Using statistical estimations based on actual counts, Steinfatt, Baker, and Beesey (2002)
estimated the number of sex workers in Cambodia in 2002 as 20,829 with 5,250 in Phnom Penh.
They also estimated that 2,488 women and children had been sexually trafficked in Cambodia.
Since the late 1990s, a much higher figure of 80,000 to 100,000 trafficked women and children in
Cambodia has been circulating in Phnom Penh.
This paper reports the results of a detailed count of trafficked persons in Cambodia
conducted throughout the country, both in terms of underaged workers and those working by
force, fraud, or coercion. It investigates the figures of 80,000 to 100,000 and follows them to their
sources. It offers recommendations on U.S. policy toward trafficking in women and children in
Cambodia and Southeast Asia, based on the observations of trafficking venues, the motivations of
the individuals involved, and the methods used in trafficking.
The study is Part-III of a series on trafficking in SE Asia of which Steinfatt, Baker, and
Beesey (2002) is Part –I. Part-II concerns the way the 80,000 to 100,000 figure originated, how it
came to be accepted as true, and how it diffused throughout a sizeable portion of the NGO
community in Phnom Penh concerned with trafficking in persons. Portions of Part I and Part II
are summarized in this paper.