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Education Program Against Human Trafficking in Cambodia

A pilot project to offer education about trafficking in Kep, Kompong Speu, Kompong Thom and Takeo provinces experienced a significant level of success for two months in 2003.

Now, the Department of non-formal education at the Ministry of Education is proposing a similar program. “Although the budget provided by the Ministry is still limited, we will try starting the educational project in areas at highest risk”,  said Non-formal Education Director Phoung Horn Sim. Top Buntha, head of the Literacy Unit, explained that attention will be paid to training teachers in the literacy education program through community centres providing information for citizens.

According to her, when a person has been trained, they will be able to train up to another 20. The community centres will be in the heart of the project and educate people between 15 and 45 years old, including the illiterate. Top Buntha said that major victims of human trafficking come from ethnic families and those living in the border areas. The program will first focus on the most vulnerable provinces such as Banteay Mancheay, Siem Reap, Koh Kong, Prey Veng and Svay Rieng. “This program will enable citizens, especially youths, to observe the behaviour of people who travel to their villages and predict the nature of the purpose”, she said. “They must have the ability to protect themselves when facing dangers”.

To allow the program to fare well, the department has already won support from NGOs the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, which have contributed to the publication of two books on human trafficking, which confront human traffickers’ tricks and detail forms of punishment against colluders and perpetrators. Women’s Affairs Minister Ing Kanthaphavi was pleased with the cooperation and the program targeting illiterate people, saying it was important to fight human trafficking.

Adapted from: ‘Education program against human trafficking set for vulnerable provinces.’ Cambodge Soir. 23 June 2006.

(Source: UNIAP Cambodia)