THE ILLEGAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN
IN CAMBODIA
By
Nicholas Stavros
NIU J.D. Candidate 2008
Northern Illinois University
College of Law
For Seminar 900
Women, Law and the Global Economy
Fall 2008
Professor Elvia R Arriola
Introduction
In the last ten years, as a result of globalization, governmental corruption and lack of
enforceable regulations in third world countries, sexual exploitation of women and girls has
grown at an astonishing rate and has now become an epidemic of global importance. Part I of
this paper intends to reveal the illegal sexual exploitation of young girls in Cambodia and the
various methods of exploitation utilized. Part II will uncover the impact that western
industrialized nations have had on the illegal Cambodian sex industry. Part III will show how
the lack of enforceable national and international regulations has helped the industry prosper.
Finally, part IV will then discuss what has been done, what is currently being done, and what still
needs to be done at the national and international levels to liberate these innocent girls.
I. The Illegal Sexual Exploitation of Women in Cambodia
A. Global Sex Trade and Sex Slavery
Over one million innocent girls are sexually exploited throughout the world every year.1
Sex trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery in which a commercial act is induced by force,
fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under the age of
eighteen.2 The term commercial sex act means any sex act on account of which anything of
value is given to or received by any person.3 Another inhumane method of exploiting women is
sex slavery.4 A sex slave is a person who is forced into prostitution and denied freedom of
movement.5 A sex worker on the other hand, is a person who earns money by providing sexual
services.6 Lastly, women are further exploited through sex tourism. Sex tourism is travel
1
UNICEF statistics, available at http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cambodia_statistic.html (last visited Nov. 10, 2008).
12 Cambodia: Asian Human Rights Commission,1 (Nov. 1996), available at http://www.ahrchk.net/hrsolid/main
file.php/1996vol06no04/ (last visited Nov 12, 2008).
3 Id.
4 Id.
5 Id.
6 Id.
2
undertaken primarily or exclusively by men from developed countries, usually to third world
countries, for the purpose of engaging in sexual activity, often of an extreme, forbidden, or
illegal nature.7 Child sex tourism is travel to engage in commercial sexual abuse of children.
The Mekong sub-region of Southeast Asia, which encompasses Cambodia, Laos,
Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam is one of the most significant contributors to the global
epidemic of sexually exploited women. The perpetrators who exploit these women range from
loosely connected procurers and pimps to transnational organized crime networks. The trade of
women in the commercial sex industry has relatively low risk and high profits compared to other
illegal trade activities, such as drugs and arms, making it increasingly the preferred activity of
organized crime.8 In recent years Cambodia, but more specifically Phnom Penh, the capital of
Cambodia has been commonly referred to as the “pervert’s paradise”, the prime stop for
pedophiles in South East Asia.9 Although illegal prostitution is the most common exploitation
method utilized in this region, sex slavery, sex trafficking, and sex tourism are all common
practices and have been significantly enhanced by globalization.
B. The Global Economy
Globalization in theory has many different meanings, but in a broad sense it is the process
whereby local and regional phenomena transform into global ones through the elimination of
state-enforced restrictions on the global system of production and exchange.10 This process is
carried out through a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural, and political
forces.11 Globalization has encouraged free trade agreements, encouraged international travel,
helped make consumer goods more affordable, created jobs for millions of people, brought
7
Id.
SOMALY MAM, THE ROAD OF LOST INNOCENSE, 18 (Anne Carriere ed., Lisa Appignanesi trans., Virago Press 2d ed. 2008)
(2005).
9 LOUISE BROWN, SEX SLAVES THE TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN IN ASIA, (2000).
10 JOSEPH E. STIGLITZ, GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS, 9-10 (2003).
11 Id.
8
prosperity to those most in need, helped spread knowledge and education throughout the world,
and it has encouraged competition among people and business’s not only in this country, but all
across the globe. Although globalization as a concept is a great idea, the way it has been
effectuated has had a devastating impact on millions. As a result of this process, less
industrialized countries often fall victim to the unwanted influence of the more powerful and
wealthier industrialized nations.12 Nothing has had a greater impact on globalization than
technology, specifically the Internet. The way that time and space have been understood for
hundreds of years have forever been changed by the Internet.13 What once took weeks now only
takes seconds, what was once a local business is now an international one, and what used to be a
local problem is now a global crisis.
C. The Role of the Internet
When it comes to the exploitation of women, the Internet has been a double edged sword.
It brings public awareness to the problem, encourages international legislation, and shames
foreign governments into cracking down, while informing offenders of countries where they can
commit their crimes with impunity.14 The Internet has also become a place where sex tourists
share their stories and exchange information on where to find the youngest girls and how to stay
undetected. Today, over sixty-five percent of sales on the Internet are pornography or related to
sex in some way.15 The Internet has helped catapult the sex world into a multi hundred billion
dollar industry. No other industry in the world has reaped the benefits of the Internet at the level
that the sex industry has. The Internet not only significantly impacted pornography, but all
aspects of the underground sex world including sex trafficking, sex tourism, prostitution, and sex
slavery. As a result of the 1990’s Internet explosion and lack of uniform Internet regulations; the
12
13
14
15
Id. at 5.
Id. at 22.
Stiglitz, supra note 10, at 6-20.
Abigail Schwartz, Sex Trafficking In Cambodia, 17 Colum. J. Asian L. 371, 378 (2004).
illegal sexual exploitation of young women escalated to a level never previously seen or
imagined. The high demand for pornography allows offenders to profit from having sex with
young girls in foreign countries. Sex tourists often videotape their crimes and then sell the
videos on the Internet.16 This allows sex tourists to adequately finance their trips to Cambodia
and come back time and time again. Impoverished nations like Cambodia, often rely on sex
tourists for substantial amounts of revenue and are therefore reluctant to combat the problem.17
As of 1999, the value of the global trade in women as commodities for the sex industry
was estimated to be seven billion dollars annually.18 The Internet has been a dream come true
and a safe haven for sexual predators and pedophiles alike. It has enabled those with power over
women to intensify the harm and expand the exploitation. Using the Internet allows images of
women’s sexual exploitation to be transmitted from local sites to any place in the world that has
an Internet connection. The Cambodia sex industry has used the Internet not only as a
mechanism to transmit exploitation images of woman around the world, but also as a global
advertising tool. The Internet has been used to encourage and attract sex tourists to this country
by informing the world of the underground prostitution network that awaits them.
D. Illegal Sexual Exploitation in Cambodia
Cambodia outlawed prostitution from 1975 to 1979 during the rule of the Khmer Rouge.
The Khmer Rouge established the Republic of Democratic Kampuchea, a radical regime that
sought to transform Cambodia instantaneously into a completely self-sufficient, communist
society.19 This communist association became a terrorist organization in 1975 when it captured
Phnom Penh and created a government that killed an estimated three million people.20 The
16
17
18
19
20
Mam, supra note 8, at 125.
LEVISEDA DOUGLAS, SEX TRAFFICKING IN CAMBODIA, 14 (Monash University Press 2003).
Brown, Supra note 9, at 12.
Schwartz, supra note 15, at 406.
