Sex is not a trade.

It isn't something that should be bought or sold. It shouldn't be used as a form of abuse. It shouldn't be used as motivation to have men, women and children placed into slavery.

But unfortunately, it is.

Living and working in Cambodia I have discovered that I am living in what is called a transit nation. Not only does Cambodia have its own thriving and corrupt sex industry, but it is also a transit place for Vietnamese, Chinese and Laotian “workers,” as they are transported around South-East Asia.

A common sight throughout the city of Phnom Penh is to see provocative dressed young women, sitting in lines outside the many Karaoke bars. Men are free to pick their “company” for the night, and enjoy the music and food. Some of the many massage parlors double as brothels, and if a man wants good fortune all he needs to do is find a virgin.

To really get an understanding of the sexual climate here, you only need to look as far as the family.

In some families children are masturbated to sleep; it becomes an ingrained activity from a very early age. Children are even sometimes encouraged (more like forced) into compromising relations with other family members.

Just the other day, I was reading through the Phnom Penh Post newspaper and I read about the story of a 29-year-old man who had killed his 14-year-old niece. When he had attempted to rape her, she had put up too much of a struggle. Since he felt she was preventing him from taking what he felt was his right, he killed her.

These stories always leave me feeling at a loss, broken for the young people who have become instruments to be abused by others.

I know stories like these exist all around the world. Even in developed nations like Australia, the States and Canada. In fact anywhere where people are, abuses like these can be found.

When people are committed to satisfying their own cravings, regardless of the cost, there’s nothing left but whole families and communities wracked by injustice, without any hope for change.

I remember when I was a fresh-faced westerner coming to Cambodia for the first time a few years ago. My team and I were able to meet a fellow Aussie who has committed his life to serving his adopted Cambodian village. After a number of years caring for his community, this passionate Aussie was able to set up a life-changing orphanage, focused upon providing opportunity for the next generation, while assisting the current.
He told us stories of how he has helped to prevent families from selling their children into the sex trade.

On one occasion he discovered that a local family was negotiating to sell their child. They were a very poor family, and they couldn't feed the children they already had. Housing a large family in a one-room hut, with a roof made from leaves, they were tempted to sell their youngest for extra funds. My new friend didn't believe the family quite understood what they were planning to sell the child into, since the man from the city doing the negotiating had claimed he was going to provide a new family for the child.