The Mekong challenge - destination Thailand - a cross-border labour migration survey in Banteay Meanchey province, Cambodia

In Cambodia, a country with many developmental needs, the field of human anti-trafficking work is now well attended, with many UN agencies, International Organizations and NGOs all working hard to prevent human trafficking, protect victims of trafficking and help them rebuild their lives following such traumatic ordeals.

Despite this increased effort there is still a lack of hard data relating to the demographics of potential victims and the chain of events that can increase vulnerability. Cambodia has a young population with half of its inhabitants below the age of 20 and many of them will migrate across the border to Thailand in search of work (both ‘legally’ and ‘illegally’). While previous research has shown that children and young women are particularly vulnerable to the trickery, deceit and coercion used by traffickers and exploitative employers, there is a dearth of information about the attitudes of young Cambodian migrants themselves, their experiences during migration, their working conditions at destination, and other circumstances and factors that can increase their vulnerability to sexual and labour exploitation along the way.

This publication, “Destination Thailand: A cross-border labour migration survey in Banteay Meanchey Province Cambodia”, part of the sub-regional Mekong Challenge Series, examines quantitatively, the experiences of young Cambodian migrants from one of the country’s primary sending provinces.