The Asia Foundation

The Asia Foundation

Working to Build a Peaceful, Prosperous, Just, and Open Asia-Pacific Region

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Cambodia

Cambodia

Our Cambodia office maintains strong, enthusiastic support from donors for efforts in women's empowerment, counter-trafficking, civil society development, and economic growth— and continues to make valuable contributions to the long-term stability of Cambodia by advancing reform at all levels of government. Read country overview.

The mega billion-dollar global business of human trafficking thrives in Cambodia. Although a new anti-trafficking law was passed in 2008, exploitation continues. Increasingly, men are also targets, singled out for forced labor or debt bondage. In 2008, in close partnership with the government of the Kingdom of Cambodia's National Task Force Against Trafficking, and with the generous support of USAID, we launched a high-impact, multi-pronged public awareness campaign. Previous awareness efforts in the country had featured disturbing, grainy images of abused children and women; this new radically affirming, cutting-edge program emphasized the distinct values of Khmer culture and family life, utilizing pop culture, television, radio, and nightlife. Cambodian pop star Preap Sovath agreed to perform in the centerpiece of the campaign: a punchy, highly visual music video played on national television and in karaoke bars—a destination frequented by traffickers and their clients. Episodic FM radio dramas, call-in shows, and packed "town hall" style meetings in all nine provinces provided an unprecedented level of candid, critical public discourse, reaching millions. In a culminating moment of the campaign, our country representative, Roderick Brazier, spoke to a massive crowd at an MTV Exit (End Exploitation and Trafficking) benefit pop concert. "It is only by joining together that we can tackle the problem of trafficking," he challenged.