Restoring hope to trafficked girls in Cambodia

Meet Leakhena.  Your support provided for girls like Leakhena to experience wholeness!

Leakhena was supported by Hagar Cambodia for 10 years and is now grown up and self-supporting. She has sharp eyes and says with a smile that she is not shy or afraid to share her story. She wishes to share her life – the life of a girl once abandoned now on the journey of recovery.

Today, is 22 years old. She is a single mother of a three year old daughter. She no longer needs help from Hagar because she has a good job and is able to earn a living for herself.

When Leakhena was three years old, her mother sold her to a family who wanted to adopt a young daughter. Leakhena never mixed well with the family and they eventually sent her to other family members in a different province. She never felt like a member of the family and they eventually brought her to Phnom Penh and abandoned her in front of Hagar. Hagar took her in.

Leakhena has walked a very long journey in Hagar for more than 10 years. She was supported by numerous projects during that time including the Community Learning Centre and Community Foster Care.

While reintegrated into the community, Leakhena became pregnant. She was brought to Hagar’s recovery shelter for follow up. She had the opportunity to attend several of training classes provided by Career Path way project, such as, art work, computer and soft skills.

In 2010, after delivering her baby girl, Leakhena got a chance to practice her skills by interning in Hagar Main Office as admin assistant. At first work was not easy because

everything was so new to her, and her knowledge was limited in terms of computer skills. However, over time she grew as she was trained.

Six months later she decided to pursue further schooling and Hagar placed her at World Essential Organisation as a part time admin assistant. Life was not easy for her as an employed student single mother. But she knew she had to be strong for her daughter and for the future.

“My daughter was my motivation. I do everything just for her. I feel like I am no longer alone, when I have her. I want to raise her up with a wholeness of life,” she said.

In the middle of 2013, she successfully completed high school. Then she upgraded to work full time at a job with Be Free Cambodia, a company which sells handmade souvenir products.

She is satisfied with her work because she can use her creativity as well as her knowledge to teach people who have similar backgrounds like her.

“Though I am not good at English, I am able to work smoothly with my foreigner boss, and he does like my work,” she said.

Nowadays, she earns a living wage that covers her house rental and food for their family.

Lost hope is not Leakhena’s choice; she is looking forward to see her daughter’s future, so she will never give up with any obstacle of life.

“When my daughter is bigger, I will continue my study to university, I want to sharpen my ability in order to fulfill my dream of working as a manager in a big company,” she said.

“To me, my future relationships depend on God. I listen to him, if he wants me to get married, I will, yet if he wants me to be alone, I will stay alone with my daughter forever.”

Last message from Leakhena is that, she encourages everyone, especially the people who were abused or abandoned like her, to not give up and be strong, because no one can help you better than yourself.

Highlights

• Cambodia was invited to provide training to over 3,000 Singapore police on how to recognize trafficking for labor and for sex.
• The staff at Hagar Cambodia were able to work with the Ministry of Education to create sustainability for catch-up teachers.  They are now under the Ministry of Education, meaning they will continue to teach the most vulnerable and those who have been trafficked, but won't be paid for by Hagar anymore.
• Hagar partnered with UNICEF for a study, the first study of its kind documenting the experiences of child victims in Cambodia’s courts and recommendations for developing a child-friendly system. More than 90 government officials, NGO partners and media representatives attended the launch event.

Key Research Findings and why your support is so important.

"The police extorted us, demanding money before they worked.”

A System Just for Children highlights police treatment of child victims and witnesses. While children generally felt the police behaved ‘normally’ toward them, 10 respondents said they were treated disrespectfully or were mocked or ignored by the authorities. In 11% of cases, the child met the perpetrator at the police station and 20% of respondents reported paying money to police before the case moved forward.

The Courtroom Experience

The study found that the court process was rarely child friendly. Strangers were often present in the court room and in one instance, media representatives were in attendance during the trial. Children often had to sit through other cases, sometimes being exposed to violent crimes. No participant reported seeing or using a child-friendly waiting room.

“Being in the same room is too close. I was afraid immediately when I saw the perpetrator.”

Nearly every child interviewed found themselves exposed to the perpetrator on the way to or in the courtroom. In most cases the child was two or three meters from the perpetrator during the hearing and in some cases, even travelled to the court house in the same vehicle.

“I do not know what is happening in my case”

Many children were given little information about what was happening in their case and 10% of the children interviewed did not know clearly if their case was finished or not.  It was rare for children or their guardians to get copies of their statements or any other documentation relating to the case. 

Demeanour of Judges and Lawyers

While social service and legal aid staff largely agree that judges’ demeanour towards children in court has improved over the years, there is still room for improvement. The court environment remains frightening for children and in some cases, the judge asked inappropriate questions or laughed at the victim, particularly if the witness was an older girl or boy. Defence lawyers sometimes acted inappropriately, including trying to confuse, trick or intimidate child witnesses. Often, it was the child’s lawyer, not the judge, who requested such behaviour stop. 

“I am still fearful that the man’s relatives will take revenge on me for sending him to jail.”

The research demonstrates the safety concerns children and their representatives have after the trial. There were apprehensions about whether prison sentences would be served and when the perpetrator would appear in the community again. Court authorities provided no comment about this and there seemed to be no clear responsibilities for child victim or witness safety during or post-trial.

Links:

• Hagar and UNICEF Collaborate
• Hagar Cambodia Highlight Video

• A System Just for Children (PDF)