Thousands trafficked from Vietnam to China

Thousands of Vietnamese women and children are being trafficked into forced prostitution and forced labour in China. Tran Mai Hoa (not her real name) was one such victim. She had dropped out of school and was looking for work in Halong City when a friend of her brother offered to take the girl on holiday with her. The offer seemed too good to miss, so Hoa allowed herself to be taken by car towards what she thought was their holiday destination. Before she knew what was happening they had crossed the border into China. She was taken to a house and forced into prostitution. Hua was forced have sex with up to ten men every day. When she tried to commit suicide the brothel owners stopped her. After a few months the car she was travelling in was stopped by Chinese police who were working with the Vietnamese authorities to crack down on human trafficking. The police managed to rescue her and after a few days she was back home. Unlike many returnees, Hua was welcomed by her family.
“We understand that a lot of the brothels are just across the border and a number of them are run by Chinese men married to Vietnamese women,” says Andrew Bruce, Director of the International Organization of Migration (IOM) country mission, saying the wives may be pivotal players in the trafficking business. The woman who lured Hua into being trafficked has since been arrested – although she was once also a victim of human trafficking. To read the full report of Hua’s story, please click here.