Segment 1

VOICEOVER

Nguyen Thi Phuong enjoys time with her young son, while her husband washes motorbikes nearby. She is happy to have her own family, and relieved she is no longer a prisoner in someone else's. In 1991, Phuong was tricked into going near the Chinese border by a friend in league with traffickers. She thought she was going to buy imported fruit. Instead, she was taken into China and sold to become an older man's wife.

NGUYEN THI PHUONG [trafficking victim]

I didn't know how old he was or the name of the place we lived. I lost my freedom. I had to go everywhere with his family or else I was locked in a room. I had to work hard. When I was tired or sick, they didn't let me stop working.

VOICEOVER

She remained there for more than two years, until one night the family forgot to lock her door. Phuong escaped and found her way back across the border to Vietnam. She is one of tens of thousands of Vietnamese women who have been trafficked to neighboring China and Cambodia or elsewhere. UNICEF works with both the Vietnamese and Chinese governments in a joint program to crack down on trafficking of women and children.

LO HONG LOAN [UNICEF Child Protection Officer]

We have been involved in analyzing law and policy, and to make concrete recommendations to the government on how to improve law and policy to better prevent and to protect victims of trafficking.

VOICEOVER

UNICEF also supports a community-based approach to the problem, including the establishing of women's clubs that give comfort to former trafficking victims and raise awareness to prevent future cases.

TO THI LAN PHUONG [Chairwoman, Cao Loc Women's Union]

We include many women who are the victims of trafficking. These women share with us a lot of experience, as well as the situation of many women who are still in China. We also go to these women's homes and talk with their family and encourage them so they don't feel sorry for themselves; they feel more integrated into the society.

VOICEOVER

Nguyen Thi Phuong is an active member of her women's club. She shares her story as a warning to others.

NGUYEN THI PHUONG

Together with what I learned and my experience, I can talk to young women in the community. I tell them that, if you are poor, the traffickers will take advantage of your situation and sell you, and you won't even know you were sold.

VOICEOVER

Words that may help save other women from a similar fate, or one even worse. In Lang Son, Vietnam, this is Steve Nettleton reporting for UNICEF Television. Unite for children.