Cambodia Girl
Cambodia
Children were affected adversely by an inadequate education system. Education was free, but not compulsory, through grade nine. Many children either left school to help their families in subsistence agriculture, began school at a late age, or did not attend school at all. A 2002 NGO report stated that primary school enrollment was 87 percent, but only approximately 19 percent of boys and 16 percent of girls had access to secondary education. Despite an extensive government school construction program, schools were overcrowded, lacked sufficient equipment, and often provided only a few years of education, especially in rural areas. Less than 5 percent of primary school teachers completed high school, and teachers' salaries were irregular and inadequate to support a decent standard of living, leading to demands for unofficial payments directly from parents, which the poorest families could not afford. The Government did not deny girls equal access to education; however, in practice, fami ... [Read More]
V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G
The Peoples’ Republic of China is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. A significant number of Chinese women and children are trafficked internally for forced marriage and forced labor. Chinese women are at times lured abroad with false promises of legitimate employment and then trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to destinations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America, while Chinese men have been trafficked for forced labor to Europe, South America, and the Middle East. A large number of Chinese men and women are smuggled abroad at enormous personal financial cost and, upon arrival in the destination country, are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or other forms of exploitative labor to repay their debts. They often face exploitative conditions that meet t ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Hagar, an NGO, Helps Human Trafficking Victims in Cambodia
To underscore the effect of this violence on children, Tami displayed a disturbingly graphic drawing made by a girl who had been repeated assaulted at age three and left for dead in a Cambodian cemetery. The local police brought the child to Hagar for assistance. ... "The business idea first emerged out of concern for the women. Once a young girl left our program, where were they going to go? There wasn't much of an economy and they were going to continue to be an object of exploitation. So we came up with the idea of launching businesses where we only employ these women," Tami said. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Text: Vietnam, Cambodia Confirm New Bird Flu Cases, U.N. Says
The Ministry of Health in Viet Nam has confirmed three additional cases of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza. The cases concern a 5-year-old boy from the central province of Quang Binh, a 17-year-old girl from the northern province of Nam Dinh, and a 40-year-old woman from the northern province of Quang Ninh. The 17-year-old girl has died. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Cambodia Reports Another Human Death from Bird Flu
The International Emerging Infections Program (IEIP), operated jointly in Bangkok by the Thai Ministry of Health and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is a key player in the disease surveillance effort. IEIP Director Dr. Scott Dowell observes that most humans stricken with H5N1 have been children or young people, such as the 8-year-old Cambodian girl. ... The virus that killed an 8-year old girl from Kampot province was confirmed to be H5N1, a highly infectious strain that has claimed other human lives in Thailand and Vietnam, and has killed more than 100 million birds in the region. ... [Read More]
Cambodia
In May, 14 Vietnamese trafficking victims were rescued by the Ministry of Interior's special anti-trafficking police unit from three brothels in Phnom Penh’s Svay Pak community, an area notorious for underage prostitution, and were taken to a shelter operated by a local NGO. Police briefly detained one brothel manager and an alleged foreign pedophile during the May raids, but both escaped. On June 20, the same police unit that conducted the raids was ordered to arrest all 14 girls on charges of illegal immigration. On June 24, a judge released the three youngest girls who were between the ages of 12 and 13, as well as one other girl who demonstrated her Cambodian citizenship. At the time of the arrests, government officials said that the individuals being held were voluntary prostitutes and the arrests were a legal immigration issue. In August six of the girls were sentenced to 2 months in prison and four others were sentenced to 3 months in prison. After serving their sentenc ... [Read More]
U.S. Commitment to Women in East Asia and the Pacific
Women in Local Communities. Women gain valuable leadership experience through involvement in community-based organizations. In Malaysia, the Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM, the Movement for Progress), a Sarawak-based non-governmental organization (NGO), received a grant from the U.S. Embassy to encourage greater volunteerism among women in rural villages, to train women in community development, and to build communication links. The Girl Guides Association of Cambodia (GGAC) is working with girls and young women to be more active in their communities. Their programs emphasize building peace and encouraging good citizenship. ... [Read More]
U.S. Spearheads Women's Programs in East Asia, Pacific - US Department of State
Women in Local Communities. Women gain valuable leadership experience through involvement in community-based organizations. In Malaysia, the Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM, the Movement for Progress), a Sarawak-based non-governmental organization (NGO), received a grant from the U.S. Embassy to encourage greater volunteerism among women in rural villages, to train women in community development, and to build communication links. The Girl Guides Association of Cambodia (GGAC) is working with girls and young women to be more active in their communities. Their programs emphasize building peace and encouraging good citizenship. ... [Read More]
Department of State Washington File: Fact Sheet: U.S. Working to Aid Women in Asia-Pacific Region
Women in Local Communities. Women gain valuable leadership experience through involvement in community-based organizations. In Malaysia, the Angkatan Zaman Mansang (AZAM, the Movement for Progress), a Sarawak-based non-governmental organization (NGO), received a grant from the U.S. Embassy to encourage greater volunteerism among women in rural villages, train women in community development, and build communication links. The Girl Guides Association of Cambodia (GGAC) is working with girls and young women to be more active in their communities. Their programs emphasize building peace and good citizenship. ... [Read More]
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