OUR MISSION
Thailand is a country of white-sanded beaches, exotic greenery, and a thriving commercial sex industry. Although technically illegal, prostitution and human trafficking is flourishing. Young Thai girls may be sold into sexual slavery by their families for sums as little as $12. Thai women are found in the sex trade in most first world countries, exploited by brokers who sell them to international traffickers, who house them in deplorable conditions and sell them over and over again. Women working in the sex industry all have a story of exploitation—be it poverty, rape, gender inequality, lack of education, family greed, or trauma—that made them desperate enough to sell their bodies in order to survive.
What is human trafficking?
“Trafficking in persons (TIP) or modern-day slavery is: “an act or attempted act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, and harboring or receiving a person by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” United Nations, The Palermo Protocol
What is the link between Beginnings Foundation and human trafficking?
Most of the young women in the sex trade in Bangkok and Pattaya where we work, fit the socio-economic descriptors for those most vulnerable to being trafficked. In an effort to support their families, they are easily lured to promises of economic stability and freedom. Thailand is a source, transit and destination country for victims of trafficking– largely from Laos, Burma, Cambodia, Vietnam, China, and other Asian countries, as well as many Eastern European countries and Africa.
But there is hope!
When a young woman leaves the sex trade and moves into one of our residences, she joins our family. Beginnings helps residents holistically heal and process past trauma and emotions. In a safe family environment, they can dream of a future outside of the darkness of the red-light districts.
“It’s like a big family. I have a lot of sisters. We love. We work together. We spend time together. We talk. Sometimes, we fight. We can be FIERCE. We love and we fight, just like sisters. We are family. We do this by helping each other, supporting each other, having each other on our side. We are on each other’s side.” -Beginnings Resident
Educational Approach
Over the years, we have seen the power of education to change the trajectory of a young woman’s future. Each resident is encouraged to complete their grade 12 certificate (many girls come to the home with somewhere between a 6th to 9th grade level), and Beginnings provides full University scholarships to young women who would otherwise have no opportunity to receive higher education. We also provide funding for vocational training and Bible school.
Non-formal education takes place often without even realizing it within the family setting - over the stove, during meals and house meetings. Life skills, Bible studies, art therapy, and English classes are also provided by our staff.
Outreach & Prevention Approach
Each Beginnings' residence is strategically located near major red light district areas. The staff at Beginnings cultivate relationships with bar owners and sexually exploited women by visiting them in the bars, and trust is built over time.
In addition, we focus on prevention in impoverished villages in Pa Deng by resourcing families so kids are safe at home, and don’t fall victim to traffickers to begin with. We also offer a place in our homes to young girls who are at a high risk of falling prey to predators who seduce them with promises of money and goods for themselves and their families. We seek to find these at-risk girls before the bars and traffickers do, giving them a chance to attend school and reach their dreams.
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