by Julia Smith-Brake, a member of our team in Cambodia
Chab Dai's 2012 Butterfly Reintegration research report is now downloadable online!
We are only 3 years into the 10-year research on the reintegration of survivors
of sex trafficking, but there are
already some emerging trends and fascinating issues to report on.
One section of this year’s report is on
economic reintegration, with survivors’ perspectives on education, vocational
training, employment, family financial responsibilities, migration, and poverty.
Something I love about this research project is it prioritizes the voices of
survivors’ themselves, instead of telling their stories for them.
So what better way to share the main
findings from the research than with direct quotes from some of our participants?
On sacrificing for opportunities:
“I prefer to live with my family but I stay longer in the shelter to get my education.”– Female participant in a shelter program
On desiring appropriate vocational
training:
“I want to learn Computer and English language. Beauty salon skill is not enough for me, I want to learn more. If I don’t know how to use computers and English, it will difficult to find a good job in the future. I don’t have a choice so that’s why I learn beauty salon now, but then I want to learn IT and English.”– Female participant in a residential training program
On poverty:
“I feel being poor is complicated.”– Female participant who declined assistance
“For the poor like us, our children didn’t have intelligent games to play. The poor children just played outside and then go to collect the recycling items [scavenging]. Then they become friends with bad friends so their lives are terrible.”– Female participant in a community-based assistance program
On hopes for the future:
“So far, I just want to work in a suitable workplace. I want to save money. When I have saved a lot of money, I can dismantle one store in front of my house and then I can sell groceries. I want to have such a life in the future. I can live peacefully with my family. That’s what I like ... My mother wants me to sell food there but I am not interested in this kind of small business. If I want to run a business, I want to depend on myself. I don’t want to borrow money from others. I am not 50 years old yet, I am still young so I have time to earn a living.”– Female participant in a shelter program
As you can see, issues survivors are
dealing with are difficult and complex. The above quotes are much better
understood in the context of the quantitative and qualitative analysis of the
report, and I invite you to read further by downloading the report here.
