IJM celebrates this month as girls released from forced prostitution continue to thrive in their new lives of freedom. Kunthy* and Chanda* were trafficked into prostitution at ages 13 and 14. Held captive in a dilapidated structure referred to by locals as the “Anarchy Building,” the girls were raped nightly and routinely beaten, drugged and threatened by the brothel keeper and pimps. After discovering their horrifying imprisonment, IJM worked with local authorities to ensure their rescue.

Kunthy and Chanda are now thriving, having traded the nightmare of abuse for lives that girls of their age should be living. Chanda now lives in an aftercare home where she receives excellent care and has made many good friends. She wants to become an English translator and has come a long way in her language skills. Kunthy’s dream is to own an Internet café and design Web sites for businesses. Right now, she works at a part-time job with a local NGO, attends a computer training school and lives in a transitional housing facility that allows her both freedom and security. The two girls remain close friends – once brought together by suffering, they now celebrate their new lives of hope.

IJM and Cambodian authorities also marked a major victory in their collaboration to ensure perpetrator accountability this month: Kunthy and Chanda’s abuser has been apprehended and is now serving her sentence. After their rescue, the two girls courageously testified against the cruel brothel owner who enslaved them and the pimp who sold their bodies daily. The brothel owner and the pimp were sentenced to 15 and 10 years in prison, respectively, for trafficking and pimping children. However, the brothel owner, afraid to face justice for her crimes against these girls, fled while out of jail on bail and was sentenced in absentia. After an extensive search over many months, IJM investigators and Phnom Penh National Anti-Human Trafficking police officers successfully tracked her down. She was detained last weekend and is now in prison serving her 15-year sentence. Upon hearing the news of their oppressor’s capture, Chanda and Kunthy were both visibly relieved. They shared that they both feel safer, knowing that their abuser is behind bars and serving her sentence.

Through enabling victims to transition to new lives in aftercare and ensuring that the perpetrators of these crimes face justice, IJM works to secure lasting change and protect the vulnerable from future abuse. Kunthy and Chanda’s hopeful new future provides a powerful reminder that this struggle for justice is worth it.