Sex Sells

Trafficking to the sex trade

Trafficking for sex is big business.

Countless thousands of people are trafficked globally for the purpose of sexual exploitation. They may be trafficked without their consent or lured with half truths, even promises of marriage. Or they may plan to work in the sex industry, but not realise the terrible conditions that await them.

Once enslaved, they're prey to debt bondage and sexual, physical and psychological abuse from traffickers, pimps and customers.

Two young women stand with their backs to the camera outside a neon-lit building.

Southeast Asia’s lucrative tourism industry has stimulated a demand for women and children to work in the sex trade.

It's not a problem we can ignore. And it's shockingly close to home. It is estimated that 43% of all forced labour victims are trafficked for sexual exploitation, with the Asia-Pacific region a 'hub' for human trafficking and the sex trade.

The Mekong region - Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, Cambodia and southern China - is one of the fastest growing regions for the sex trade.

Tragically, many of its victims are children used for sex tourism. Child Sex Tourists, some from Australia, travel here looking for anonymity and children for sex. They find a steady supply. New technology like webcam and cell phone cameras are creating new ways for children to be victimised.

True Story: Back from the brink

Sophea is no more gullible than any other 15 year old. But she's typical of victims to the sex trafficking trade. Recovering at a World Vision assisted shelter in Cambodia, she is slowly coming to terms with a betrayal that nearly cost her life.

She was delivered to brothel owners near the Thai border by her fiance's mother. First she was told there was a great job waiting for her near the Thai border that paid 3000 baht a month (nearly US$100). She agreed to go, but found herself dumped in a tiny, filthy room.

A young woman stands and looks out through a window.

Children trafficked into the sex industry often struggle to overcome their traumatic experiences.

The truth was she had been sold into sexual slavery. She was forced to have repeated sex with customers or be beaten. Instead of being paid, she was given drugs to take until she gradually became addicted. Every day she suffered unimaginable torment.

After waiting a year for the woman who had left her there to rescue her, she eventually escaped by making a phone call to her grandmother who called the police.

The recovery centre is the first place Sophea has felt safe in a long time. She is overcoming her addiction and is learning to read and write so that she can work as a beauty therapist one day.

She still believes her fiancé is innocent. "He can't have known about this, or he would have come to get me," she says sadly.

*Note: Names have been changed.

Source: A Global Alliance Against Forced Labour, ILO, 2005.