The virginity trade and the loss of virginity are still fuelling
patterns of trafficking and entry into commercial sexual
exploitation, a new report released by the International
Organization for Migration has found.



Entitled “The Ties that Bind: Migration and Trafficking of
Women and Girls for Sexual Exploitation in Cambodia”, the
report graphically depicts the patterns of abuse that women and
girls suffer in Cambodia’s commercial sex trade.



The study conducted in-depth interviews with more than 200 sex
workers in three provinces of Cambodia – Koh Kong, Kampong
Som and Siem Reap. It reveals that 38 per cent of the women and
girls interviewed had entered into commercial sexual exploitation
through the voluntary or forced sale of their virginity. A further
20 per cent of women had been raped before they entered into
commercial sexual exploitation.



“For many women and girls that we interviewed, the loss of
virginity was so shameful that they felt that their only remaining
option was working as a sex worker,” commented the
report’s author, Ellie Brown. “They are often blamed
for their loss of virginity, regardless of how they have lost
it.”



The report found that many factors make women and girls vulnerable
to trafficking, including domestic violence, debt and family
dysfunction. Families in this situation may be less able to protect
women and girls living within them. Some girls choose to leave such
abusive situations, but once they are without the protection of
their families, are more vulnerable to exploitation.



The findings of the report will be shared with both government and
civil society partners to discuss their implications for
counter-trafficking strategies, including working with vulnerable
ethnic Vietnamese communities.



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target="_blank" title="">Read the full report



For further information, please contact



John McGeoghan

IOM Phnom Penh

Tel: +855 12 900 139

Email: "mailto:jmcgeoghan@iom.int">jmcgeoghan@iom.int