First of all, I would like to thank the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences who invited me here to speak about what I saw in south east Asia. In February , I spent three weeks in Phnom Penh trying to find out how sex trafficking works in Cambodia. Last August I spent four weeks in the city of Manila, in the Philippines. I went there to write about sexuality in slums and street children.
Like all of Southeast Asia theses countries are plagued by the scourge of child prostitution. Every year, thousands of children are taken away from their families and become sex slaves. When I first heard about modern slavery, I assumed that it was an exaggeration. I was 11 or 12 years when I was caught in a trap. I was kidnapped. A few days later I found myself in a brothel in Phnom Penh. As I did not want to have sex and I was still a virgin, I was locked in a room for several days without light or food.
One day, the door opened. Somebody gave me something to drink. I woke up the next morning naked on the bed. My stomach made me suffer horribly, but I had no memory. A man entered the room, I fell on my knees and begged him to let me rest a little and treat my genitals. In response, he beat me. I was lying on the bed and the nightmare continued.
Twenty clients a day for at least three years. Sina is a survivor. Today, Sina works relentlessly for the organization and does not want to hear about marriage. If the country is less exposed to sexual trafficking as its Thai neighbor, according to figures from UNICEF, in Cambodia, 50 to 70, prostitutes are children who sell their bodies in bars, karaoke venues, massage parlors and brothels.
Social workers have noticed over the years that children prostitutes are becoming younger and younger. The girls are between 10 and 14 years old. This is due in part to the cult of virginity among prostitution consumers.
