Recent controversy around the accuracy of a famed Cambodian woman’s story of sex trafficking has shone a light on the current state of Cambodian orphanages and their duplicitous practices. Somaly Mam, a Cambodian woman who publicly shared her story of trafficking and sexual exploitation, has become something of an international celebrity and a symbol of the fight against the exploitation of women and children. In May 2014, however, her story of teenage sexual exploitation was called into question and, after an internal investigation, she stepped down from the US-based charitable organization bearing her name.
These recent events have revealed a larger story of Cambodian orphanages falsifying information and misrepresenting themselves and the children who reside there in order to secure international funding. Even more disturbing, many of these orphanages have also engaged in the practice of recruiting children - to increase their appeal to potential donors - by misleading, coercing, or even paying poor parents and families to give up their children by offering empty promises of access to better education and other services. These orphanages, says the article, are more interested in making money than caring for children. Some orphanages are inviting tourists and international volunteers to visit in the hopes of attracting more financial contributions, and orphanage owners tell children to act desperate or lie about their situations in order to tug at the heartstrings (and the pockets) of these foreigners.
The number of Cambodian orphanages has grown from 154 in 2005 to 225 orphanages in 2014, though the number of orphans has been declining, according to the article. And a UN report says many of these orphanages are exploiting the problem of poverty in Cambodia by tricking poor families into relinquishing care of their children. At the same time, the orphanages are exploiting the sympathy of foreigners by deceiving donors for personal gain. And it seems the same may have happened with Ms. Mam’s organization, which plans to change its name but remain an active organization dedicated to eradicating the trafficking of women and girls in Southeast Asia.
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