| Team Leader First Name | Krystin |
| Team Leader Last Name | Thomas |
| Additional Team Members | Maureen Malone, Amanda Grossman |
| Group Team Leader Contact Number | 408-6234370 |
| Team Leader Email Address | kthoma02@calpoly.edu |
| Faculty Advisor First Name | Christina Firpo |
| Faculty Advisor Last Name | cfirpo@calpoly.edu |
| Faculty Advisor Contact Number | 8057562834 |
| Project Title | Combating sex trafficking of Vietnamese women in Cambodia |
| Problem Description | This project seeks to investigate ways to combat sex trafficking of Vietnamese women and girls in Cambodia. Cambodia’s Vietnamese population is one of the poorest of the country’s ethnic groups. Vietnamese are not permitted to own land, many families are living in debt, and the ethnic Vietnamese community remains isolated from the Cambodian population. In times of economic hardship, some Vietnamese families have sold their daughters to employment brokers with the understanding that the girls would be sent to the cities to work as waitresses in restaurants. The unfortunate reality is that many of these girls are sent to brothels. According to some estimates, up to fifty-percent of the ethnic Vietnamese families have wittingly or unwittingly sold daughters into prostitution. Vietnamese women constitute thirty percent of Cambodia’s sex trade. Due to ethnic tensions between the Vietnamese and Cambodian populations, Cambodian non-profit organizations have been reluctant to face the issue of trafficked Vietnamese women. |
| Project Description | This team is proposing to start a non-profit organization to combat the trafficking of ethnic Vietnamese girls in Cambodia. At the present, the team will analyze the market supply of sex trafficking to determine the specific socio-economic conditions that lead families to sell their daughters. The team will conduct an ethnography of Cambodia’s Vietnamese population to determine the significant cultural matters concerning the economic issues and we intend to find potential alternatives to selling girls into sex trafficking such supplying the families with a water buffalo or other income producing measures. Once the market supply is determined, and we have identified alternative income sources for the families, we will establish contacts in Cambodia and raise funds to begin the project. Please note that all team members listed have extensive practical or research experience in Southeast Asian studies and sex trafficking and Dr. Firpo will communicate with our contacts in Vietnamese. |
| Project Timeline | This quarter we will lay the groundwork for establishing an organization to combat sex trafficking of Vietnamese women in Cambodia. The team has three goals to accomplish this quarter: researching the socio-economic and historical issues, make necessary contacts within Cambodia, and develop a business plan. The business plan will address two issues: a) how to pay for the alternative source of income for Vietnamese families and b) how to raise money in the USA. We intend to continue this project through next academic year at the very least. |
| Budget | We are requesting $500 to pay for research material, student wages, and telephone calls to Cambodia. |
| Picture Description | no picture |
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