Trafficking of Vietnamese Women to Breed?

Chelsea E Shambley
Blog #10
3 April 2011
10:44 PM

In late April, police raided a home in Bangkok where they discovered fifteen Vietnamese women who may be potential victims of human trafficking, forced to breed for cash. Six of the women were not pregnant, two had recently given birth, and seven were between twelve weeks to eight months pregnant- two of said women were carrying twins. Whether the six women not pregnant were being prepared for impregnation, had given birth, or were part of support staff remains unknown. When a phone call was placed to the Bangkok home, a woman who refused to give her name or position in the company claimed, “The Vietnamese women were not forced to work here;” however, some of the women themselves will tell a different story. They claim they were lured to Thailand with promises of well-paying jobs, but had their passports seized upon arrival by the Babe-101 Eugenic Surrogate firm. The woman on the phone admitted the company keeps the passports but assured her caller they were returned when the women wanted to use them. If the allegations of the Vietnamese women prove to be true, their captors will be potentially guilty of false imprisonment, kidnapping and human trafficking; should they turn up false, the women will have intentionally worked in Thailand without employment permits and could be charged with illegal immigration and sent back to their home country.

Unfortunately, cases such as these are not uncommon. Individuals all over the world have left their homes after being offered seemingly legitimate, well-paying jobs, only to arrive at their destination and realize the job they have been assigned is nothing like the one they had signed up for and there is no likely way out. One important thing to note in this particular case is that it is unknown whether the impregnation process took place in the Bangkok home or back where the company was administered in Taiwan. If the customers are in Taiwan, the entire case will be a matter for the Taiwanese authorities. As of late, Thai authorities show no indication of pursuing the company’s customers or their potential charges. This is a problem. Human trafficking is a serious business and it needs to be dealt with properly. Cross-border law enforcement need to step up their game, work together, and make sure every individual involved in the business of human trafficking is held accountable for his or her actions. Pushing the problem under the rug or shrugging it off for someone else to deal with is not going to eliminate it.

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2011/mar/6/thai-company-accused-traffick-vietnam-women-breed/?page=1

*http://www.baby-1001.com/eng/about.htm (The actual website for Babe-101 Eugenic Surrogate, suppose anyone wants additional information about the company under investigation)