The Brothel to Sweatshop Pipeline

[Kung-fu Hillbilly]

Photo by Schone Kleren Campagne

Meredith Kirby
Sep 2

How sex trafficking victims are “rescued” into other kinds of forced labor

Survivor, sex-trafficking activist, author of the autobiography The Road of Lost Innocence, and one of Time’s Most Influential People in 2009; the once-illustrious Somaly Mam claimed to have rescued thousands of women and children from sex trafficking.

One of Mam’s biggest “stars” was Meas Ratha, who described being sold to a brothel on French television in 1998. Ratha later admitted that she had never been trafficked, and was sent to AFESIP due to her parents being unable to care for their seven children.

Instead of liberating these women from slave conditions, many of these NGOs are simply normalizing other kinds of low-wage jobs, which also exist within dangerous and abusive work environments.These actions also create a culture of shame, where it’s not acceptable for a woman to reject this sort of job, once she has already been “rescued.”

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[MarkRobinson]

Hard work ,think about it next time when you ( and me )waste mone on sh_t

[icetiger81]

wow, the govt really figured out how to get away with slave labor and make it appear as an improvement....makes ya think.

[Mishmash]

wow, the govt really figured out how to get away with slave labor and make it appear as an improvement....makes ya think.

My Niece and Sister in Law work in a factory - they are not SLAVES - but are genuinely grateful and fairly happy.

The garment industry is well unionized, well regulated and the ladies gossip all day and don't work that hard to be honest.

The wages are low but then again the productivity is low - really really low.

The wages are linked to the global market price under free market rules - so actually maybe YOU are the one to blame for buying clothes - Joke

[Ghostwriter]

So it happens both ways, as many families trust garment businesses to give employment to their teens, hoping that they will avoid darker forms of employment, but then some teens are lured into prostitution. Happens everyday in S.E asia.

The worst is when the teen has to work far away from home.

Road infrastructures, better spreading of factories all around the country, could have a positive effect on that, at least.

Can't imagine letting my kid struggle in such a shark's tank far far away from home.

[Mishmash]

Can't see these ladies 'slaving away' - and these were from 2010, before they got nurseries, creches and a whole heap of recent benefits.

More like hammocks and mango sessions

Sorry the quality..

[Duncan]

What is needed is a NGO Somaly Mom Number Two,
to rescue these girls from the clothing factories.

[Ghostwriter]

I could put a way more hardcore song, but to put it nicely

[media] [/media]

[explorer]

Instead of liberating these women from slave conditions, many of these NGOs are simply normalizing other kinds of low-wage jobs, which also exist within dangerous and abusive work environments.These actions also create a culture of shame, where it’s not acceptable for a woman to reject this sort of job, once she has already been “rescued.”

You would need to look at each work place on an individual basis. But a lot of the workplaces these girls go to are good by Cambodian standards. I think sometimes there is no news, so they invent stories.

These girls are free to go and get a job somewhere else.

You could raise another issue. How good are Cambodian work places for all workers?

[Mishmash]

What is needed is a NGO Somaly Mom Number Two,
to rescue these girls from the clothing factories.

Yeah and some good 'fairy-tale' stories to match..

I was trafficked at age 18 by the NGO's who I trusted to help me. Instead I was trafficked to a factory where the owner paid only according to the Labor Law. I couldn't stop shaking as i was forced to sign a contract for a fair wage. Every day i had to eat at the heavily - subsidized canteen - the varied and healthy meals made me long for the unhygienic outside stalls I enjoyed before. I was afraid for my children playing in the creche. The guards were so mean and nasty - they wouldn't let the children hurt themselves. Then the owner only paid me twice a month, along with days off for 'family reasons'. I can say there were not enough holidays - Cambodia is only top with 28 but there should be more. I would be sick more often if I could. The worst part was when the boss-lady explained i had to make a pair of jeans every now and again - it was horrific. Please, i beg Somaly Mom - don't let's try and better ourselves with an honest living. It's too much to bear - i could kill myself but my facebook likes during working hours are getting so popular