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In Southeast Asia, IJM staff work on the frontlines to bring rescue and relief to victims of sexual violence, including trafficked women and children, and to prosecute their perpetrators. Despite a growing commitment to fight this illegal activity in the region, trafficking continues to constitute a major human rights violation in Southeast Asia. Poverty, overburdened legal systems and social instability all contribute to the prevalence of trafficking.
In Cambodia, 60 percent of individuals in commercial sexual activity report being forced to join the sex industry, and as many as one third of the individuals in the sex industry are children. In the Philippines, where some estimates suggest that as many as 100,000 children are victims of commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking remains a serious problem as well. In May 2003, the Philippines enacted a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that imposes a stiff penalty of up to life imprisonment for convicted offenders; however, these laws remain under-enforced.
IJM staff work to ensure that national anti-trafficking laws are brought to bear on behalf of those victimized by this crime.
In the Philippines, IJM staff also work to ensure that Philippine laws dictating that children in conflict with the law not be detained with adult prisoners are enforced. In Thailand, IJM works to ensure that members of marginalized ethnic groups can access the citizenship to which they are entitled, decreasing their vulnerability to trafficking and other abuses.
Kunthy was trafficked in to prostitution in Cambodia at age 13. She was held captive in a dilapidated structure the locals called the “Anarchy Building,” where she was raped nightly and routinely beaten, drugged and threatened by the brothel keeper and pimp.
Kunthy was discovered through an IJM undercover investigation. After documenting proof of her imprisonment, IJM staff worked with local authorities to ensure her rescue, and pursued the prosecution of the brothel owner and pimp, who were sentenced to 15 and 10 years in prison respectively.
Today, Kunthy lives in an aftercare home, where she is healing from her abuse in a secure and loving environment. Her 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 is thriving in the freedom and security of her transitional home.
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Southeast Asia Field Offices
Thailand
Established 2000
Casework emphasis: Citizenship rights, trafficking prevention
Cambodia
Established 2000
Casework emphasis: Sexual violence, forced prostitution
Philippines
Established 2001
Casework emphasis: Sexual violence, forced prostitution, children in conflict with the law
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