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Technical Cooperation Project Summary

Project Title

OPTIONS: Combating Child Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation through Education

Region/Country

ASIA/Cambodia

Project Duration

August 20, 2003 – September 30, 2007

Fiscal Year & Funding Level

FY2003 (FY2002 Appropriations): USD 3,000,000
Matching funds: USD 894,852

Problem to be Addressed

Cambodia is a country of origin, transit, and destination for both domestic and international trafficking networks, and children are often the targets.  Commercial sexual exploitation of children is also a serious problem.  Girls, the primary targets for both CSE and trafficking, often face limited educational opportunities.  Dropout continues to be a problem. Furthermore, significant numbers of children are effectively barred from returning to the formal school system if they dropout temporarily, as children above the age of 12 are unable to enter grades 1-3.

Results

This project prevented 18,353 children from commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) and trafficking. The project targeted the provinces of Banteay Meanchey, Kampong Cham and Prey Veng (12 districts in total), as well Phnom Penh.

Project Objectives

Reduce the number of children trafficked and/or involved in CSE.

Intermediate objectives included:

  • Ensure that children, especially girls, removed or prevented from trafficking and CSE, are educated in programs relevant to their needs;
  • Improve quality and relevance of, and access to non-formal education (NFE) programs for children, who are victims of trafficking and CSE;
  • Improve awareness of and response to the risks of trafficking and CSE among all children and adult community members in areas targeted by the program;
  • Increase effectiveness of program partners in providing education programs of quality and relevance for girls involved in or at risk of trafficking and CSE; and
  • Inform and influence development and/or implementation of official policies relating to education, trafficking and CSE (at local, provincial and central levels).

 

Summary of Activities
  • Reached at least 13,000 at-risk girls and 8,000 young women migrants.  Provided 6,800 scholarships to assist girls to attend school;
  • Worked with at least 1,000 girls who have been rescued from commercial sex establishments;
  • Trained 300 female teachers as special facilitators for life skills programs;
  • Implemented school awareness campaigns in 200 schools and provided ongoing information on anti-trafficking and educational opportunities for vulnerable children through 22 existing community information centers;
  • Identified key policymakers and transmitted lessons learned so that innovative practices can be adopted; and
  • Offered life skills programs, remedial education, and other alternatives to help vulnerable children, especially girls, stay in school.

Grantee

World Education

Implementing partners

CARE, KAPE, The Asia Foundation, Mith Samlanh, CWCC, VCAO, WMC.

 

Contact Information

Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT)

(202) 693-4843