Human Trafficking In Cambodia

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Human Trafficking in Cambodia
Researched Papers on Social Issues in Cambodia
Phanara Mao
Advanced Writing Skills - ELT 114 Section 1
Professor, Robert Flinn
May 29, 2014

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Abstract
Recently, political activists and researchers have expressed their concerns about the
growing of social issues in Cambodia, especially human trafficking issues. Meanwhile, most
people agree that the issues should deserve to be solved, and there should be the existence of
the optimal solutions to cope with it ethically and efficiently. Thus, this research paper
discovers the problems of human trafficking with analysis of the roots causes and future
consequences of human trafficking in Cambodia that happen to Cambodian people itself as
well as the victims who are trafficked to Cambodia. In addition to the existence of human
trafficking, its causes and effects, this research paper also compels the comprehensive
optimal solutions that use political, social, educational and economic approaches to ooze and
solve the complexity of this problem in the long-run.

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Human Trafficking in Cambodia
Researched Papers on Social Issues in Cambodia
The world is about the businesses, people always trade goods and services in every
single angle of the world. After developing the world over decades, people are now
considered similarly as the goods and services for trading, too. And this is called “human
trafficking." All countries around the world have been facing this problem, especially in the
21st century while the world becomes more modernized day by day. Specifically, Cambodia
is also confronting this problem badly. Many Cambodian people are trafficked to both local
and international destination to around the world while some people from other part of Asia
are trafficked and sent to Cambodia, especially, Vietnamese women who are transported to
Cambodia as the premium products. As the matter of facts that this problem is inevitably for
the countries all over the world regardless of how industrialized, fast-developing, or slow
developing the countries are, yet it happens accordingly to various reasons. Therefore, this
research paper will clearly describe how it happened by responding to these following
questions:
1. What are the problems of human trafficking and the evident of its existence?
2. What are the roots causes of human trafficking in Cambodia?
3. What are the future consequences of human trafficking in Cambodia?
4. What are the optimal solutions can be implemented to reduce the human
trafficking rates while prospering Cambodian people ethnically?
Familiarizing about human trafficking, its complexities, its causes, its effects and the
optimal solutions in Cambodia is not very different from other part of the world, and it is a
hot issue for young Cambodian scholars as well as the societal development researchers in
Cambodia and even researcher outside Cambodia.

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Human trafficking is defined as the illegal movement of people, typically for the
purposes of forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation, according to the Oxford
Dictionary. Children, males and females are trafficked domestically or internationally like the
products. Due to this, the government, non-profit organization, and civilians start questioning
this hot social issue, call for suggestions and solutions in purpose of dealing with human
trafficking issues ethically. To achieve the goals, this papers need to response to the question:
What are the problems that problems of human trafficking and the evident?
Human trafficking is not the only problems for those who are trafficked, but it is also
the societal problems that every single person in the society will be facing unless the optimal
solutions are existed and implemented. According to Annette Lyth, regional project manager
of the U.N. Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP), he said “The Asian region
is one of the world’s top destinations and origins of trafficked persons, and a total of 959
cases of human trafficking were reported in 2012 in Cambodia alone, with 364 in Burma, 883
in Vietnam, 594 in Thailand and 193 in Laos" (HRUBY, 2014).
In addition to this: according to Human Trafficking Organization reports,
Cambodian men, women, and children are trafficked for sexual and labor
exploitation in Thailand, Malaysia, Macao, and Taiwan. Men are trafficked for
forced labor in the agriculture, fishing, and construction industries. Women
are trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced labor in factories or as
domestic servants. Children are trafficked for exploitation and forced labor in
organized begging rings, soliciting, street vending, and flower selling. Not
only intentional human trafficking between Cambodia and other countries, but
the local human trafficking is also taking place in Cambodia. The common
destinations for trafficking victims are Phnom Penh, Siam Reap, and Sihanouk

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Ville. A 2005 report estimated that 2,000 victims in Cambodia have been
trafficked into sexual exploitation, approximately 80 percent of whom were
Vietnamese women and girls (Human Trafficking Organization, 2014).
According to these hypotheses, it is clear enough to argue that human trafficking is
truly committed in Cambodia and happen to Cambodian people, as well as other countries
around the world.
Human trafficking, a social problem that all countries around the world are facing, but
each country experiences this problem in different ways while some problems and causes of
it are also similar to one, and another.
What are the roots causes of human trafficking in Cambodia?
Human trafficking is critically considered as one of the major problems in the world,
followed by arms trafficking and drug trafficking across the globe. According to the Skoll
World Forum Contributor Organization, human trafficking happens due to multiple factors
including poverty, corruption, education, political instabilities and natural disaster, and
oppressive cultural norms (Skoll World Forum Contributor Organization, 2014).
First of all, poverty, accounts for more than 20% of Cambodian people who are living
in poverty line, is the major problem because almost 100% of people are trafficked decided to
migrant to work in other country because they are facing financial difficulties. Those people
get lower paid in Cambodia regardless of where they work, how many hours they work or
how much overtime they work, and they can’t feed themselves and their family properly. So,
these situations lead to incentivize them to move or migrant domestically or globally.
Therefore, it becomes a good chance for the human traffickers to persuade those victims. As
a strategy, the human traffickers incentivize those people by promising them to provide a

