One Thousand Villages is working in Australia to support Asian women who are exposed to violence and sexual exploitation. Every week, thousands of women arrive in Australia from the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Vietnam. The high and continuing demand for young Asian sex workers is a very large scale problem in Australia. Thousands of kilometres from family and friends and with limited English skills and money, many women are forced to work in massage parlours and brothels and face horrific forms of violence and psychological abuse.
All this is, of course, completely unacceptable and should be troubling for anybody seeking to advance human rights. We can’t turn away.
For the moment, One Thousand Villages is supporting Thais and Vietnamese women in Australia. Funding is needed to invest more in developing effective methods to stop various forms of exploitation and to support the victims. Primarily, this means we are trying to increase funding and operational capacity and develop a more effective approach to confront the problem.
Over the previous eighteen months, we have consulted widely at the federal and state government level, including with law enforcement agencies, and NGOs. If this issue is an important one for you, please contact us.
