Sexual exploitation

Sex workers are as young as 15 in Cambodia.

Around 10 million children, mainly girls, are sexually exploited. That’s equivalent to half of Australia’s population.

A further one million children find themselves in the commercial sex trade each year.

More than 250,000 sex tourists visit Asia each year.

Rescued from sexual exploitation, a child needs time to recover from the ordeal.

Sexual exploitation of children is one of the worst abuses in the world. Many children, especially in Asia, have been forced into prostitution, some even before their tenth birthday.

Poverty, homelessness and family breakdown are some of the reasons that lead to sexual exploitation. Children may be forced or lured into the sex industry as a means of economic survival. Sadly this is fuelled by the rise of child sex tourism, where travellers from richer countries visit poorer countries to exploit children.

Cambodia: the situation

As one of the world’s poorest countries, Cambodia relies on tourism to fund its development. Unfortunately, this has also contributed to the rise in child sex tourism. It is estimated that one in three sex workers in Cambodia is aged between 12 and 17 – some even younger.

Cambodia is still recovering from the brutal rule of the Khmer Rouge. Access to healthcare and education is limited. Young girls are especially prone to drop out of school to help support their families. Opportunistic traffickers prey on these girls, pretending to adopt, marry or employ them to lure them into the sex industry.

The Cambodian government is working with international institutions, including World Vision, to combat the sexual exploitation of children.

How your monthly contribution helps

Your support helps to carry out activities to prevent children from being sexually exploited, including:

• Increasing knowledge about how to prevent sexual exploitation of children among community leaders, teachers, tourism operators, local governments and children themselves.
• Improving prevention and protection measures at selected tourism hubs.
• Training children in various provinces about child rights.
• Establishing child-safe tourism commissions.
• Supporting the rehabilitation of former sexually exploited children.