Id.
communist rule of the Khmer Rouge was overthrown and came to an end in 1979 with the help
of Vietnam, but the damage was already done and the country was in ruins. With vast poverty
and social inequality more rampant than ever, prostitution began to resurface in the 1980’s and it
peaked in the early 1990s when tens of thousands of United Nations (UN) peacekeepers and
civilian administrators were stationed in Cambodia in an operation known as United Nations
Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), which was designed to end an ongoing civil
war.21 During the UNTAC years most of the 22,000 UN personnel stationed in Cambodia
visited the nation's numerous brothels. Prior to the UN presence in Cambodia there were about
1,500 commercial sex workers in Phnom Penh. The UN soldiers’ presence in Cambodia caused
the number of prostitutes to rise to an estimated 20,000 at the peak.22 After their departure, the
number initially dropped between 10,000 to 15,000, but is once again on the rise as a result of
the AIDS epidemic, laxed regulations, and the Internet.23 Today, an estimated 57,000
commercial sex workers operate in Cambodia; of this total 70 percent are established in Phnom
Penh and Battambang, Cambodia’s two largest cities and tourist desinations.24
In Cambodia, more than twenty-five years of civil war and the consequent social
disruption have torn apart the bonds of families and communities alike. Family disturbances, the
death of one or both parents, family members with feeble attachments, abusive behavior, and
social and community disruption are all factors that drive women and children into the
commercial sex industry.25 The broken civil infrastructure of society compounds the troubles.
21
Id at 207.
Maureen Atwell, Combating American Child Sex Tourism in Cambodia Under the 2003 U.S. Protect Act, 26 Wis. Int’l L.J.
163, 169 (2008).
23 Id.
24 UNICEF statistics, available at http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/cambodia_ statistic.html. (last visited Nov. 12, 2008).
22
25
THE SEX SECTOR: THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL BASES OF PROSTITUTION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA, 134 (Lin Lean Lim ed., 1998).
Boys and girls are not treated or viewed as equals in Cambodia; girls have less access to
schooling than boys. “Men are Gold, Women are Cloth”, is a saying in Cambodia that basically
sums up the roles and position of men and women in Khmer society.26 This means that men
have a superior status and can have multiple sexual partners and their value remains untarnished
because even when dirty, gold will always be gold. Women on the other hand are supposed to be
pure and obedient, and once dirtied they can never become clean again. To men, women are like
servants and it has always been like that in Cambodia. Girls are only taught shame and
ignorance about their bodies, and men have their first sexual experience in brothels.27 Rape is
the only thing they know. It is not uncommon for a little girl to be forced by her parents to sell
her body on the side of the road just so her brother can go to school.28 While attempts to change
women’s relative position and societal attitudes are ongoing, much of that inequality is deeply
entrenched in Cambodian society. Years of war and civil conflict have left Cambodia’s health,
social, and economic indicators among the worst in Southeast Asia, especially for women.29
Cambodia has been stumbling towards modernity, but success has been severely limited as a
result of the Khmer Rouge, business interests that control a corrupt government, and the nations
lack of natural resources. As a result, Cambodia is one of the poorest countries in Asia; its’
fragile economy hinges on two industries, garment manufacture and sex.30 As part of this,
women continue to face serious economic, legal, and social barriers. Most girls are even denied
an education, and therefore remain illiterate. This further contributes to their social inequality
and limits their career opportunities thus paving the way to the commercial sex industry.
26
27
28
29
30
Mam, supra note 8, at 146.
PHYSICIANS FOR HUMAN RIGHTS, COMMERCIAL SEXUAL EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN IN CAMBODIA, 2 (1997).
Mam, supra note 8, at 110.
Physicians for Human Rights, supra note 27.
Lim, supra note 25, at 136.
E. Entrance to the Commercial Sex Industry
Women enter commercial sex work by one of two avenues, either voluntarily to alleviate
tremendous conditions of poverty in the family or by multiple types of coercion. Each year, by
most estimates, hundreds of thousands of girls in this region are bought, sold, or kidnapped and
forced to have sex with grown men.31 Young girls are not only sold to brothels inside Cambodia,
but also to brothels in neighboring countries, primarily Thailand. Very young girls are similarly
smuggled into Cambodia, mainly from Vietnam. The price of a child is determined by
appearance, age and virginity. Average value is approximately US$ 150 a child.32 Young
women are coerced into brothels through a variety of ways. Some are directly sold to the brothel
owner by a parent or other family member. Some are tricked and then sold by a boyfriend. Most
often, however, girls and young women are given or sold to “middlemen”; many are women who
come to the villages promising job opportunities either directly to the young woman or to her
family.33 Women recruiters can more easily get the trust of the young women and their families.
Their poverty is so great and the possibilities for jobs so limited, that many families and women
agree, actually believing that justifiable work awaits them in the city. It is not until they have
been sold to a brothel that they realize they have been scammed. In other cases, when a family
of the girl faces an extreme economic difficulty, the family takes a loan from a broker or a
brothel owner.34 In this situation, the child has to work in the brothel as a prostitute until the
loan and the interest on the loan are repaid.35 Many times, the shame of the family or the girl is
so enormous that the child cannot go back to her village and is forced to continue working as a
31
MUHADJIR DARWIN, et al., LIVING ON THE EDGE: CROSS-BORDER MOBILITY AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION IN THE GREATER
SOUTHEAST ASIA SUB-REGION, 4 (Anna Marie Wattie ed., Center for Population and Policy Studies Gadjah Mada University
2003).
32 Id. at 14.
33 Id. at 132.
34 Susan McClelland, Sad Little Girls, 116 Maclean’s. 12 (2003).
35 Id.
prostitute until she is either too old to attract customers, runs away, saved by a rescue operation,
or is freed by death.36
F. Sex Slavery
The buying and selling of human beings is slavery. Young women sold into the
commercial sex industry loose all of their rights. The girls in the brothels are not working for
profit or a paycheck. They are captives to the traffickers and keepers who direct their every
move. It is slavery of the worst kind. Brothel owners have total power over these girls; they get
them to do anything they want. Sex slaves receive no money, only sparse food, and armed
guards stop them from running away.37 They are no longer in control of their bodies, and their
bodily integrity is continuously violated by being forced into sex even during menstruation or
sickness.38 They are treated in a humiliating, degrading, and abusive ways where they are sold to
pimps, drugged, terrorized, locked in brothels, and raped repeatedly. Once the girls are tricked
and forced into prostitution they are often locked in a cage with others underneath the brothel
where they are starved, beaten, and threatened at gun point until they agree to service clients.39
They are only permitted to come out when a client comes, and only fed when they provide sex.
These girls are severely beaten if they refuse to do as they are told, some even beaten to death. 40
The other girls are forced to watch the beatings and murders of their friends, this serves as a
reminder of what will happen if orders are not obeyed. Being locked in a room and chained to a
bed for days at a time is very common. Young women and children enslaved into prostitution
endure torture and inhumane treatment, which includes electric shock, torture with acid, beatings
36
ANNUSKA DERKS, REINTEGRATION OF VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING IN CAMBODIA, 22 (International Organization for Migration &
Center for Advanced Study 1998).
