Our partnership with The Freedom Story

Child sexual abuse, dysfunctional families and exposure to violence are major risk factors for trafficking all over the world. They can cause a child to detach physically and emotionally from their home environment. As one study explains, “unhealthy relationships and experiences in childhood result in multiple factors at the individual level, such as low self-esteem, need for affection, and inappropriate sexual boundaries, that increase an individual’s vulnerability to sex trafficking.” In a study of trafficking victims in the Mekong region in Thailand, around 20% of child victims admitted to being exposed to physical abuse prior to exploitation. A survey of teenagers in Chiang Rai, Thailand revealed that 21% of girls reported experiencing sexual coercion. While Thailand has made remarkable progress in combatting trafficking, there is still work to be done. An estimated 60,000 children are exploited in the commercial sex industry every year.

We partnered with The Freedom Story to help prevent child trafficking in Northern Thailand. Over the past eleven years, The Freedom Story has developed an innovative and holistic model of prevention that includes human rights education, counseling, and youth leadership programs. The human rights programs teach students and community members about the Thai law and their legal and human rights. Through the 3-3-5 program (a program that teaches students how to identify, prevent, and respond to sexual abuse), counseling programs, and youth leadership clubs and activities, the students develop social and sexual rights awareness, tools for self-empowerment, and the healing of individuals and communities.