Transition Life Skills

The Transition Life Skills program offers a new approach to eradicating enslavement in sexual exploitation in Cambodia. Through our partner agency, Daughters of Cambodia, a day-centre is operated in an area of brothels, where activities and programs are designed to empower victims of sexual exploitation to set themselves free from enslavement through employment opportunities, and a wide range of social and psychological services.

It reaches victims of trafficking, who are still in the sex-industry, and is aimed at providing help and opportunity to leave the brothels. A drop-in day centre opened its doors January 1st 2007 in Stung Mean Chey, close to where many sex workers live and work. It is a safe-haven for the girls to receive medical treatment, therapeutic help and other services to meet various needs, to build self-esteem through loving nurture, to provide choices for alternative lifestyles, and to have the love of God ministered into their lives. Several innovative small business schemes have been started, providing employment with on-the-job training, since the chief maintaining factor disabling girls from leaving the sex-industry is the need to earn a wage to support family. Since starting these businesses in mid-2007, and the addition of the program’s own retail store in Phnom Penh, girls have been leaving the brothels to join us full-time in steady numbers. Since January 2008, around 3 girls a week were joining and currently there are around 70 clients at the day centre on any given work day. The businesses are in the early stages of training and marketing, but are planned to be self-sustaining in the future. Around 80% of the clients are employed in the sewing room, creating fashion accessories, home furnishings, and clothing. Girls are provided with a salary from the time they first join the scheme, to enable them to stop sex work. Residential accommodation is also provided for girls who leave the brothel; most sex workers are reluctant to live in a shelter due to loss of freedom. We have established community-based accommodation for them.