37 Mam, supra note 8, at 110.
38 Id.
39 Id . at 55.
40 Id. at 57.
with wires and sticks, and forced intake of drugs.41 These victims are severely traumatized and
psychologically shattered. The girl’s trust in the world is forever devastated.
G. Sexually Transmitted Diseases
Many of these girls are infected with HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Sixty
percent of the young prostitutes interviewed in Cambodia in June 1995 were infected with
everything from sores and warts to gonorrhea.42 Forty to fifty percent of the prostitutes in
Cambodia are HIV positive.43 The country has the highest AIDS rate in the region. Regardless
of AIDS education in the brothels for both brothel owners and commercial sex workers, the
commercial sex worker in confinement has no clout to negotiate the terms of her dealings and
thus cannot insist on the use of condoms.44 A sex slave’s awareness of the risks of getting the
HIV infection without the power to protect herself only enhances the fear and hesitation.
Visiting prostitutes has become a common and accepted male pastime in Cambodia; as a result
men have become the vectors for AIDS. Once the sex slave contracts an STD or HIV/AIDS,
there is lack of access to medical treatment and many girls die at a young age. 45
H. Demand for Virgins
Virgin girls are in greatest demand and the price that the customers are willing to pay for
them is very, very high. Due to the disturbing idea in Southeast Asia that sex with a virgin has
rejuvenating properties, the first client is charged an expensive amount.46 Advertised as "special
commodities”, virgins are also attractive in that they are less likely to have AIDS or other
sexually transmitted diseases.47 This new demand has driven traffickers to procure even younger
41
Id. at 43.
Virgin Territory, 338 Economist. 337, 338 (1996).
43 Id.
44 12 Prostitution and Sex Trafficking: A Growing Threat to the Human Rights of Women and Children in Cambodia, (Asian
Human Rights Commission, 22 (Nov. 1996), available at http://www.ahrchk.net/hrsolid/main. (last visited Nov.3, 2008).
45 Id.
46 Mam, supra note 8, at 146.
47 Id.
42
innocent girls, some as young as four. It is estimated that there are a between 100,000 and
150,000 sex workers throughout the country, most of whom have been illegally trafficked.48
Surveys carried out by Cambodian Women's Development Association (CWDA) have shown
that the percentage of young girls involved under eighteen has increased from around twenty
five percent to thirty or thirty-five percent in the last two years.49 These surveys indicate that
approximately fifteen percent of the sex workers are between the ages of nine and fifteen. This
is likely to be an underestimate, since the youngest girls tend to be kept hidden in safe houses
and supplied only on demand to clients' hotels. It is estimated that at least one out of every forty
girls born in Cambodia is sold into sex slavery.50
Virginity is a prized commodity due to a country ravaged by AIDS. It is also thought to
bring luck and good health to a Cambodian man to sleep with a virgin, most men even believe
that AIDS can be cured by having sex with a virgin child.51 This belief is an abomination and
responsible for immense suffering. Virgins tend to be very young, and as a result very small and
narrow, making it common for them to bleed vaginally during their first rapes. Not only does
this intensify the harm and disgrace, but it makes them much more susceptible to HIV. Virgins,
who have been sold to brothels by trafficking agents, are confined to the brothel or a hotel room
until the first client arrives.52 It is common for a client can pay from US$ 300 to 400 (7,500 to
10,000 baht) to have sex with a virgin for one week in a local hotel chosen by the brothel
owner.53 The girls’ virginity is sold, and they are typically considered damaged and worth close
to nothing after their first rape. However, it is not uncommon for the very young to have forced
surgical procedures to restore their hymen to create the illusion of virginity and repeatedly be
48
49
50
51
52
53
UNICEF, supra note 1.
Id.
Cambodia: Child Sex Trade Booming, 22 Women’s International Network News. 48, 49 (1996).
McClelland, supra note 33, at 4.
Id.
Brown, supra note 9, at 106.
sold as virgins.54 Brothel owners pay traffickers from US$ 350 to 450 (8,750 to 11,250 baht) for
each attractive Cambodian virgin sixteen years or younger.55 Non-virgins and those considered
less beautiful are sold from US$ 150 to 170 each (3,750 to 4,250 baht).56
H. Debt Bondage
Many young sex workers are stuck in something called debt bondage. For example, if
they are bought by the brothel owner for say, a hundred US dollars, then that debt that was paid
to the trafficker, border guards, and their families by the brothel owner, is then laid upon on the
girl so then the girl has to service clients to pay off the debt to the brothel owner.57 The girls are
fined and beaten when they refuse to service clients; they are fined when they are disagreeable
and even fined when they are exhausted and sick.58 As a result, their debt to the brothel owner
ends up escalating and they are stuck in this endless cycle of debt. It is nearly impossible to pay
off the debt because the owners consider the girls indebted to them for their constantly mounting
expenses for food, clothing, medical costs and abortions. However, if all debts are paid off, the
prostituted girl makes from US$ 2 to 3 [50 to 75 baht] per customer, this is after the brothel
owner has taken their own cut.59 If a prostituted girl cannot pay off her debt, a brothel owner
will hold her prisoner until she becomes too old or too ill to attract customers.60
II. The Impact of Western Nations and the World Economy
A. Technology
Communications technology is a significant factor in the growth of the sex tourist
industry. The Internet and other types of telecommunication provide the sex industry new ways
54
Id.
Id. at 107.
56 Id.
57 12 Prostitution and Sex Trafficking: A Growing Threat to the Human Rights of Women and Children, Asian Human Rights
Co mission, 22 (Nov. 1996), available at, http://www/ahrchk.net.hrsolid.mainfilephp/1990vol06no04/. (last visited Nov. 12,
2008).
58 Id.
59 Mam, supra note 8, at 94.
60 Id.
55
of marketing and delivering women and children as sexual commodities to male buyers. With
the help of the Internet, experts predict that Cambodia’s sex tourism scene will grow as big as
Thailand’s in less than half the time.61 The reason why the sex trade thrives is that both local and
foreign sex tourists fuel it. Officials say a growing number of offenders are now coming from
within Asia itself, particularly from Taiwan, South Korea and Japan.62 However, the majority of
sex tourists remain to be male adults’ from more industrialized western countries who travel to
lesser-developed nations where laws are weakly enforced and sex is cheap and readily available.
Westerners with a desire for having sex with young girls learn of places like Svay Pak, by way of
the Internet and websites now give directions to it. Svay Pak is the place to go if you are looking
for the youngest girls, some as young as five years old. Svay Pak is a rundown village on the
outskirts of Phnom Penh, with cafes and gated storefronts where pimps approach tourists within
seconds of their arrival.63 Its sole distinguishing feature is that it is lined with brothels full of
underage girls.64 Internet newsgroups and websites have become common places for men to
report on their experiences of buying female prostitutes from all parts of the world. One man
even reported how helpful the information on the Internet had been for his own trip to Cambodia.
