Human trafficking is a relatively new problem in Cambodia. Awareness of human trafficking was raised during the 1990s when economics and globalization changed many aspects of social life in the country. Human trafficking can involve men, women, children and even babies. People are trafficked for many reasons, including domestic services, labor, and sexual exploitation. Human trafficking occurs within Cambodia and across Cambodia's borders, and frequently involves women and girls. One study found a decrease in the number of trafficking cases from 2005 to 2006. However, “The decline in the number of trafficking cases reaching NGOs was not indicative of a change in the trafficking situation in Cambodia, but was a result of reduced access to NGOs services.” From NGO Joint Statistics: Database Report on Trafficking and Rape in Cambodia; 2005-2006,” COSECAM, 2008.
The Cambodian government has begun to take steps to end human trafficking, including a national anti-trafficking plan, a national law, services for trafficking victims, and a prevention plan. But, "the [Cambodian ]Government has concluded that the existing anti-trafficking law does not fully meet the country's own requirements, nor the requirements of the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime and its accompanying Protocol on Trafficking in Persons." From Cambodia Overview, United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.
Compiled from: Cambodia Overview, United Nations Inter-Agency Project on Human Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region.