Protect Children from Sex Trafficking in Thailand

It has been a very busy couple of months for our team but we are continuing to make a difference in child survivors’ lives as well as continuing to build partnership among government prosecutors and social workers. We’ve learned that working both directly with children in combination with government policy, is the best way to achieve a greater impact. 

 In January, an offender was arrested for possession of child sexual abuse material and for the sexual exploitation of minors. The offender targeted young children, specifically a 12-year-old Yim* through and online gaming platform. After he befriended Yim* online, he coerced her to send clips of herself to the offender, he proceeded to blackmail Yim* for money. Even after receiving some money, the offender still published the video clip and sent it to Yim’s family and acquaintances. After gathering evidence, law enforcement officers were able to arrest the offender on January 9th. We’re thankful to have been able to help with this case and to be there to reinforce a child-centric approach during the investigation and restoration process. Our team was specifically asked to join the investigation by Yim’s parents and we thank them for their bravery to come forward to ask for help. 

Our team was also a part of a nation-wide operation that reached 22 provinces throughout Thailand. This operation lead to the rescue of 7 children and the arrest of 26 offenders. Its cases like this that show the importance of collaboration and cooperation. We feel grateful that we are able to work along side the Royal Thai Police and Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children. 

Another recent case involved two suspects who were changed with producing obscene content as well as possession of indecent images of minors. One of the suspects admitted to creating doctored images of his friend and then posting them online for paid members. The account had over 400 paid subscribers.   Unfortunately, this crime is not uncommon and it has been a huge problem in the online world. Many of these “subscription accounts” are a way for offenders to make money at the expense of young children.

We also recently were a part of the creation of the Child-Friendly Justice Initiative Team (CJIT) under the Office of Attorney General. We aim to enhance child friendly justice among prosecutors working with child victims of human trafficking, online sexual abuse and other forms of violence against children. It continues to amaze me how much we can accomplish with collaboration, passion, and the desire to fight for the rights of children. Everyone who attended the Child-Friendly Justice Initiative Team webinar knows that it is worth the fight. This is just the beginning, and I cannot wait to see the positive impact we will have on child survivors.

*A pseudonym has been used to protect this survivor's identity.

The number of children exploited online continue to rise. As of September 2021, data from the Thailand Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce or TICAC demonstrated that children were exploited online was 34.78% higher than the tips they received in 2020. onsequently, HUG Project, Cyber Crimes Investigation Bureau, and Twitter see the importance of increasing prevention mechanisms among Thai children. We believe the best teachers are law enforcement themselves, because they understand the sophisticated nature of offenders’ strategies.

Our team organized the first round of training limited to only 200 students and we had to close the registration within just 48 hours. One of the recommendations that emerged from our round table discussion with other professionals on how to make the Justice System more friendly to children is to allow connection and communication between children and law enforcement in a more friendly and approachable environment.

On another highlight, Facebook Thailand and The HUG Project launched a campaign called, Report It. Don’t Share It. The initiative helped educate the public about the harmful effects of sharing images or videos of child sexual abuse, and how to report this kind of content to law enforcement and Facebook. You can watch the video from the link below.

In Thailand some form of online sexual exploitation can also be charged under a form of human trafficking. We continue to support law enforcement in term of social work support for child victims of human trafficking and online sexual exploitation focusing on victim centric approach. We are committed to make Thailand a safer place for children both online and offline.

Links:

• Report It, Don't Share it!