B. Sex Advertising and the Internet
As countries once insulated now open their borders to global markets, and as airfares
become more affordable to consumers, sex offenders find new opportunities and easier means to
travel abroad for underage and illegal sex. The rapid growth of the Internet has also fueled the
sex tourism industry by making the booking of international flights, tours, and accommodations
easy while offering practical anonymity. Sex tour organizers also use the Internet to distribute
61
62
63
64
Schwartz, supra note 15, at 386.
Id. at 381.
World Sex Guide Cambodia FAQ, at http://www.worldsexguide.org/cambodia_faq.txt.html. (last visited Oct. 28, 2008).
Id.
pornography and advertise sex tours.65 A simple Google search of “sex tourism in Cambodia”
brings the users attention to 136,000 results of sex tourist information. Among these sites is a
website with the heading, “Your Un-official Guide to Phnom Penh”. This website is one of
many sex tourist guides to Phnom Penh in Cambodia. If a person is coming to Cambodia as a
sex tourist this site is a good source of knowledge of some of the escorts and brothels by streets
and price ranges. An advertisement from one of these types of sites is,
“The Cambodian brothels are all located near the Lucky Star Hotel
No 14 Street 336. At night, the brothel owners rent space at the hair
salons. When you drive by, the pimps will call you in. The brothels
are open during the day as well. You have to knock on the doors.
The girls are all Cambodian. Prices are $10 to $25. There are also
girls that stand in groups of threes on the street corners nearby. If
you are looking for a low end escort try Sophies Club, which is quite
an experience, a BJ bar”.66
The Internet has unjustly disadvantaged sexually exploited girls, it has enabled those with power
to intensify the harm and expand the exploitation. The Internet has allowed images of women’s
sexual exploitation to be transmitted from local sites to anywhere in the world. The lack of
uniform regulations surrounding the sharing of Internet files has even allowed images of cruel
and sadistic acts against women to be transmitted worldwide. In 1999, an American living in
Phnom Penh added a live bondage sex show to his pornography web site, “Rape Camp”.67 It
featured Asian sex slaves who were used for bondage, punishment and disgrace. The women on
the website were blindfolded, gagged, and bound with ropes while being used in sex acts.
Expanded service featured live pay-per-view access in which customers could relay requests for
torture that would be fulfilled within seconds.68 The fees were US$ 15 for 10 minutes, US$ 40
65
Kylr Cutts, A Modicum of Recovery: How Child Sex Tourism Constitutes Slavery Under the Alien Tort Claims Act, 58 Case
W. Res. L. Rev. 277, 279 (2007)
66 http://www.dv8-cambodia.com/cambodian_sex_nightlife.html
67 Schwartz, supra note 15, at 372.
68
Id.
for 30 minutes, and US$ 75 for 60 minutes.69 The “Rape Camp” website also invited men to
visit Cambodia and gave advice for sex tourists. 70
“When in Thailand or Southeast Asia check out Cambodia. We are
just across the border and offer so much more. Unlike Thailand, if
our prostitutes refuse your advances you can beat them into
compliance. And they just cost 5.00 per hour. No rip offs here all
beautiful ladies will BAM BAM. Not like Thailand where they are
over priced and ALWAYS try to get out of the sex. If you need a
good deal on air tickets to Phnom Penh please e-mail our company
here [Link to e-mail]. We will find you the best price available from
our consolidation agents. On purchase of ticket(s) we will e-mail you
a Cambodian Sex Industry Guide which will recommend brothels
and give revealing insights into Asian countries.”
C. America and the Global Economy
Despite the considerable cost of international travel for Americans, United States citizens
account for over twenty five percent of all sex tourists worldwide; the largest percentage of any
country in the world.71 In fact, an examination of the records of sex tourism reveals that
Americans have consistently made up the largest population of sex tourists in Southeast Asia, as
evidenced by a National Center for Missing and Exploited Children report released in 2004.72
According to government statistics, over one million foreigners come to Cambodia every year. 73
Even Western tourists visiting Cambodia for legitimate reasons are continually propositioned by
pimps hawking for business, the approach is always the same, “you want young girl, little
girl”?74 The very fact that local girls are made available allows tourists to believe that the use of
girls for sex is somehow acceptable, even “natural” to the host country, further contributing to
the problem. The problem of sex tourism affects all countries, regardless of whether the country
69
Id.
Id.
71 Sara K. Andrews, U.S. Domestic Prosectution of the American International Sex Tourist: Efforts to Protect Children From
Sexual Exploitation, 94 J. Crim. L. & Criminology 415 (2004).
72 Eva J. Klain, Prostitution of Children and Child Sex Tourism: An Analysis of Domestic and International Responses, 35-36
(1999), available at http://www.missingkinds.com/en_US/publications?NC73.pdf.
73 Unwanted Visitors, 387 Economist. 36, 36 (2008).
74 Mam, Supra note 8, at 147.
70
is primarily a “sending” one, meaning that its citizens leave its borders in order to travel to the
other country, or a “receiving” state, which receives the foreign tourist and provides a venue for
the sexual violation to occur.75 The United States functions mainly as a sending state due to both
the relative affluence of its citizens and the freedom they enjoy in traveling outside the country.
By engaging in sex tourism, U.S. citizens create a demand for these enslaved girls, thus enabling
an environment of terror and suffering for thousands of girls in receiving countries.76
According to the International Labor Organization, in Southeast Asian countries income
from sex industries accounts for between two percent and fourteen percent of GDP (Gross
Domestic Product).77 In Indonesia, money generated by the sex industry is estimated to be
between US$ 1.2 and 3.3 billion per year, or between 0.8 and 2.4 percent of the country’s GDP.78
In Thailand, the yearly income from prostitution was between US$ 22.5 and 27 billion (450 and
540 billion baht) or about 10 to 14 percent of the GDP.79 Due to the illegal and underground
nature of the sex industry in Cambodia, it is impossible to obtain any accurate statistical data on
what percentage of Cambodia’s income can be attributed to sex work. However, it is estimated
that this sex industry generates roughly US$ 1 to 3 billion annually, accounting for more revenue
than any other single business sector in Cambodia, and over two times the government budget.80
III. National and International Regulations
A. Political and Legal Factors
Today, the Cambodian government strives to administer its laws with a legal system that
is less than two decades old in a country devastated by genocide, lacking infrastructure, and a
severely depleted economy. The devastating effects of the Khmer Rouge left Cambodia and its
75
76
77
78
79
80
Cutts, Supra Note 64, at 279
Id.
ANNUSKA DERKS, TRAFFICKING OF VIETNAMESE WOMEN AND CHILDREN TO CAMBODIA, 13 (1998).
DOUGLAS LEVISEDA, SEX TRAFFICKING IN CAMBODIA, 3-10 (Center of Southeast Asian Studies 2000)
Id.
Id.
legal system in a state of turmoil from which it has yet to recover. Lawyers and judges were in
the midst of the three million people murdered. Being among the most educated and viewed as
figures of authority and control, judges and lawyers were specifically targeted and killed.81
Those lucky enough to escape murder were forcefully reformed or forced to flee the county.
