Street Boys Remain at Risk of Sexual Abuse
Authorities now say they are paying more attention to the abuse of young boys as they continue to root out pedophiles. (29 October 2008)
The dimpled smile of CK, a 17-year-old boy who lives on thestreets of Phnom Penh,disappeared when he recalled what happened to him a few months ago, after hewas approached by a wealthy Cambodian man as he sat on a bench at Wat Phnom. “I was just wandering, sleeping on benches or in gardens,”he said in a recent interview. “I followed a man. He took me to his house inhis luxurious car. He cooked for me and then told me to sleep in his room,upstairs. After he had sex with me, he slept, but I hurt.” One of more than 20,000 children living and working in thestreets of Cambodia’surban centers, CK, whose name is being withheld to protect his identity, ranaway from his home in Kampong Cham province because he was angry with thestepmother. In coming to PhnomPenh, he put himself at risk to predation byCambodian and foreign adult men who ply the streets in search of the young andvulnerable. Authorities now say they are paying more attention to the abuse ofyoung boys as they continue to root out pedophiles. Aid workers say the majority of Cambodia’s sexually abused boyscome from the provinces. In the city, they live hand-to-mouth on menial tasks,scavenging trash piles, selling candy or cakes and begging on the streets. Thispoverty makes them open to exploitation. “Pedophiles or human traffickers for sexual exploitationlure the children with money,” said Sann Udom, a program coordinator for MithSamlanh/Friends, which helps street children. “They buy things for the childrenor take them out for a walk. They tell the children that they will go totourist sites but go to a guesthouse or hotel room instead.” Some of these men even pay for the education of the children, hesaid. Cambodian boys are most vulnerable in heavy tourist areas of Phnom Penh,Sihanoukville and Siem Reap. The organization World Vision estimates that 15percent of boys living on the streets will be sexually abused before they are10 years old. Pe Vannak, a senior researcher for the rights group Licadho,said he received 108 sexual abuse cases against boys between January andSeptember this year, a rise of about 4 percent compared to the year before. Oneboy was raped by a woman, he said. “However, these are just the cases we have received andworked on,” he said. There are many cases that go unreported to police orcourts. “They may see that thecurrent courts cannot provide justice for them,” Pe Vannak said. “In addition,they are too poor and live too far away from the city to file complaints.” Protection will require commitment from the government andthe public to strengthen law enforcement and eliminate impunity within thejudiciary, he said. Sexual abuse of a child can include physical abuse, as wellas mental anguish, said psychiatrist Mony Sothara, head of the mental healthsection of Phnom Penh’sPreah Kosamak hospital. “Because of the abuse, a boy may get confused over his ownidentity,” Mony Sothara said. “As a long-term effect, he may have a personalitydisorder.” Cambodiahas long been viewed as a safe haven for pedophiles, foreign and local.Authorities made 109 arrests of suspected pedophiles from January to September,including the arrests of seven foreigners. Four of them were arrested onsuspicion of abusing boys. However, authorities have traditionally overlooked the abuseof boys, said Lt. Gen. Bit Kim Hong, head of the Ministry of Interiorsanti-trafficking department. “Before we just focused on girls,” he said. “If we saw aforeigner walking hand-in-hand with a boy, we thought it was normal. But now wethe authorities have focused on the protection of both boys and girls.”