When “knocking on” Hagar’s door for the first time, Thu was just a teenager. After nearly 10 years of joining Hagar, Thu’s life has been improved step by step. Born and raised in a mountainous area in Vietnam, Thu never thought she would see the high-rise buildings and modern amenities of a large city. Understanding this, some bad guys took advantage of Thu and trafficked her into an illegal karaoke bar in

Used to living in the city’s most complicated, noisy and difficult place since her childhood – the wholesale market – Binh seemed to have forged herself to be tough, resilient and independent to survive in such a harsh environment. But no matter how firm or strong her voice was, it seemed that her sound was mute when she got home. In her house, nothing could be heard except her husband’s cursing, shouting

Growing up, Som Nang’s father was violent and eventually her mum left the family to go and work in another province. She left the 4 girls with their father and re-married. Som Nang and her sisters worked as harvest workers at the Thai border. One day, when she was just 14 years old, her own father raped her. He continued to rape her until she fell pregnant, eventually giving birth to a

Hoa is 27 years old, she’s a bridal make-up specialist and a hairstylist in training. Hoa loves her family, and she’s great at her job. When Hoa was a teenager, both of her parents suffered debilitating health challenges that prevented them from working. They found themselves struggling financially, so Hoa and her brother left school to find work to support their family. Hoa found work as a waitress. She made friends with

Arunny is 17 years old, outgoing and energetic. She smiles a lot and has always dreamt of one day becoming a chef. Until three months ago, Arunny never thought she would achieve this dream. After Arunny’s mother died, her father had not wanted to care for his daughter and moved away with his new wife. Arunny had no choice but to find work. This she found, but in a karaoke bar working in

When a baby first enters the world it is usually a time of great joy as the tiny new life is embraced into a family. For Yem, a young mother in Cambodia, it was just seven days after welcoming her baby daughter into the world that she encountered unimaginable trauma. With her baby in her arms, Yem was the target of an acid attack at the hands of her husband’s mistress. The

To raise awareness about child sexual abuse and knowledge/skills about what to do in response, the Hagar Vietnam team coordinated with the Women’s Union and Minh – Luong Secondary School in the Nghe An Province to run a contest with local secondary school students from mid-November to early December. Students at the secondary school were asked to use their creativity to create and present something that demonstrated how they could protect themselves

One day when Kanha was on her way home from school, a man approached her and forced her to follow him to a quiet and less populated space. There, he raped her, leaving Kanha both physically hurt and emotionally traumatised. The trauma of this event resulted in Kanha having terrible nightmares and reflecting on the event often. She also faced discrimination from people in her community and her own family who all

*Proeumprei was badly let down by people she, and her community, thought that she could trust. Several years ago, Proeumprei was attending classes at her local church to learn English and computer skills with other children from her community. Families in the community trusted the church and its leadership and were grateful for the opportunities that the church were providing their children to have fun and learn. However, Proeumprei was eventually raped