Story of Kaye
Kaye comes from a family of 8 siblings. She grew up in a depressed community in the Metro Manila area. When she was 17 years old, she was recruited during summer while staying with her cousin on vacation in another community. The neighbor and friend of the cousin offered her a job to work in Singapore. Kaye accepted the offer as she was promised a high paying position as a waitress. She dreamed of being able to support her family so Kaye and her family agreed and were happy for the opportunity to earn. The recruiter promised to look after her and she was escorted to Singapore. In order to arrive in Singapore, all the expenses were taken care of including her passport, ticket and new clothing. Kaye and her family were informed that this was a natural part of obtaining work in Singapore and they were all thankful of this opportunity.
Upon arrival in Singapore, she was not offered a job as a waitress but was taken to work in a brothel. She lived in an apartment where seven other young girls were residing. In the evening,she was sent to servicemen, foreign and local. She was sold to a Chinese businessman for 400$ and then serviced at least 2 or more in a day. Although they were not locked away, it was very difficult for her to leave the situation as she was new to the place and always monitored by another girl or pimp so it was difficult to run away. Kaye was told that she owed a large amount of money for the expenses, passport, ticket, food and clothes and that she was not to leave until she paid the money. Kaye was threatened by the man who escorted her that he would harm her family if she was to leave and inform people.
Kaye managed to escape through support of some of the older girls working in the brothel. She boarded a plane and arrived in Manila and immediately contacted her family that assisted her in filling a trafficking case. At this time, Kaye was referred to ECPAT for legal assistance. ECPAT provided Kaye a private lawyer. The ECPAT social worker attended to Kaye’s case. She and her family were provided with case-management, counselling and necessary medical and psychological assistance to support Kaye and her family come through the traumatic incident.
Kaye finished university with ECPAT’s support. An extremely resilient young woman, she is hopeful that her case filed in the court will prosper. Today, Kaye is back with her family and working for a multi-national company.