It is estimated by a U.N. agency that more than 12 million people are involved in forced labor, which includes sex servitude or forced prostitution. One human trafficking activist, Somaly Mam, was sold as a child to a Cambodian brothel. She later escaped and now leads raids into such brothels in an attempt to rescue other girls from torture, rape, and servitude.
In another U.N. report, it is estimated that one million children, in Asia alone, are engaged in the sex trade. Somaly, with support from her foundation, Somaly Mam Foundation, revealed photographs secretly taken of young girls from brothels located in Anlong Veng, Cambodia. These photographs were then given to Cambodia’s anti-trafficking police, establishing grounds for the raid.
Girls were then rescued and taken to shelter run by Somaly to recuperate. The fight against sex trafficking is a difficult one to say the least, and it is not an easy task to take on. However, with activists like Somaly, and with rising awareness, more people have become better informed and able to join the fight. With this, it is also a hope that traffickers will continue to see more jail time for their crimes.
To read more on this story: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/13/opinion/sunday/kristof-fighting-back-one-brothel-raid-at-a-time.html?_r=3&src=tp%E2%80%9D