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PHNOM PENH, Dec 12 (Thomson Reuters Foundation): The trafficking of Cambodian “brides” to China has increased dramatically this year with the massive loss of jobs caused by the Covid-19 pandemic that has brought more women and girls to the foreigner to support their families, according to two charities that help victims.
Over the past decade, tens of thousands of Southeast Asian women have been sent to China by criminal networks that promise lucrative jobs, only to be sold as girlfriends, some to abusive men, as China grapples with a huge gender imbalance.
Anti-trafficking organizations said the impact of the coronavirus on Cambodia’s clothing, hospitality and tourism sectors had led to an increase in “bride trafficking” this year.
“There are no jobs or options for young women, so it has become even easier for perpetrators to persuade women and their families,” said Chan Saron, program manager for Chab Dai.
The charity has received reports of a new case every three days on average in 2020, double the number of cases from previous years.
Most of the victims are in their 20s, but some are as young as 14, according to Saron, who said thousands of cases are likely to go unreported.
Cambodian women who have returned from China often describe experiences of sexual, physical and psychological abuse, confinement, torture and forced labor.
Cambodian authorities have said the crime is difficult to tackle because family members of victims are often complicit and the promise of cash (up to thousands of dollars) from criminal matchmakers is hard for rural families to resist. poor.
“Women, most of them, know the risks,” Chou Bun Eng, deputy chairman of the Cambodian government’s anti-trafficking committee, told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.
“But they still go. It’s about money, money, money,” he added. “(Crime) is increasing because the perpetrators are smart, they are cheaters … they promise wealth.”
Bun Eng said authorities in Vietnam, increasingly a transit country for women heading to China, had gotten better at detecting potential Cambodian victims and preventing them from reaching China.
Officials from China and Vietnam could not be reached for comment.
The Hanoi-based Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation, which rescues women trafficked to China, said its number of Cambodian victims had nearly tripled this year to 19 from seven last year.
“Covid-19 has changed the traffic landscape, for now at least,” said Michael Brosowski, a director at Blue Dragon, who was forced to temporarily freeze rescue operations in late January when related travel restrictions were imposed. with the coronavirus.
“The drastic increase in the number of Cambodians smuggled through Vietnam is a sign of how the traffickers are willing to try new routes and new tricks to keep their trade.” – Reuters
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