RedLight: A Powerful New Documentary On Child Prostitution in Cambodia

Srey Peuv was just eight years old, living in a small village in Cambodia, when her mother sold her into slavery. The buyer was a woman claiming to employ Srey Peuv as a maid; instead, she was shipped off to a brothel where men were willing to pay a high price — sometimes $800 — for a young girl's virginity. After being beaten and electrocuted, Srey Peuv was sent to a hotel for two days where, after being raped for pay, her captors sewed her hymen to get a higher price from the next client. And after re-selling her "virginity," she was sewn up yet again.

Today, Srey Peuv is 14-years-old, and will always bear the marks of abuse, both emotional and physical. Even though her mother is now aware what happened to her daughter, she has admitted that she would still sell her youngest child if it would help support the family.

Stories like that of Srey Peuv are not uncommon in Cambodia — as well as in the rest of the world — where child prostitution is a growing and highly lucrative industry. RedLight, a Priority Films documentary that premiered on Monday night, followed Somaly Mam, a former child prostitute who herself was sold to a brothel, and Mu Sochua, a Cambodian opposition leader currently being threatened with jail time for working to expose the government's corruption, as they shared the stories of a few brave Cambodian children who, like Srey Peuv, were either sold or forced into prostitution.

Despite laws prohibiting trafficking and child sexual exploitation in Cambodia, government officials and law enforcement turn a blind eye for the right price. The film exposed this horrifying indifference, leaving me, and perhaps much of the audience, in shock. As the credits finished rolling, a palpable silence washed over the theater as we all tried to absorb the dreadful reality in which these children are forced to live.

In a country like Cambodia where corruption runs rampant and bribes dictate the policies of the government, successfully prosecuting wealthy and powerful traffickers is nearly impossible. Despite the stories featured in RedLight, and the thousands of heart-wrenching stories yet to be told, the film exposed the difficulties in building a case; children must find witnesses and provide hard evidence to have even the slightest chance at winning. This is nearly an impossible feat when witnesses don't want to come forward for fear of retribution and when former child prostitutes are shamed by their villages and not even recognized as victims. But with the help of people like Somaly Mam and Mu Sochua, some of these children do persevere.

RedLight, funded largely by LexisNexis Corp. and narrated by Lucy Liu, is a must-see film that exposes the truth behind the child sex trafficking industry in Cambodia. It will leave you sad, angry, and frustrated, yet surprisingly hopeful that through all the obstacles and hardships, there is a small, yet powerful, glimmer of light.

The documentary is part of The K11 Project, a series of films seeking to expose the realities of child trafficking and exploitation around the world. Visit Redlight Children to learn more about these films.

Photo credit: Redlight Children Campaign