When Vietnam ultimately put an end to the Khmer Rouge there were about six lawyers left alive
in all of Cambodia. The Khmer Rouge was also responsible for abolishing education, destroying
law books and legal documents. Following the Khmer Rouge in 1979, multiple political parties
engaged in civil war with the occupying Vietnamese until 1991. This further delayed the
development of a functional legal system, and made the passing of realistic and enforceable laws
in Cambodia difficult.
The early 1990’s brought about some minor reform and in 1993 Cambodia ratified a
constitution and began to build a functional legal system. However, the biggest problem was not
inadequate laws, but rather the implementation and enforcement of ample legislation.
Enforcement is significantly hindered by widespread corruption of police, judges, and military
forces.82 Judges are infamous for taking bribes to supplement their inadequate salaries that start
around US$ 15 a month and top off at US$ 600 a month.83 Police and military personnel are
more often the cause of the problem then they are the solution. Looking to protect their criminal
enterprises, brothel owners look to marry police officers and soldiers. Some police officers are
even co-owners of brothels. Brothel owners pay “taxes” to police officers to shield them from
arrest.84 In an attempt to appease the public at large and create an illusion of cracking down, the
police often stage brothel raids. The police usually give notice to the brothel owners’ days in
advance, allowing the youngest and most desired girls to be hidden, but it is not uncommon for
81
82
83
84
Atwell, supra note 22, at 174-176.
Id. at 176.
Id.
Mam, Supra note 8, at 97.
police to raid empty and abandoned brothels.85 During these raids, the police do take the girls
they find, but they are hardly safe. Police are notorious for bringing the girls to jail where they
are locked up and raped all night.86 Nevertheless, the supply of trafficked women and girls is so
infinite that within days a brothel can have a new inventory of victims and operate at full
capacity.
Many high-ranking officers in the Cambodian Ministry of Tourism are also involved in
the sexual exploitation of women and even support the activities of sex traffickers.87 Bribery,
corruption, ignorance, and apathy exist at the highest level in Cambodia. If something,
regardless of how hazardous it is to the country will attract tourists and help the economy, even
the most powerful will turn a blind eye. Meanwhile, sex tourists are left to freely cross borders,
prey on innocence, and victimize thousands of women with relative punishment. Prosecutions
against exploiters are rare and primarily spotlight small players, allowing the “big dogs” of the
unseen sex industry to operate freely.88 It is very evident that Cambodia does not have sufficient
political desire or legal capacity to sufficiently address the problem of sexually exploited women
and girls.
B. Cambodian Law Concerning the Exploitation of Women
The primary source of Cambodian law is their 1993 constitution, but other laws regarding
the exploitation of women are also found in domestic trafficking legislation, family and labor laws
and international treaties.
1. The Constitution
The constitution clearly expresses that the trafficking of people is prohibited. Article
46(1) states, “commerce of human beings, exploitation of by prostitution and obscenity which
85
86
87
88
Id at 160.
Id.
Darwin, supra note 31, at 183.
Schwartz, supra note 15, at 410.
affect the reputation of women shall be prohibited”.89 The constitution demands Cambodians to
respect human rights, primarily those rights of women and children. Article 31(1) incorporates
most international human rights law as the foundations of the Cambodian legal system.90 These
include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Convention of the Elimination of
Discrimination Against Women, and Convention on Children’s Rights. Further, Article 48
guarantees the protection of children’s rights as stipulated in the international conventions
pertaining to children.91 It additionally requires parents to raise and take care of their children
and educate them to become good citizens in Article 47(1).92 The constitution further undertakes
to protect young girls and boys against employment that is detrimental to their health or
wellbeing.
These articles when taken together leave no room for misinterpretation, it is clear that the
exploitation of women and children is illegal. Unfortunately, these laws are routinely ignored
and/or manipulated by clients, procurers, traffickers, brothel owners, and the very people who
are supposed to enforce them. The laws of the country simply do not apply because of the great
amount of finances the sex industry brings in. Cambodia’s government like many others, looks
thoroughly at the potential money that can be made in the sex industry and calculates how it can
enrich them.
2. Trafficking Legislation
In 1996 the Cambodian National Assembly passed the law on the Suppression of
Kidnapping, Trafficking, and Exploitation of Humans.93 Article 2 states, “The kidnapping of
89
Constitution of the Kingdom of Cambodia (Annotated), available at http://www.cdpcambodia.org/constitution.asp (last visited
Nov. 7, 2008).
90 Id.
91 Id.
92 Id.
93 Trafficking Law at Cambodian Defenders’ Project Website, at http://www.cdpcambodia. Org/trafficking_law.asp (last visited
Oct. 28, 2008).
persons for trafficking/sale or prostitution, and the exploitation of persons, inside or outside of
the Kingdom of Cambodia, shall be strictly prohibited. Every Khmer citizen shall respect the
Constitution and laws”.94 This law provides significant penalties for “any person who lures
another person, even male or female, minor or adult of whichever nationality by ways enticing or
by any other means, promising to offer any money or jewelry, even though upon there is or no
consent, by ways of forcing, threatening or using a hypnotic drug, in order to kidnap him/her for
trafficking/sale or for prostitution”.95 This law also significantly supplements the Cambodian
constitution by setting forth specific penalties for violations and increased penalties when the
victim is younger then fifteen years old. Unlike many other Eastern Asian countries that
commonly treat victims of sex trafficking as illegal immigrants and prostitutes who are
deported, this law does not provide for any such penalties. Under international covenants and
anti-trafficking laws these girls should be considered victims, and thus exempt from fines or
imprisonment, and be granted safe repatriation back to their countries of origin.96
Even though anti-trafficking legislation is a step in the right direction, it still suffers from
serious execution and enforcement problems as a result of an unwillingness by those in power
and massive corruption as earlier talked about. The government of Cambodia is still yet to
establish guidelines and sub-decrees to direct the law’s implementation. Most rescue workers
also believe that this law does not go far enough in requiring Cambodia to take affirmative action
to protect the victims of exploitation.97 It does very little if anything to protect the identity and
safety of victims who come forward with evidence against these criminals.
3. Labor and Contract Laws
In 1997 Cambodia passed a law that made it illegal to use debt labor and/or slavery.
94
95
96
97
Id.
Id.
Physicians for Human Rights, supra note 27, at 10-11.
Mam, Supra note 8, at 172.
Article 104 guarantees a minimum salary to every worker who is capable of providing a
minimum standard of living.98 This law eliminated debt bondage with the passage of Article 126
that “forbids salary deductions used to provide direct or indirect payment to an employee, his/her
representative, or an intermediary”.99 Furthermore, Article 5 makes every contract void that is
contrary to public order, good custom, or inconsistent with principles of social ethics. Under
Article 15 it is now illegal for any minor under the age of fifteen to enter into an employment
contract without the consent of his parents or guardian.100
Although this law appears to be in the best interest of young girls in Cambodia who are
forced into commercial sex work, it has little effective value and is primarily for appearance
purposes only. This law specifically states what labor is illegal for a minor to engage in, but at
the same time it grants the Labor Advisory Commission discretionary authority to create what it
finds to be necessary exceptions.101 To some extent, this loophole in the law actually permits the
trafficking of young girls. In addition, the article requiring a minor to obtain parent consent
before entering an employment contract allows for a very broad exception. This exception
allows minors to enter into contracts without parent consent in if it is necessary “to meet every
day life needs”.102 With legislation such as this, it is hard to believe the Cambodian government
has any true desire or intentions of putting an end to this crisis.
