Help Survivors of Sexual Exploitation in Cambodia

The covid-19 situation in Cambodia, in comparison to more affected countries, doesn’t seem to be as dire in terms of the health impact. At the moment there are two active case and no deaths reported. The economic impact, however, is excruciating to witness, as the country seems to have been set back at least a decade of what had been enviable progress. In Siem Reap, for example, where the economy relies almost solely on tourism, the effects can be seen on the streets, where reportedly more than any other moment in the past decade, mothers and children are seen looking for food into trash bins.

Many of our beneficiaries, previous beneficiaries and communities at risk have reported the loss of at least one income due to the pandemic. This has carried concern into the child protection network, as more children being pushed to the streets due to lack of food translates to higher risks of all forms of exploitation. In an effort to alleviate the desperateness of this families, we have offered some welfare support, mainly welfare kits with non-perishable foods as well as hygiene kits with the help and flexibility of some donors.

So far, APLE Cambodia has distributed social welfare to 21 families in dire need. Among those families is the family of young Dara (not his real name), a 12 year old boy living  in the Doem Chan Village of Phnom Penh with his family of 6 siblings. Dara was abused by a foreigner in 2018, and we collaborated with FSC to help him and his family with social services whilst we provided the legal representation.  Dara’s mother is a fruit seller who sells fruits mostly to restaurants.

They slowly decreased their sales from January until early April, when they completely stopped selling due to many restaurants closing and lack of clients. This, to a family of 8, is of major stress. 

APLE provided welfare support and hygiene materials to Dara and his family, to which they have shown a lot of gratitude. We are at the moment coordinating more support for the following months with different partner NGOs as well as donors, as it will be difficult for many families to recover from the Covid-19 economic hit.