Justice For IJM Cambodia Clients: Three Perpetrators Convicted

Friday, 17 December 2010
PHNOM PENH – “When you think about victims receiving justice in the courts… most people think of the ultimate sentence, which is part of what justice looks like. But it’s more than that.” IJM Cambodia Field Office Director Patrick Stayton says that seeking justice for Cambodia’s sex trafficking victims involves not only ensuring that perpetrators are sentenced to jail time for their crimes, but that their victims are awarded compensation.

In one recent court ruling, IJM Cambodia’s legal team saw both the fruit of their advocacy – and the need for continued resolve.

"We want our lawyers to skillfully advocate for the perpetrators to be charged according to facts of the case. We want to pursue justice in a full and fair way for each victim." — IJM Cambodia Field Office Director Patrick Stayton

This fall, a Cambodian court sentenced three perpetrators to 10 years in prison following a trial in which three IJM clients testified against their traffickers.

Following the 2009 police operation that freed six victims from a brothel in Siem Reap, Cambodia, IJM staff helped place the victims in aftercare. They also provided legal assistance to the three victims who accepted IJM’s offer of free legal representation.

Despite clear evidence of a felony trafficking crime, the perpetrators were originally charged with a misdemeanor, facing just two to five years in prison if they were convicted. IJM lawyers challenged the charges. “We want our lawyers to skillfully advocate for the perpetrators to be charged according to facts of the case,” Stayton says. “We want to pursue justice in a full and fair way for each victim.” IJM’s advocacy for accurate charges was successful, and the case was tried under the correct article this fall.

At the end of the trial, a teenage victim testified that at the brothel she was regularly locked in a room for hours at a time and exploited by customers.

The brothel owner was convicted under Article 28 of Cambodia’s anti-trafficking law, declared guilty of procuring child prostitution. Two other perpetrators were convicted in absentia of being accomplices to the crime.

While the judges did sentence the three perpetrators to prison, they did not award much-needed financial compensation to the victims. IJM’s legal team is considering what strategies they may use to advocate for the victims’ financial restitution in the future. “There’s no amount of money that would adequately compensate for the kind of abuse the victims suffer,” Stayton says, but “it’s significant for the courts to order the compensation because it hits the perpetrators at the source of their motive for exploiting.”

IJM staff are encouraged that the courts responded to requests for a fair trial. As the clients continue to heal and gain dignity in their new lives, IJM staff will ensure they receive appropriate aftercare, and IJM’s legal team remains dedicated to advocating for the girls for as long as needed.

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Progress is being made! Thank you, International Justice Mission!