4. Women Rights Laws
The aftermath of the Khmer Rouge left Cambodian women with little if any rights and
were offered no protection under the law. With the help of international pressure and a desire by
Cambodians to move forward, women were given special attention by the Cambodian
98
Sim Kim Sean and Ashley Barr, Illegal Labor Movements: The Case of Trafficking Women for Sexual
Exploitation, Regional Conference, 224.
99
Id.
100
Id.
101
Schwartz, supra note 15, at 417
102
Id. at 418.
legislatures as is evidenced by the Constitution, the Marriage and Family law, and the Labor law.
Article 45 of the Constitution forbids the discrimination and exploitation of women.103 Article
29 of the Marriage and Family law establishes equality between husband and wives within the
family.104 Article 12 of the Labor law prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of
sex.105 These laws create an obligation for the government to provide equal education and
employment opportunities for women and men. These laws also can be read to require that
women and men benefit equally from any government development assistance programs.
However, at this point such provisions appear to be aspirations more than they are functional law
that can be argued on behalf of the victims. Given the historic social status of women in
Cambodia, laws specifically pertaining to the equality of women, at the very least are a gigantic
step in the right direction. These laws suffer from the same implementation and enforcement
drawbacks as all Cambodian laws do, and women are just now beginning to see slight
improvements in equality. Women now make up an unprecedented twenty percent of village
leaders, eight percent of the National Assembly and fourteen percent of the Senate.106
C. International Response to the Sexual Exploitation of Women
A major component of globalization is the bringing together of the entire world. This is
carried out through education, communication and travel, and is evidenced by the exploitation of
women in Cambodia. These means of globalization have increased public awareness, educated
the world about this problem, and have gotten the attention of the international community. The
Article 45, Constitution, supra note 88. (“All forms of discrimination against women shall be abolished. The exploitation of
women in employment shall be prohibited.”).
104 Sean, supra note 97, at 240.
105 Article 12, Labor Code of Cambodia, available at http://www.cdpcambodia.org/labor_law.asp (last visited Nov. 10, 2008)
(“Except for the provisions fully expressing under this law, or in any other legislative text or regulation protecting women and
children, as well as provisions relating to the entry and stay of foreigners, no employer shall consider on account
of:…sex…distinctions, rejections, or acceptances based on qualifications required for a specific job shall not be considered as
discrimination.”).
106 The Royal Government of Cambodia Website, at
http://www.bigpond.com.kh/users/ngoforum/aboutcambodia/royal_governmnet.htm (last visited Oct. 20, 2008).
103
exploitation of women is not just a Cambodian or even a Southeast Asian problem, but a global
humanitarian crisis. Cambodia’s lack of action in prosecuting procurers, traffickers, and parents
who have sold their children into the commercial sex industry has helped lead to action at an
international level.
1.
International Sex Trafficking Treaties
The international instruments that directly deal with trafficking are the United Nations
Protocol to Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children
(Trafficking Protocol), which supplements the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women (CEDAW), and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC).
1a. Trafficking Protocol
The Trafficking Protocol entered into force on 25 December 2003 and by 2006 the
protocol had been signed by 117 states, and ratified by 110.107 The Trafficking Protocol is the
first universal instrument that addresses all aspects of human trafficking. It requires ratifying
states to prevent and combat trafficking, prosecute agents and traffickers, protect and assist
victims of trafficking, and promotes cooperation among states in order to meet those
objectives.108
1b. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
Article 6 of this 1979 convention specifically addresses the issue of trafficking.109
Participating countries are obligated to take all appropriate measures to suppress all forms of
trafficking and exploitation of women.110 CEDAW also contains provisions that address some of
107
United Nations Development Protocol Signatories, at
http://www.unodc,org/unodc/en/crime_cicp_signatoures_trafficking.html. (last visited Nov. 3, 2008).
108 Id.
109 CEDAW, available at http://www.un.org/womenwatch/daw/cedaw/cedaw.htm. (last visited Nov. 3, 2008).
110 Id.
the underlying causes of sexual exploitation. Article 14 pertains to the disastrous effects of
women moving from rural to urban environments.111 It requires that governments ensure women
access to education and employment programs that would help facilitate their economic
independence.112 If implemented and enforced correctly, these measures would help prevent the
sexual exploitation of girls by relieving parents of the need to sell their children, and by
eliminating the need for girls to travel to urban areas in search of work.
1c. Convention on Rights of the Child
The CRC is the first legally binding agreement that obligates countries to protect children
(anyone under the age of 18) from sexual exploitation. Entered into force in 1990, it has been
signed and ratified by 190 countries.113 Article 34 provides, “State parties undertake to protect
the child from all forms of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.114 For these purposes, State
parties shall in particular take all appropriate national, bilateral and multilateral measures to
prevent: (a) the inducement of coercion of a child to engage in any unlawful sexual activity; (b)
the exploitative use of children in prostitution or other unlawful sexual practices; (c) the
exploitative use of children in pornographic performances and materials.”115
The CRC established a committee on the Rights of the Child and required that all
participating countries must submit reports every two years regarding the measures they have
adopted and the progress attained. Although the reporting mandate was the first step in
monitoring the world’s actions in combating this problem, it was insufficient to bring about
change. The Committee lacked the authority to identify violations under the CRC, and it lacked
the authority to punish countries for violating the treaty.
111
Id.
Id.
113 CRC Signatories, at http://www.un.org/Depts/Treaty/Final/ts2/newfiles/part_boo/iv_11.html. (last visited Nov. 4, 2008).
114 Id.
115 Id.
112
1d. Optional Protocol: Convention on Rights of the Child
The flaws in the guidelines and power of authority in the CRC ultimately led to the
United Nations Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of
Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography (Optional Protocol) in 2002.116 The
Optional Protocol set forth the measures that participating countries should undertake in order to
guarantee the protection of children from trafficking, prostitution and pornography. The
Optional Protocol also specifies that these crimes are to be penalized regardless of whether they
are committed domestically, transnational, or on an individual or group basis.117 It also gave the
Committee of the CRC the power to penalize countries for violations by way of fine. In an
attempt to bring about prosecutions under the treaty, it stipulates, “States parties shall afford one
another the greatest measure of assistance in connection with investigations or criminal or
extradition proceedings brought in respect to the offenses set forth within the protocol”.118
2.
International Human Rights Law
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly in 1948 provides in Article 4 that “no one shall be held in slavery or servitude;…
slavery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms”.119 The Convention on the
Abolition of Slavery further prohibits practices of slavery. The International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights (ICCPR), in Article 8 reiterates the prohibition on slavery and the slave trade
as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.120 It further mandates states to take
116
The Optional Protocol was adopted by the U.N. General Assembly on May 25, 2000, available at
http://www.unicef.org/crc/annex2.htm (last visited Oct. 28, 2008). (There are currently 105 signatories to the Optional Protocol.
