Vietnam has a huge problem with human trafficking, they are the highest ranking country for trafficking. Most of the people who are trafficked are women and children. There are some cases of males, however males are not as likely to be trafficked. Trafficking is not an easy crime to trace, however there are many ways of prevention. Vietnamese men, women, and children are trafficked internationally for many reasons. Some do not know they were tricked into becoming a domestic slave, and they will be forced to live a life in slavery.
The people who are trafficked are looking for solutions and a way out, they only way to stop is crime to to find outsiders who are willing to provide protections and find solutions for the problem. Hien, a 10 year old boy, was kidnapped from his home. He was taken by someone who claimed to be his uncle. Since he was an orphan and had no family he was forced to work in a Cannabis factory. Cannabis factories are the most popular places for children to end up after being abducted. After Hien’s “Uncle” had left him all Hien had were the slave drivers.
Part of Hein’s story, “He has been a domestic slave, ben trafficked into cannabis factories, been abused and beaten and was eventually prosecuted and sent to prison” (Kelly, McNamara, 1). Hien was prosecuted for manufacturing cannabis, and was taken to jail even though he was being forced to make and sell cannabis. He spent 2 years in juvie and was released by court on the grounds he went to rehab. After rehab, he found himself in a foster home. Hien is scared everyday he is there. He fears that his “Uncle” will return and he will be put back in the system.
No one wanted to help Hien, the court tried but they did not understand the predicament he was in. Since the court did not know his trafficker and Hien’s head was in a bag when he was brought to the factory, he did not know his trafficker either. Prosecution for traffickers needs to be increased in order for children to be able to be helped out of trafficking, and a life of fear. The police have a hard time prosecuting traffickers because trafficking is a very difficult crime to trace, “This is happening right under our noses and not enough is being done to stop it” (McNamara, Kelly, 1).
Police are trying to stop trafficking however they are not doing enough to help the situation. Gang’s children are being taken to are becoming more diverse. Children are being involved in crystal meth, instead of cannabis. This is allowing the traffickers and the women and children to become more sophisticated in what they are doing. Officials often catch the kids instead of the traffickers, because of this police are looking for a new plan to catch traffickers. They may have found one called, the Modern Slavery Bill.
The bill is said to increase prosecution of traffickers, and provide protection for the victims. However, there has been no change in numbers, and children are still being trafficking. This is happening because the awareness on trafficking is low, officials need to better educate themselves on trafficking in order to be able to do a better job at prosecuting, and protection. Women and children face all different types of abuse. They are emotionally abused because their traffickers tell them their family is not looking for them, or their families do not care.
In most cases their family is the one of the main reasons the kids are sent off, the parents believe they are sending their kids to have a better life, somewhere else. In reality, they are sending them to be slaves or sex servants in another country. Children and women face physical abuse when they are forced into domestic servitude. They are becoming slaves for the house they are sent to and they must do whatever their masters tell them, or they will be beaten. Children, both male and female, are sexually abused, “Many victims are misled by fraudulent labor opportunities and sold to brothels… ” (Vietnam, 1).
Victims are often sent to brothels, sex houses, or are sold to a certain person to be their sex slave. If no one is understanding of what these kids are going through then how are they supposed to help. There needs to be better awareness in order to keep the kids safe and not be exploited like they are now. Women and children are more susceptible to being taken because they are more vulnerable. Ishola, a women who deals with trafficked children states, “Children are increasingly valuable assets to criminal gangs because they are easy to get hold of, easily intimidated and exploited” (McNamara, Kelly, 2).
Children do not have the strength to defend their family when someone threatens them, nor do they have the ability to defend themselves when someone takes them. When parents send their kids off because they think they will have a better life, the parents incur a debt. The debt can only be repaid by leaving the kid there to work. However, the traffickers often take the money the child makes for doing the sick acts they are forced into doing. The children never really pay off the debt, they are stuck in slavery until the authorities catch the traffickers or the child is arrested himself.
Women are more capable of meeting a guy online, and meeting up with him and being taken. Women often do not sense a danger in doing this until they are trafficked. Women and children need to know how they can prevent things like this from happening. For example, women should be taught not to meet up with strange men online. This seems like a pretty obvious solution which every woman should know, however many of them do not know the risks, until something bad happens. Traffickers take their victims mainly to China and Cambodia, depending on where the trafficker wants to live they may be taken internationally.
In China, women and children are used for arranged marriages, labor and sexual exploitation. In Cambodia, they are taken for sex workers, and prostitution, “Studies indicate that 15-32% fo sexs workers in Cambodia are of Vietnamese origin” (UNIAP Vietnam, 1). Most of the people who work as sex workers in Cambodia are Vietnamese people who were trafficked. There is a minor difference between the two, sex workers is where they would be a slave in one house and only “work” for the family they are living with.
Prostitution is where they would send them out on the streets to find guys, or girls, to pay for the services they offer. The money they make should, in theory, go to them, however the traffickers take the money and keep adding to their debt. When traffickers take their victims internationally, they are taking them mainly sweatshops, sometimes for domestic servitude. Victims often do not know where they are going until they get there, this makes tracking and being able to take the person home difficult. There are many methods of prevention, one of the easiest would be sexual education.
The more women and children understand the signs of sexual abuse the more they will be able to say no or find a way out of the situation. Vietnam’s curriculum does not offer sex ed, however, the Alliance Anti-Trafic organization is starting to offer this course. Writer Murphy McAnulty states, “These programs have been successful in lowering the numbers of trafficked children … ” (McAnulty, 2). Teaching women and children sex ed has been proven to lower the numbers in trafficking. They now know the signs and know how to better protect themselves. Scholarships have been found to lower numbers of trafficking as well.
Pacific Links Foundation helps atrisk girls, “Organizations such as the Pacific Links Foundation provide scholarships to at-risk girls in order to keep them in school. ” (McAnulty, 3). Girls who stay in school often improve their critical thinking skills, so they will be able to get out of a situation that could potentially become harmful to them, and they will be able accomplish the task with ease. This foundation also provides 1 kg of rice per month, they feel that families who are “well off”, families who are at least able to put food on the table for their kids are not as likely to try and send them off to have a better life.
Pacific Links also provides an awareness program for parents so they can protect their children. Keeping kids out of trafficking is one thing, however preventing it from happening is another. There are only so many things that law enforcement can do, people as a whole need to try and find a way to teach children, even teenagers how to act in a situation where they could be trafficked. Parents also need to learn, even though they can not provide everything the child wants, they should not send them to a better place. Odds are the place they are being sent is going to be way worse than where they are at right now.
This is not a matter of how well off someone is, this is a matter of how vulnerable people are when things come down to providing for their kids, or protecting their family. Officials need to better understand the system of trafficking and need to know where the routes are. A child being prosecuted for working in a cannabis factory for their trafficker is not their fault. Police have know the signs of trafficking and know whether the child is in danger or not. Something has to be done to stop trafficking and this process starts with having a better understanding and being able to protect children from being taken in the first place.
