Gender Equality Cambodia Project #34719

Support for child victims of sex trafficking

by Hope for Justice

Project Report | Jun 16, 2020
Support for child victims of sex trafficking - Cambodia

By Isabelle Bryan | Project Lead

During this global COVID-19 pandemic we are committed to continuing to deliver specialized support to young girls who are victims of sex trafficking and modern slavery at our Lighthouse in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. During full lockdown we have worked to follow government guidance and safety measures to protect the health and wellbeing of each child. Each girl is given care tailored to their specific needs.

Our most recent arrival at the Lighthouse was Chaya*.

Chaya is only eight years old and was rescued from sexual exploitation. The first thing Chaya asked when she came to the Lighthouse in Phnom Penh was “Is there school here?”

The case manager at the Lighthouse said this “This little girl has been exploited in unimaginable ways. Her vulnerability was abused by her mother, who forced her to perform sexual acts on adults. This exploitation contained for more than one year.

“It is difficult to imagine how any parent can do this. But desperation and the grip of a drug addiction were the backdrop to this mother’s decision to exploit her own daughter…

“When Chaya first arrived at the Lighthouse, I remember her bright eyes and huge smile as she enquired about an opportunity to learn. It amazes me how children like Chaya are able to remain so engaged and hopeful after everything they have been through. Her resilience is astounding.”

Chaya now has the care and support that she was deprived of for so long. She is now safe, with shelter and protection, regular food, clean clothes, a shower and a bed.

She now has the chance to take part in school lessons, to play, to learn, to develop friendships with the other children – the chance to be a child again.

For more stories like Chaya visit https://hopeforjustice.org/news/category/news/

*name and photo changed to protect identity of the victim.

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Feb 18, 2020
Support for child victims of sex trafficking

By Isabelle Bryan | Project Lead

Thank you so much for joining Hope for Justice in this fight against human trafficking. Since November 2019 we have consistently housed an average of 20 girls every month at our Lighthouse providing restorative care to put them on the path to recovery after their trafficking ordeal.

Your support has enabled us to support victims of sex trafficking like Chanlina*, a 14 – year old girl who bravely testified in court against her exploiters.

Chanlina* grew up in a very poor family, who believed lies told by a massage parlor owner that he would give her a good job that would give her enough money to send home.

Instead, she was forced into sexual exploitation, working 11 hours each night, and the owner kept almost all of her earnings. She even needed to pay him if she needed to leave the parlor briefly.

Fortunately she was rescued in a police raid earlier this year and brought immediately to the Hope for Justice Lighthouse, where she received safety, care and support. She was traumatized and struggled with her emotions – she was confused by people willing to help her and care for her, and her instinct was to lash out, swearing and behaving badly.

With intensive trauma-informed therapy, her attitude changed completely. She began joining in with group activities, she is calmer and she agreed to give evidence against the massage parlor owner. We are awaiting the outcome of the case.

Her case worker at the Hope for Justice Lighthouse said: “Her brave decision to engage with the judicial system, to try to get justice for herself and others, shows the change in Chanlina and her new positive thinking and peace of mind. She is ready to change and to accept something new in her life. The input of our staff and careful counselling and therapy allowed her to look afresh at life after her trauma. Now, she wants to study with us and then we hope to return her safely to her family and her community.”

On behalf of Chanlina and all the girls at our Lighthouse ‘Thank you!’

*Name changed to protect victim's identity

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Nov 20, 2019
Support for child vicims of sex trafficking

By Isabelle Bryan | Project leader

Thank you so much for joining Hope for Justice in this fight against human trafficking. Since August 2019, we have consistently housed an average of 20 girls every month at our Lighthouse providing restorative care to put them on the path to recovery after their trafficking ordeal.

Your support has enabled us to support victims of sex trafficking like Ma Ni*:

Growing up, Ma Ni* lived in Cambodia’s Battambang Province with an abusive father. Her family was scarcely able to afford one meal a day. They were sometimes so desperate they had to beg their neighbors to feed them.

Ma Ni wished for a better future in Thailand, and one day a customer offered her ‘a much better job’, across the border, as a house cleaner. With nowhere else to turn, she jumped at the opportunity.

But soon after her journey started, life became a living nightmare. She was sold to traffickers.

One of the men raped her many times. The next morning, she was sold on, to another man.

But Ma Ni managed to escape and found her way back to Cambodia and was brought to our Lighthouse for restoration.

Hope for Justice Director of Social Work (Cambodia), Sola Long, said: “She was so scared at first, she couldn’t even sleep. She had so many nightmares about what had happened to her. The girls blame themselves for everything that’s happened to them. But then we see them change, through our programs, therapy and treatment. Day by day, Ma Ni got better.”

Ma Ni told us: “Coming to Hope for Justice is a turning point for my life. My life is filled with hope now. I feel like I know what I want my future to look like. I would like to say ‘thank you’ for your help.”

Name and image changed to protect survivor’s identity.

Links:

For more information on Hope for Justice visit our website

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