On My Own': the Exploitation of Street-involved Children on the Rapidly Changing Thai-Cambodian Border

Author: Davis, Jarrett & Miles, Glenn

Abstract: The effects of regional and national conflicts often have pronounced impacts on the psychosocial and socioeconomic development of children, not only for those who directly experience conflict, but also for subsequent generations. The city of Poipet, which runs along the Thai-Cambodian border, has been in a unique position to observe these effects. From the refugee camps on the Thai side of the border in the 1980s, through the writing of Cambodia's constitution in the 1990s, to the long period of recovery in which the areas have become synonymous with unsafe migration, trafficking, and various forms of exploitation. The data shows that children who crossed the border for work demonstrated a heightened risk to physical and sexual violence. Gender was also found to be a considerable risk factor for street-involved children, with boys twice as likely as girls to disclose experiences of physical violence, and four times as likely to disclose experiences of sexual violence. Despite this, neither males nor females perceived sexual violence as a danger for males. This research draws on primary data collected from 80 street-involved Cambodian children living and/or working along the Thai-Cambodian border area of Poipet and Aranyaprathet and offers an initial analysis of their key experiences, perspectives, and vulnerabilities.

Keywords: Cambodia, exploitation, street-involved children, conflict, physical and sexual violence