U.S. ratification was effectuated by unanimous approval by the Senate and ratification by President George W. Bush on
December 24, 2002).
117 Id. art. 3, § 1, 1(b).
118 Id. art 6, § 1
119
Universal Declaration of Human Rights, available at http://www.un.org/Overview/rights.html. (last visited Nov. 3, 2008).
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, art 8 available at, http://www1.umn.edu/humanrts/instree/b3ccpr.htm.
(last visited Nov. 15, 2008).
120
immediate action to eradicate slavery or slavery like practices and stipulates that no person shall
be held in “servitude”.121 Article 4(2) of the ICCPR provides that “no derogation from [articles
prohibiting deprivation of life, torture, and slavery] maybe made”, thus emphasizing their
fundamental and universal character.122 The International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR) in article 6 recognizes an individual’s right to freely choose
employment or work.123 Article 7 further stipulates the entitlement of everyone to just and
favorable working conditions.124 The ICESCR also recognizes the right of young people to
health care in Article 12 and education in Article 13.125 Under the CRC, a child has a right to
enjoy the highest attainable standard of health and has the right to health care. It further provides
children are afforded rights to an adequate standard of living, to education, and to rest leisure and
play.126 The Optional Protocol also expressly deals with this subject and enjoins participating
countries to take appropriate measures to protect the rights and interests of child victims of these
practices at all stages of the criminal justice process.127
3. Cambodia’s International Legal Obligations
Cambodia is a signatory of two major international agreements, both of which promote
actions against human trafficking and through its constitution. Cambodia has accepted many
international obligations. As previously mentioned, the two agreements are the Convention on
the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights
of the Child (CRC), both clearly prohibiting the trafficking of women. By way of Article 31 of
the Constitution, Cambodia has also accepted all human right laws contained in the Convention
121
Id.
Id. art 4(2).
123 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, art 10(3) available at
http://www.unchr.ch/html/menue3/b/a_cescr.htm (last visited Nov. 8, 2008).
124 Id. art 7.
125 Id. art 12, 13.
126 CRC, supra note 112.
127 Optional Protocol, supra note 15.
122
Against Torture and the Abolition of Forced Labor.128 Cambodia has signed the Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Women and Children, and the Protocol against the
Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, both of which supplement the United Nations
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (CATAC).129 Cambodia has also signed the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which has many provisions
regarding trafficking.130
Like Cambodia’s dedication to its domestic laws, it has done very little to comply with
international obligations. The government has done nothing more than incorporate international
legislation into its empty promises of unenforced domestic policies. Despite Cambodia’s
international legal obligations to eliminate all forms of discrimination, women still face rampant
disparity. For instance, women in Cambodia’s industrial workforce, like in many other countries
are routinely paid significantly lower than their male counterparts for doing identical work.131
Inequality of this nature and the persistent discrimination against women in family, education,
and employment continually contribute to their vulnerability and likelihood of becoming a victim
of sex trafficking.
IV. Eliminating the Problem
1.
Foreign Initiatives
When predators from foreign countries are arrested for engaging in illegal sexual acts,
they can be tried and convicted in Cambodia under Cambodian Law. This system of punishment
has proven unsuccessful in deterring perpetuators, and is another link in the chain to this ongoing
problem. As previously talked about, the judicial system in Cambodia is very easily influenced
128
Article 31,Constitution, supra note 88.
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, available at
http://www.uncjin.org/Documnets/Conventions/dcatoc/final+documnets_2/convention_eng.pdf
130 ICCPR, supra not 119.
131 Sheila Jeffreys, Inequalities, 31 Contemporary Sociology. 687, 688 (2002).
129
and has a bigger interest in monetary gain than it does in bringing about justice. Most illegal
sexual acts are penalized with imprisonments of less than 7 years and most criminals can easily
buy back their freedom after just a couple weeks or months.132 It is because of this that predators
do not fear the local laws and continue to engage in these horrendous sexual acts time and time
again. These Failed efforts of apprehending and prosecuting foreign sex tourists in the receiving
countries has been a contributing factor to the problem, and has now been addressed by the
United Nations and the United States through the passage and implementation extraterritorial
legislations.
In 1994 the United States passed the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Act.133 This act was
an extension of the 1910 Mann Act that criminalized the act of transporting a women or child in
interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of “prostitution, or debauchery, or for any other
immoral purpose”.134 The added language to the statue extended its application to the acts of
U.S. citizens traveling across international borders to engage in illegal sexual activity. The
problem with this act is that it included a mens rea component that required the accused to have
manifested intent to engage in illegal sexual activity. The primary focus was on the intentions of
the accused and not the act itself, making it difficult to secure a prosecution. To combat
this problem, the U.S. amended the Act to what is now the Sex Tourism Prohibition Act of
132
Chris Seper & Van Roeun, Police Sweeps Help Clean Up Child Prostitution, 90 Chistian Science Monitor, 6 -8 (1998)
18 U.S.C § 2423(b) (2000). The language reads: (Travel with Intent to Engage in Sexual Act with a Juvenile: A person who
travels in interstate commerce, or conspires to do so, or a U.S. citizen or an alien admitted for permanent residence in the U. S.
who travels in foreign commerce, or conspires to do so, for the purpose of engaging in any sexual act (as defined in section 2246)
with a person under 18 years of age that would be in violation of chapter 109A if the sexual act occurred in the special maritime
and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years or both).
133
134
18 U.S.C. §§ 2421-2424 (2000). The language reads: Travel with Intent to Engage in Sexual Act with a Juvenile: A person
who travels in interstate commerce, or conspires to do so, or a U.S. citizen or an alien admitted for permanent residence in the U.
S. who travels in foreign commerce, or conspires to do so, for the purpose of engaging in any sexual act (as defined in section
2246) with a person under 18 years of age that would be in violation of chapter 109A if the sexual act occurred in the special
maritime and territorial jurisdiction of the United States, shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years or both.
2002.135 The new language no longer required the government to prove the accused intent to
commit the crime, instead all that has to be proven is that the activity took place. Although
proving that someone traveled with the intent to engage in illegal sexual activity with a minor is
undoubtedly difficult, in some situations proving intent is actually easier than having to prove the
crime actually took place. The Statue also made it illegal to arrange, induce, procure or facilitate
the travel of a person with the knowledge that the person intended to engage illegal sexually
activity136.
