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Trafficking of Women and Children from Vietnam

Over the past five years, thousands of women and children have been trafficked over the border for sexual and labour exploitation abroad, according to a report by the border police in Vietnam.

The situation has worried authorities with their top concerns being the increases in terms of the number and sophisticated operations of trafficking rings as well as overseas market expansion. In 2001, the investigation team uncovered 230 cases and captured 580 criminals; however, the  corresponding figures in 2005 showed a sharp increase, with over 300 cases and 800 criminals.

Several years ago, the human labour markets were only China, Laos and Cambodia, but they are now expanding to Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan.

To become rich overnight is the core reason that more and more criminals fall into the illegal business. For example, they can earn around 7,000 -9,000 Chinese renminbi for the successful sale of a beautiful girl.

The slave traders usually rush into the poor countryside in search of young women and girls who are illiterate or unemployed with very little social background understanding. Those target groups are easily lured with fantastically concocted stories full of ideal jobs in a big city at a high salary and little hardship. Currently, criminals also organise overseas tours at unexpected low costs and then send victims to brothels for sexual tour purposes.

Most awfully, a girl may become the wife of all men in a whole family in a rural and far-flung area. Due to their destitution, all the men in such family have to pool money so that they can buy a shared woman to serve their sexual appetites, give birth and take care of the big family. The victims are tightly guarded so it is unlikely they can ever escape. According to a survey, most of the victims saved and brought home show evidence of mental shock due to the inhuman tortures they had to suffer. They are imprisoned with no conveniences and forced to have sex many times a day. Those who resist or try to run away are often beaten ruthlessly and may even have their leg tendons cut.

Adapted from:  "Women and children trafficking over border alarming." VietNamNet Bridge. 25 December 2006.