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higher-paid job and better living condition for them. So, they undoubtedly decide to work
abroad illegally. Another point is about parental pressure, some bad parents force themselves
to pressure their children to do so, because are not able to feed their children and they don’t
have money for maintaining their living allowances.
In addition to poverty, corruption is also critical to human trafficking. Corruption
becomes so widespread to be committed without accurate punishment by judicial system;
thus it allows the activities of human traffickers become stronger and stronger day to day. Not
only this, Cambodian citizens are also facing difficulties in legalizing passports and visa
because of corrupted activities. Therefore, they start deciding to get abroad regardless of
legality or illegality by various reasons. Finally, those people feel so sorry after they realize
that they were already trafficked illegally to their current workplaces.
Poverty and education are the enough to proof the existence of human trafficking in
Cambodia because the most critical reason is education. Without proper education, people are
not able to make the decision rationally and economically. So, those uneducated people and
no-proper-educated people are easily deceived by professional human traffickers who have
tons of experiences in cheating these kinds of people for years. The people who are cheated
don’t know how to legalize migration and moving resident officially, so they do need good
people to guide them how to complete the legalization of moving residents or migrating to
other countries. Unfortunately, most of them meet professional human traffickers; thus they
are persuaded to migrant or moving residents without proper legalization. More than this,
most people are not educated Economics Studies, so they are not be able to calculate the real
value of their salary in where they are going to live after moving or migrating. Specifically,
they get higher paid in the place where they are going, but their real salary 1
may not be
1
Real Salary: refer to the salary that is computed by allocating to the price index of inflation and price level economically.

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higher than the real salary in Cambodia. Therefore, education is the most important quality to
escape from being trafficked or involving human trafficking in Cambodia.
However, poverty, corruption and education are critically considered as the major
causes, but political instabilities and natural disasters cannot be neglected to be considered as
the main causes of human trafficking in Cambodia. According to Invisible Traffic
Organization, political instabilities and natural disasters can make people vulnerable to being
trafficked (Invisible Traffic Organization, 2014). Wars, civil unrest and the aftermath of
natural disasters cause societal instability that traffickers can use to their advantages. So,
people are inspired by professional human traffickers to be trafficked quickly without proper
decision. People do not want to live in a war, unstable society, in all-day protests, or under
control by illegal government. In addition to this, natural disaster also contributes to the
factors that force people in that area to move their resident domestically or starts migrating
abroad by various methods regardless of legality or illegality in migrating. Therefore, the
human traffickers take this chance to convince those victims by promotes destinations where
people can get higher wages either in Cambodia or outside of Cambodia. To result, human
trafficking has been taken place in Cambodia active day by day.
The last reason is about oppressive cultural norms; some people are forced to be
moved or migrated or being trafficked because they have been under pressure or incentivized
by guardians or parents to do so. According to FBI, many young people are recruited into
prostitution through forced abduction, pressure from parents, or through deceptive
agreements between parents and traffickers (FBI, 2011). These factors catalyze their
psychological moods in migrating or moving from one to other places by being trafficked
illegally. So, those victims and prospective victims have been deceiving these sorts of
oppressive culture norms hellishly.

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According these causes, it is understandable that there will be many effects happen
concerning to human trafficking. Therefore, one part of this research paper will response to
the following question:
What are the future consequences of human trafficking in Cambodia?
Human trafficking is an ill plaguing our society even in the 21st century. Men, women
and children, anyone can become its victim. Not so surprisingly, it happens to be the biggest
organized crime in the world, after illegal dealing of drugs and weapons. The effects of
human trafficking are numerous and far-reaching. According to Human Explore, human
trafficking leads many consequences such as; physical health problems, psychological
problems, economic problems, and societal problems (According to Human Explore, 2014).
The first consequence that happens to the victims from human trafficking is
psychological difficulties. The victims suffer from lack of self-esteem, disorientation,
emotional disturbance and depression that has been haunted the rest of their lives. Some of
those victims are likely to become withdrawn and tend to commit suicide. To children of
those victims, especially prostitution, are taking away of their birth causing further mental
problems to the motherhood. By compelling these, females and children have been being
suffered much badly rather than male victims.
Furthermore, health effects also unethically threaten and haunt the victims as bad as
the psychological effects. Based on US Buzzle Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, 80% of the
victims, mostly young females between 16 to 25 years old and children are estimated to be
trafficked for sexual exploitation and forced into prostitution purposes (US Buzzle Anti-
Human Trafficking Unit, 2014). Such a victim, they are forced to serve sexual activities and
facing various sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS that they are not only suffering, but it
further pass to the sexual partners and their partners. Such a victim, they are not supply

