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IJM Aftercare Staff Train Cambodian Police on Victim Care and Social Workers' Role in Investigations
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Tuesday, 05 May 2009

SIEM REAP, CAMBODIA – This spring, IJM continued to host trainings for Cambodian police, equipping officers to respond to the needs of trafficking victims in accordance with international best practice standards.

Though IJM has trained hundreds of police officers, this training broke new ground, with a vital role played by active social workers in IJM Cambodia’s aftercare department. Members of IJM Cambodia’s aftercare team met with officers from Cambodia’s northern provinces to train them on the importance of victim care and the role of social workers in investigations. This marked the first time social workers provided instruction to Cambodian police.

Though IJM has trained hundreds of police officers, this training broke new ground, with a vital role played by active social workers in IJM Cambodia’s aftercare department.
The course was created to allay the misunderstanding and misconceptions some police may have concerning the job of social workers during and after rescue operations for victims of forced prostitution. IJM social worker Sidan Sin explains that purpose is manifold: “It is aftercare’s first priority to provide crisis care for victims.” A secondary benefit of social workers’ involvement in a rescue operation is that their presence can support the police. When victims are treated with sensitivity by the police, they are more likely to share important information that will enable the eventual conviction of the perpetrator – which means that other vulnerable people will not be victimized. Also, the manner in which adult trafficking victims are treated directly following a rescue is a key factor in whether they chose to receive aftercare services, which provide critical assistance in assuring that victims can find sustainable employment, counseling, health care and other vital services.

The three-week training program also included lessons on the law enforcement code of ethics, intelligence gathering and criminal investigation report writing, presented by IJM Cambodia’s police training team. Participants in the program included fourteen anti-human trafficking and juvenile protection police and eleven general criminal investigations police. The chief of Siem Reap’s Anti-Human Trafficking police was also in attendance.
 
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