Human trafficking of women and girls in Vietnam: Which model of aftercare is most effective?

Vietnam is primarily a source county for trafficking of women and children.  Although the Vietnamese government has been making efforts to combat human trafficking in its country, there still is much work to be done.  A shift in the country’s culture in how it views women is needed.  In addition, those Vietnamese working on the front lines in detection and aftercare of victims of trafficking need capacity building to better be able to perform their jobs more effectively.

 Human traffickers often prey on women with low education and socio-economic status with many originating from broken or abusive homes. They largely target poor, rural girls from ethnic minorities luring them with promises of well paying jobs in other countries.   Once in the new country they are forced to work in brothels or to marry the stranger who has purchased them. They are often beaten, forcibly hooked on drugs and threatened with promises of retribution against their families back in Vietnam if the do not comply. 

For those fortunate enough to escape their abuse, there is little infrastructure that exists to support victims in their access to recovery services. The current method of aftercare centers around shelter based services, which remove these women and girls from their support systems and increase their stigma in the community.  Preliminary data from our pilot in community based care center services has shown an increase in uptake of services and a decrease in stigma attached to trafficked survivors through community based awareness campaigns.