"Born around in 1970, when the civil war broke out in Cambodia, Somaly Mam began life as an orphan in extreme poverty."
At 16, she was sold to a brothel and subjected to horrible treatment and exploitation. A few years later, she escaped the brothel and briefly stayed in France. She then returned to Cambodia and worked as a voluntay Khmer interpreter at international organizations, where she met many women and girls who were enslaved just like she had been. From that moment, Somaly Mam began rescuing victimized women with the belief that she had to stand up for them.
Strongly believing that it takes only a moment to rescue women but it is more important to rehabilitate them afterwards, in 1996, Somaly Mam founded AFESIP(Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Precaire or Acting for Women in Distressing Situations), a Cambodian non-governmental organization dedicated to rescuing women and children ensnared in sexual slavery through human trafficking.
Through AFESIP, Somaly Mam rescues those victimized by trafficking and helps them reintegrate into society by providing them with holistic care in a systematic manner including vocational training like sewing, hairdressing and financial support such as micro credit, if they desire, to start their own businesses. AFESIP operates three shelters - Tom Dy Center, Kompong Cham Center, and Siem Reap Center - where the victims can receive psychological counseling services from professional counselors and rehabilitation training and education for a certain period of time. Under the leadership of Somaly Mam, AFESIP has so far saved about 7,000 women and girls not only in Cambodia but also in neighboring countries including Laos and Vietnam.
As Somaly Mam has through her tireless efforts sounded the alarm on human trafficking of women and children, stoked society's sympathy for them, and made people aware of the fact that human trafficking offenders are subject to legal punishment. Her activities, simple though they may be, have resonated loudly around the world.
Her achievements have become widely reported through the Western press. She was conferred the Prince of Asturias Awards (Spain, 1998), theWorld's Children's Prize for the Rights of the Child (Sweden, 2008), and other prizes. Somaly Mam was also listed in 'Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People' in 2009.
She founded the Somaly Mam Foundation in 2007 to support organizations committed to eradicating human trafficking and to provide victims and survivors with a platform to regain a voice in their lives. The Foundation also runs awareness and advocacy campaigns around the world to shed light on and end modern-day slavery.
