We accomplish this by helping victims become survivors and then teaching those survivors how to achieve financial independence AFESIP Cambodia (French acronym for Acting for Women in Distressing Situations) is an NGO established by Somaly Mam, herself a survivor of human trafficking who spent over 11 years in situations of sexual exploitation. Understanding the levels of suffering of and lack of h
elp available to trafficked women and girls, Somaly began to try and help those she could and provide for their needs. Due to the numbers of trafficking victims in Cambodia, her work inevitably grew and in 1996 the organisation was recognized formally with a letter from the Cambodian government, making AFESIP Cambodia the first organisation in Cambodia to offer specialized services in this area. AFESIP Cambodia’s projects grew, and were developed out of clear needs that were not being addressed by anyone else at the time. As survivors of trafficking, the women and children that we work with have had their basic human rights violated and have been subjected to some of the worst forms of exploitation and abuse, physically, emotionally and psychologically. The vast majority come from backgrounds of extreme poverty and many already have histories which include domestic violence or r**e even before the event of trafficking took place. Nearly all of them are female (although we do work with a small number of male beneficiaries) and will have struggled against gender–based discrimination most of their lives. Consequently, support, resources and opportunities available to them are extremely limited, and they are often socially marginalized by Cambodian society. AFESIP works to restore their human rights by removing them from situations of sexual exploitation and then by giving them the options, skills, education and belief in themselves to make positive choices for their future self-sufficiency and happiness.
