In this globalized world where consumerism thrives in most countries, it’s no surprise that individuals have commodified human beings. While it’s true that sensationalized tales of enslavement of young girls and women in brothels dominate the media around human trafficking, one particular subset of trafficking has caught my attention: the trafficking of virgins in Cambodia.
Image taken from http://girlwithasatchel.blogspot.com
The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 defines sex trafficking as “the recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or obtaining of a person for the purpose of a commercial sex act.” For adults over the age of 18, this act must also involve force, fraud, and/or coercion. By definition, any individual under the age of 18 is considered a victim of trafficking irrespective of whether the act involves force, fraud, or coercion. The distinction between adults consenting to perform sex work, and children and adults trafficked into sex work without agency over their work and wages, is often lost in media reports.
According to the United Nations Interagency Project on Human Trafficking, it’s difficult to quantify human trafficking research. As such, statistics regarding the number of human trafficking victims worldwide varies from source to source due to the covert nature of this crime, limited studies and research, inconsistent use of definitions, and misidentification of victims and cases. While studies have exposed that the trafficking of virgins into commercial sex work persists in Cambodia and typically involves young girls and women, the clandestine nature of this crime lacks hard numbers and statistics. Moreover, it’s important to recognize that boys and men can also be trafficked into labor and commercial sex work. According to the U.S. Department of State, the covert nature of sex trafficking often overlooks male victims. Because of the general lack of hard figures around human trafficking research, it’s difficult to provide the exact numbers of male versus female victims of trafficking.
What is clear is that human trafficking persists and must be addressed.
According to different sources’ data compiled throughout this article, there are many factors contributing to Cambodia’s so-called “virgin trade,” a market sustained by cultural traditions and norms, severe poverty and other economic factors, and corrupt political institutions.
Many cultural factors can fuel the trafficking of virgins into commercial sex work. In Cambodia, the Chbap Srey is a code of behavior consisting of social norms for women. In many cases, a woman’s virginity determines her worth and her future opportunities for marriage and employment. This high cultural value placed on a woman’s virginity has translated into a high demand for it, and traffickers have created a market around it.
Many clients that buy sex with virgins believe in the “Virgin Cure Myth.” This myth claims that sex with a virgin prevents or cures HIV/AIDS and promotes youth and a long life. Other versions of this myth assert that sex with a virgin brings luck in business endeavors and other forms of power. Whereas the greatest demand comes from Cambodian nationals, clients also come from neighboring countries like China, Singapore, and Thailand. These clients are often rich, powerful men whose trips and transactions are arranged by traffickers well in advance.
Economic factors connect with cultural norms and traditions to amplify the trafficking of virgins into commercial sex work. Poverty is widespread in Cambodia: a third of the population lives on less than $1 per day. When girls and women are already devalued and seen as additional financial strains, poverty can compel destitute families to sell their daughters’ virginity to a trafficker due to the large sums that many clients are willing to pay. While the trafficking of virgins into commercial sex work can involve large, organized criminal networks, oftentimes mothers facilitate this crime by selling their daughters either to a client directly or to a broker involved in the trade. According to Abigail Haworth, many families receive an average of 1500 USD for their daughters — the equivalent of four years’ salary for many Cambodians. Hence, poor economic opportunities can leave a family with what it views as no other options.
Additionally, cultural norms dictate that children exist for their parent’s benefit. Families expect their daughters especially to obey and serve their elders. Thus, because a family can receive 800-1500 USD when it sells a virgin daughter to a trafficker, this crime comes to be seen as a daughter doing her part to help her family rather than severe abuse.
For example, when Vannith Uy’s job as a kitchen help in a beer garden proved insufficient to overcome her financial stresses and to pay her husband’s medical bills, she sold her 18-year-old daughter Chamnan’s virginity to a wealthy Cambodian national. This man, a police general and frequent patron of commercial sex work venues, paid to “have” this young woman for six days and nights in a hotel room on the outskirts of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Chamnan’s consent did not factor into this transaction; rather her virginity, the commodity, was sold. In this situation, she did not have the choice to leave.
