of us have heard the term ‘sex tourists’ before in TV shows, stand-up comedy specials and movies – usually aimed at Asian countries. The casual nature of referencing sex tourism on these platforms sanitises a real-life issue that directly impacts women and girls and robs them of their voice. Cambodia, like many other countries is a destination for these kinds of predators.
You may have heard about the genocide in Cambodia during the 70’s but what many don’t know is that it still impacts every aspect of life. The aftermath of the Khmer Rouge devastated the region. One quarter of the population was killed and the generational trauma is unimaginable to those of us who haven’t experienced it directly. This happened only 50 years ago and the ripple affect is still felt in families.
When people experience unimaginable horror (torture, rape, watching their families get massacred) and aren’t provided any psychological help, financial support or medical treatments for recovery, it directly affects the life they can build for themselves and their family. If violence, abuse and exploitation is all you have experienced, all your family have experienced and a commonplace in your community - it becomes normal or at least expected. The combination of the psychological effects of their history and a population of impoverished families just trying to survive, leaves so many Cambodian children and adults vulnerable to being exploited. This vulnerability is exploited by foreigners and the wealthy coming to Cambodia for the sole purpose of sexually exploiting the locals, justifying their abuse as a ‘tourist’ having a good time.
A terrifying example of this is Svay Pak. Svay Pak is a small village on the outskirts of Phnom Penh known as a tourist destination for pedophiles, specifically looking to engage in brutal and disturbing rapes, child pornography, and torture. These are not ‘tourists.’ These are predatory men who commit unthinkable crimes against the most vulnerable people in Cambodia. One of the early undercover investigators was told if they wanted 200 girls for him and his friends, he could have 200 girls by the afternoon. The normalisation of ‘sex tourism’ in Cambodia continues the demand for woman and children to be available, and human traffickers become bolder in entrapping, exploiting and trafficking vulnerable people.
13 years ago, when we received the first girls into the SHE Rescue Home, several of the girls were from around Svay Pak. They had been rescued as part of the first efforts to protect children from sexual trafficking in Cambodia. The transformation of this town in the past decade has been incredible. Children are now seen playing in the streets rather than being hidden in brothels. One of these girls is now twenty-three and about to finishing law school. She still lives around Svay Pak and her family helps support the local community. She really wants to help girls like her and find justice for them. We are so proud of what she has accomplished and we can’t wait to see what changes she brings to the justice system in Cambodia.
Although Cambodia is changing and developing, approximately 250,000 of people in Cambodia are still trapped in human trafficking and being exploited (The Global Slavery Index). Together we can help change the story for these people. Together we can:
Advocate for their freedom,
Demand change and accountability from our own governments/countries for what our fellow citizens are doing in other countries,
Raise awareness of the exploitation inherent in the ‘sex tourism’ industry,
Listen to and believe survivors when they share their stories
And finally give our time and money to help end human trafficking and support survivors.
Together we can end human trafficking in Cambodia.