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proper food and living in poor condition, which may lead them to dead or even heavy illness
in the near future without proper health care and medical insurance. So, the occupational
diseases or this modern-day slave is critically to be considered as an extreme health difficulty
for human trafficking victims.
However, psychological and health effects, societal effects, cannot be neglected as
well. The victims may be transported to another country whereupon arrival; their passports
and migration document are taken away from them, leaving them with the lack of supports
and immobile. Once upon arrival, they are kept in very poor living condition with lack of
proper clothing and healthy food. Sadly, they are often physically and sexually abuse by their
employers and clients without reasonable returns. This is the sad images of Cambodia behind
the wall. Furthermore, the victims always struggle to gain acceptance in society from the
stigma after they are already rescued. More than this, corruption is so widespread in
Cambodia that greed for wealth only further boosts trafficking of the human flourish, with no
barriers. In such a case, the development of robust society and stability sound like a far-
distant dream.
Lastly, economics effects are the major consequences that inevitably happen.
According to the International Labor Organization (ILO), human trafficking generates $31.6
billion estimated illicit profit worldwide. As calculated by the CIA, a trafficker earns up to
$250,000 per victim of the sex trade in a year (ILO, 2014). The victims are paid very meager
wages or nothing for their physical labor which prevent them from fleeing. Such a cheap
labor employment opportunity, it thus subsequently reduces GDP per capita 2
for the country
and lead to lower the GDP of Cambodia than it is supposed to achieve. Illegalities of
migration are also a threat to national security and ignite a concern for Cambodian and nation
2
GDP per capita: A measure of the total output of a country that takes the gross domestic product (GDP) and
divides it by the number of people in the country.

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worldwide. These problems lead the existences of problems such as; poverty, unemployment
and high crime rates, and these factors slow down the economic growth of Cambodia.
Bases on the future consequences of human trafficking in Cambodia, it is clear
enough to call for urgently optimal solutions that are helpful, effective, efficient and timely to
solve this problem for Cambodian presently as well as in the future. So, the suggestion and
solution should be responsive to the question:
What are the optimal solutions can be implemented to reduce the human
trafficking rates while prospering Cambodian people ethnically?
By the proof above, human trafficking is truly a social issue that cannot be
overlooked. So, it needs to be solved by using scientific approach bases on law legislation,
political, economic modules and especially governmental partnerships and sponsorships. By
looking backward to the roots causes, human trafficking issues can be solved by various
optimal solutions which are a mixture of huge political shift or movement, law enforcement
on migration and corruption, an educational revolution and especially agricultural revolution.
First of all, there is a need of legal government and nationalistic government to legalize
legislative laws and regulations to prosper to nation with no absent of illegal law and political
instabilities. Secondly, there is a must of restriction on migration and plus the corruption
along the borders by the police officers and migrating officers in legalizing the migration
document. Furthermore, reeducating and educating present and next generation is also a must
to provide a better and proper education with high quality and standardization to Cambodian.
Doing so, is only for one purpose of increasing number of productive human capital to
develop the country alongside of modernism faster with effective and efficient approaches.
Lastly, the agricultural revolution must be compulsory to ensure the efficiency and
effectiveness of reducing poverty rate and migrating elsewhere. As the matter of facts that,

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Cambodia is an agricultural country with an enormous amount of poor farmers, so
revolutionizing the agricultural system is compulsory to reduce the poverty rates and the rate
of illegal migrating abroad of Cambodian people while creating more job opportunity for
Cambodian people itself.
By following these strategies, Cambodia, an agricultural and slow-growing country in
Asia, can tell the globe of how attractive Cambodia, and start to attract more investment to
Cambodia and create more occupational chances, reducing unemployment rate, attracting
more tourists and fame of Cambodia, advancing and standardizing educational system and
recognition, modernizing agriculture and mastering its benefits, securitize the Nation, gaining
more tax revenue of higher growth domestic products, higher GDP for Cambodia, higher
GDP per capita for Cambodian and many other benefits that are the factors in profiting and
prospering Cambodia economically.

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References
Exploring Human Trafficking. (n.d.). Effect of Human Trafficking in Cambodia Retrieved
May 29, 2014
fromhttp://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/svaw/trafficking/explore/4effects.htm
FBI Government. (n.d.). Law Enforcement of Human Trafficking. Retrieved May 29, 2014
from http://www.fbi.gov/stats-services/publications/law-enforcement-
bulletin/march_2011/human_sex_trafficking
Forced labour, human trafficking and slavery. (n.d.). Forced labour, human trafficking and
slavery. Retrieved June 3, 2014, from http://www.ilo.org/global/topics/forced-
labour/lang--en/index.htm
Forum, S. (2013, November 15). How to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.
Forbes. Retrieved May 29, 2014, from http://www.forbes.com/sites/skollworldforum
/2013/11/15 /how-to-end-modern-slavery-and-human-trafficking/
HumanTrafficking.org | Cambodia. (n.d.).HumanTrafficking.org | Cambodia. Retrieved May
28, 2014, from http://www.humantrafficking.org/countries/
Human Trafficking. (n.d.). Human Trafficking. Retrieved May 29, 2014, from
https://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-
persons.html
HRUBY, D. (2014, June 6). Cambodia Offers Best Practices Against Trafficking | The
Cambodia Daily. The Cambodia Daily. Retrieved June 6, 2014, from
http://www.cambodiadaily.com/archives/cambodia-offers-best-practices-against-
trafficking-53731/