[women-rights] Cambodia: Young trafficking victims treated as criminals

On June 20, police arrested the fourteen girls at the offices of a
nongovernmental organization (NGO) that had been sheltering them. The
girls are now being held in Correctional Center 2 (Prey Sar) prison on the
outskirts of the capital. A warrant for their arrest, issued by the Phnom
Penh Municipal Court on June 16, charged the girls with illegal entry into
Cambodia under the immigration law.

"Authorities should be protecting -- not punishing -- victims of
trafficking," said Sara Colm, senior researcher for Human Rights Watch.
"While these young women are in prison, their suspected traffickers and
the brothel owner are free, protected by a criminal justice system that
blames the victim. The traffickers are the ones who should be put on trial
and punished."

On June 20, police arrested the fourteen girls at the offices of a
nongovernmental organization (NGO) that had been sheltering them. The
girls are now being held in Correctional Center 2 (Prey Sar) prison on the
outskirts of the capital. A warrant for their arrest, issued by the Phnom
Penh Municipal Court on June 16, charged the girls with illegal entry into
Cambodia under the immigration law. While three of the girls were released
on bail on June 24 until their trial, the judge has refused to drop the
charges against any of the girls.

The arrested girls were originally rescued during a police raid on a
brothel on May 23 in a red-light district of Phnom Penh, where it is well
known that young girls, including virgins, are offered for sex. Ironically
it was police officers from the Minors Protection Section of the
Anti-Trafficking Unit at the Ministry of Interior who conducted both the
rescue operation and the subsequent arrests.

"These arrests violate every principle regarding the appropriate treatment
of apparent trafficking victims," said Colm. "They should be provided with
medical and legal services, counseling, secure shelter, and given the
opportunity to cooperate in the investigation into the traffickers. It is
imperative that these girls get the services they need and deserve."

The investigating judge on the case told reporters that initial findings
revealed that the girls were trafficking victims, but that when the court
learned the girls had entered Cambodia without legal documentation, they
were no longer considered victims, but violators of Cambodian law for
illegal entry into the country.

Cambodian authorities also say that the girls are all more than eighteen
years of age, but human rights observers present during yesterday's arrest
as well as workers for the NGO that sheltered them said they are children,
aged between twelve and eighteen.

"Although victims of trafficking who are children often need more support
and may have been targeted initially because of their vulnerability, their
age is ultimately irrelevant. The point is that they are victims, not
criminals," said Colm.

The arrests came as Cambodia's donors were meeting in Phnom Penh to pledge
billions of dollars in assistance for the next few years, based in part on
evaluations of Cambodia's progress in making reforms. A recent report by
the U.S. Department of State says Cambodia has one of the worst records on
human trafficking.

"Cambodia's donors have provided hundreds of thousands of dollars for
programs to fight the sexual exploitation of children and human
trafficking. The donors should raise strong concerns about these arrests
with the government," said Colm.

Under Cambodian law, the trafficking of human beings by any means for the
purpose of sexual exploitation is a crime, regardless of whether the
victim consents. Brothel owning and pimping are also crimes under the law
subject to strong penalties, especially if the victims are children or are
from a foreign country.