To join in the celebration of the 100th Year Celebration of International Women’s Day, Chab Dai Cambodia partnered with The Asia Foundation & USAID to host an event called “A New Life, A New Hope: Celebrating International Women’s Day”. Attended by leaders of government ministries, donor agencies, and non-profit organizations, the event highlighted the issue of reintegration of female trafficking survivors. It was an exciting night, featuring a drama, delicious cupcakes, and a beautiful display of artwork created by survivors.
The event included a showing of “A New Life, A New Hope,” a drama that will be used to educate police officers, social workers, government leaders, and NGO staff in Cambodia about the realities of what happens after a girl is rescued from trafficking, including testifying in court, learning life skills, and returning to her family or community.
Chab Dai collaborated with our members to put together an art exhibit by survivors of trafficking. We printed quotes from our new research (The Butterfly Longitudinal Research Project: The Chab Dai Study on Reintegration), and paired the text with art. Girls living in shelters were also asked to artistically express their hopes for the future, and how they would define “freedom.”
“Freedom is not abusing women, giving value to women, giving chances for women to share ideas,” said one female staff working to end trafficking.
In total, fourteen pieces of art hung beneath trees for event attendees to view throughout the evening. And we hope that it demonstrated the resilience, courage, dreams, and value that all women everywhere possess.
To read more about The Asia Foundation's counter-trafficking work in Cambodia, click here.
