Problem Statement

The commercial sexual exploitation of children and young people in Cambodia has escalated over the last decade, into what is now an 'industry' utilized by foreign visitors and by a large domestic market. A combination of causal factors are involved, chiefly the cultural obligation of children in Cambodia to financially support their parents. Government figures for 2003 found that 90% of girls are knowingly sold by their families, a factor which serves to maintain enslavement in the sex industry once there, compounded by lack of alternative job opportunities and social stigma. Families’ main reasons for selling their children include poverty, debt & financial difficulties – but in reality social problems undergird this situation: parental alcohol or gambling habits, parental debts, parental materialism. Girls are also at risk of being sold if they are raped or lose their virginity. The girl is viewed as having lost her value and the hope of finding a husband to provide for the family. Parents then feel her only remaining value is to provide them with income through sex work. In a few cases trickery is involved: a boyfriend or close friend sells her to the brothel, or a trafficker tricks the family with offer of a respectable job

Exiting the sex industry:

Once a girl becomes a sex worker, it is hard for her to leave:

  • Social stigma & lack of education mean she is unable to find another job
  • Girls are obliged to provide for families, and are not free to leave without having an alternative source of income.
  • If she does not continue providing income, a younger sister may be sold in her place.
  • Girls are unwilling to live in a shelter due to the loss of dignity and wish to remain within their existing support networks (in a collectivist society like Cambodia, this is a strong part of identity).

Experience of shelter-based models in Cambodia indicates that forced rescues often result in re-trafficking, even with vocational skills and education, if no alternative job is immediately provided.

Daughters Solution:

Before starting Daughters, needs assessments were conducted with girls in brothels. The motivation to leave the sex industry was already strong – the main thing girls needed was a JOB. Daughters therefore designed a new approach to eradicating enslavement in sexual exploitation. Victims of sexual exploitation are empowered to set themselves free, by equipping them with the external resources (a job) and internal resources (social support services & range of programs) & to make healthy decisions for their lives that will be sustained in the future.

A day-centre, located in an area of brothels, offers employment opportunities and a range of programs designed so that life-style changes are sustained because:

  1. they are internal and voluntary
  2. girls are equipped with skills in functional living that are relevant to their situation and immediate needs
  3. girls are not removed from their own context, but live in the local community. Healthy independent living is taught rather than NGO dependence

photos taken by Jeremy Maz