Poverty, cheating, domestic violence and lack of education are the main causes of street sex workers becoming victims of sex trafficking, local media reported on Thursday.

A study by the organization Violence against Women and Children of Cambodia (VAWCC) on street sex workers showed that 58 percent of them do this kind of work because of poverty and 38 percent attribute it to not attending school, Rasmei Kampuchea reported.

The report was released at a workshop on "Street Sex Workers' Situation" last week at the National Institute of Education. The research lasted from December 2005 until January 2006.

The family background research showed that over 50 percent have more than five siblings, 42 percent are divorced, 33 percent are single, 30 percent have one child, and 38 percent did not attend school.

Poverty accounts for 58 percent. The survey also found that, among the female victims, 71 percent were raped by groups of gangsters.

Ek Branit, executive director of VAWCC, said the objective of the research was to identify the background and experience of sex workers, to identify the problems and difficulties they have faced in the occupation, to examine the view and attitude of society toward sex workers, to issue recommendations to government agencies and law professionals, and to find measures that appropriately respond to the needs of sex workers.

Chan Sotheavy, deputy secretary of the Ministry of Justice, said, "The findings are good points. We need to analyze and identify their problems to find out why they have been flung into this situation so that we can set up policies and legal protection for them."

Source: Xinhua