In this case, as in many others, a law enforcement official was complicit in the crime. This makes combating this issue rather difficult. While human trafficking and sexual exploitation are illegal in Cambodia, there is no political will to address the trafficking of virgins. Police officers claim that politicians have threatened their jobs and have asked them not to pursue cases involving the buying of virgins, as these are not viewed as serious crimes.
More broadly, how do we combat the trafficking of persons into commercial sex work in countries with cultural norms devaluing girls, severe poverty and a general lack of economic options for families and daughters, and corrupt political institutions?
One popular idea focuses on the empowerment of girls and women. The trafficking of virgins remains a sensitive issue amongst those working in the human trafficking field, and nonprofit organizations mainly deal with this issue in Cambodia. For example, Riverkids is one organization that provides refuge, schooling, and vocational training to help victims of child trafficking rebuild their lives. Not only does this organization try to change attitudes and promote girls’ education, but also it recognizes that many women fear speaking out about sex trafficking due to concerns about ostracization. Accordingly, Riverkids works to remove this stigma and helps these individuals gain marketable skills so that they can reintegrate into their communities as respected, dignified members. Plus, these survivors are now their own self-advocates and often learn the skills to financially support their families.
Other movements striving to empower girls and women include the Cambodian Young Women’s Empowerment Network. Its goal is to strengthen women’s voices, representation, and participation in Cambodian government and political processes. By providing leadership training and promoting awareness through a variety of activities and advocacy, this organization is addressing a key factor driving human trafficking worldwide: corrupt political institutions.
With more women in influential positions in government, it may be possible to ensure better governance that pays attention to pervasive human rights abuses, such as human trafficking.
Similarly, the Global Women’s Leadership Initiative at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C. argues that it’s time to move beyond just women’s empowerment: it’s time for women’s leadership. Its Women in Public Service Project builds networks amongst women leaders and trains emerging women leaders worldwide with an ambitious goal of reaching 50% female public servants by 2050. This project’s mission is clear: “[to] build a generation of women leaders who will invest in their countries and communities, provide leadership in their governments, and change the way global solutions are forged.”
Human trafficking is one of today’s global challenges requiring leadership skills, energy, and commitment. Accordingly, organizations like the Wilson Center clearly recognize the need for better governance worldwide. The virgin trade in Cambodia persists not least because powerful, influential government officials overlook or are complicit in the crime. Perhaps with more women in government and accountable politicians worldwide, we can expect to see more enforcement of anti-trafficking laws and more victim-centered services aiming to empower victims of trafficking to become their own self-advocates.
The U.S. Department of State has ranked Cambodia as a Tier 2 Watch List country in its 2014 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. This means that Cambodia fails to meet the minimum standards for combating human trafficking, especially providing protection for victims and pursuing a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to perpetrators. The report also notes that the “complicity of government officials in Cambodia contributes to a climate of impunity for trafficking offenders and a denial of justice to victims.”
Important recommendations from the U.S. State Department for Cambodia acknowledge the need to address that law enforcement and corruption at the top fuel both the virgin trade, as well as human trafficking more generally. These recommendations include increasing efforts to investigate, prosecute, convict and punish offenders of human trafficking, establishing more services to help victims become survivors, and, more generally, improving cooperation and coordination amongst police, court officials, and other government officials on trafficking cases and victim referral processes.
Beyond these policy recommendations, as a society there is more we can and must do to make an impact on human trafficking — not just in Cambodia but worldwide. Until individuals, families, and governments recognize the inherent worth, human rights, and dignity of other human beings, laws and policies won’t be enough to eliminate this crime.
— Written by Harleen Kaur, BTCC Intern
Harleen Kaur is an intern with the Break the Chain Campaign at the Institute for Policy Studies for the summer of 2014. Originally from San Jose, CA, she is currently a student studying Government and Economics at Smith College in Northampton, MA.
Break the Chain Blog 