In an attempt to do away with intent issues and evidentiary challenges of earlier
legislation, the U.S. passed the Prosecuting Remedies and Tools Against the Exploitation of
Children Today Act (PROTECT Act) of 2003.137 The PROTECT Act added to the Child Sexual
Abuse Prevention Act by increasing penalties to thirty years imprisonment for convicted sex
tourists and criminalizing persons or organizations that assist or organize sex tours. Under this
new Act the government can now find the accused criminally liable by proving that the accused
either: (1) traveled with the intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct with a minor; (2) actually
engaged in illicit sexual conduct with a minor in a foreign place; or (3) attempted to conspire to
violate the statue.138 The PROTECT Act additionally contains a “two Strikes and you’re out”
rule that imposes a mandatory life sentence on any person twice convicted of federal sex
135
See H.R. Rep. No. 107-525, at 2 (2002). The amended language reads: In General- Section 2423 of title 18, U.S. Code, is
amended by striking subsection (b) and inserting the following: “(b) travel with intent to engage in illicit sexual conduct--A
person who travels in interstate commerce or travels into the United States, or a U.S. citizen or an alien admitted for permanent
residence in the U.S. who travels in foreign commerce, for the purpose of engaging in any illicit sexual conduct with another
person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both. (c) Engaging in illicit sexual conduct in
foreign places--Any U.S. citizen or alien admitted for permanent residence who travels in foreign commerce, and engages in any
illicit sexual conduct with another person shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both. (d)
Ancillary offenses-- Whoever arranges, induces, procures, or facilitates the travel of a person knowing that such a person is
traveling in interstate commerce or foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in illicit sexual conduct shall be fined under
this title, imprisoned not more than 15 years, or both.
136
137
138
Id.
Pub. L. No. 108-21, 117 Stat. 650 (codified as amended at 18 U.S.C. § 2423 (2000)).
Id.
offenses against a minor.139
1a. United States Foreign Aid
One factor that has recently encouraged Cambodia to start reforming and taking a harder
stance on exploitation is Cambodia’s rank on the United States Department of States Tier
Placement List.140 The U.S. Department of State ranks countries based on their prevention
efforts of heinous crimes, including sex trafficking and human slavery. These rankings are then
used to determine what amount of international aid, if any, a country will receive. If a country is
placed on Tier III, it faces international sanctions and a loss of international aid. Cambodia was
placed on Tier III in 2005. Realizing that almost half of Cambodia’s revenue comes from
foreign aid, it agreed to cooperate with U.S. investigators in apprehending and prosecuting sex
tourist and was moved to Tier II in 2006 where it has remained. Tier II is a watch list, in order to
stay off of Tier III Cambodia must continue to show a significant amount of effort toward the
prevention of sex trafficking and sex tourism.141
1b. Prosecuting Sex Tourists
It has become very difficult to persecute sex offenders for their offenses because of the
extra judicial nature of such crimes and the secrecy in which offenders carry their crimes
overseas. American authorities find it difficult to investigate these crimes because the power of
jurisdiction issues, evidentiary and procedural problems and the reluctance of foreign countries
to cooperate with U.S. law enforcement authorities. The U.S. and other nations have commonly
invoked the doctrine of nationality to prosecute domestic citizens for crimes committed in
foreign countries.142 This doctrine focuses on the nationality of the offender, rather than the
139
Id.
U.S. Dep’t of State, Trafficking in Persons Report Introduction (2006), available at
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006/65983.htm. (last visited Oct. 28, 2008).
141 Id.
142
Frank Tuerkheimer, Globalization of U.S. Law Enforcemnet: Does the Constitution Come Along?, 39 Hous. L. Rev, 307 (2002).
140
place where the crime was committed to establish jurisdiction.143 The United States ultimate
authority to prosecute its citizens for sexual crimes committed extraterritorially comes from
Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution.144 This provision affords congress the power “to
regulate commerce with foreign nations… to define and punish piracies and felonies committed
on the high seas, and offenses against the law of nations”, as well as “to make all laws which
shall be necessary and proper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers”. 145 The
PROTECT Act specifically states that it is a crime for any U.S. citizen or alien to “travel in
foreign commerce, and engage in any illicit sexual conduct with another person”.146 On January
25, 2006 Michael Lewis Clark, a seventy-one year old U.S. citizen who resided in Cambodia for
several years became the first person to be convicted under the PROTECT Act for sexually
abusing minors.147 Clark admitted that he had molested about fifty children since 1996 during
his frequent travels to Cambodia, Malaysia and Panama. On appeal, Clark challenged the
constitutionality of the Act as exceeding congresses authority under the Foreign Commerce
Clause. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ultimately held that congress possessed
broad powers under the Foreign Commerce Clause and that the Protect Act properly fell within
those powers as it bore a substantial relationship to the regulation of foreign commerce.148
1c. Cambodian Non-Governmental Organization Programs
Non-government organizations (NGOs) are independent groups that work side by side
governments of industrialized countries and other international institutions. Although the
success in combating the exploitation of women in Cambodia has thus far been minimal, the
Geoffrey R. Watcon, Offenders Abroad: The Case for Nationality-based Criminal Jurisdiction, 17 Yale J. Int’lL. 41, 42
(1992).
143
144
U.S. Const. art. I, § 8, cls. 3, 10, 18.
Id.
146
United States v. Clark, 435 F.3d 1100 (9th Cir. 2006).
147
Id.
148
Id. at 1117.
145
progress that has been achieved is mostly attributed to the efforts of NGOs.149 Cambodia’s NGO
division is booming, it is comprised of both local and international organizations.150 NGOs have
encouraged enforcement of anti-trafficking laws, established rescue programs, built shelters for
victims, rescued thousands of underage prostitutes, and have helped train Cambodian police in
recognizing patterns of trafficking.151 Once rescued, the primary focus is then shifted to
reintegrating victims back into society. These organizations provide health care services,
HIV/AIDS education, financial support, literacy training, and vocational training. 152 Some
organizations even find jobs for victims and provide psychological and financial support to
families during the reintegration process.153 Other NGOs have taken a more relaxed approach
and have spent considerable time and money raising public awareness through radio programs,
television advertisements, and Internet websites.154 If it was not for the efforts of NGOs it is
likely that the exploitation of women and children in Cambodia would go unnoticed by western
governments and international institutions.
V. Conclusion
Despite countervailing beliefs, the exploitation of women in Cambodia is a global
problem. Citizens from countries around the world contribute to the problem in a number of
ways from engaging in illegal sexual acts to purchasing videos of rapes and torture over the
Internet. Despite the efforts of thousands of NGO workers, numerous international institutions,
and western initiatives, much work still needs to be done. The exploitation of women is one of
Cambodia’s largest problems and can only be overcome by attacking the root of the problem.
Poverty is the root of all evil when it comes to the exploitation of women in Cambodia.
149
150
151
152
153
154
Atwell, supra note 22, at 178.
Id.
Id. at179.
Id.
Id.
Id.
Although stronger trafficking legislation and stricter law enforcement is necessary, the issue of
poverty needs to be addressed at or all other efforts will be futile. Exploiters of women have
primarily targeted societies where poverty is rampant and legitimate job opportunities are
limited. With no other possibilities and all alternatives exhausted, women are more likely to be
sold off by their families and more likely to fall victim to traffickers. The most important stride
in combating exploitation lies within the efforts of empowering women. Education has a direct
effect on economic development. Education will also positively contribute to women’s’ roles in
government and economic institutions. In a country as poor as Cambodia, education alone will
not solve the problem of sexual exploitation of women. It is important that women are well
trained and educated to have the skills necessary to better themselves. Decriminalize the women
in prostitution; criminalize the men who buy women and anyone who promotes sexual
exploitation, particularly pimps, procurers, and traffickers. Overall, it is a fundamental right to
be free of sexual exploitation in all its forms. Women and girls have the right to sexual integrity
and autonomy.