Sreynich’s journey – becoming a Change Agent
Sreynich’s story is the inspiring journey of becoming an everyday hero… it’s a story repeated hundreds of times across Cambodia as young women learn about the threats of Online Child Sexual Exploitation (OCSE). Brave women taking up the challenge to spread the word, influence their peers and in doing so, lead prevention and protection. It’s also a story of personal growth, self-confidence and leadership – ultimately, it’s a story of the amazing potential of a young woman being realised.
OCSE can destroy lives and is a rapidly growing issue with 38% of girls in Phnom Penh exposed to live streaming child sexually abusive material. We know that awareness and behaviour change can make a big difference, and young women are most influenced by their peers.
Our partners are working to empower a network of girls and young women to be “agents of change” who are actively sharing information and advice with their peers. They are training and supporting these young women to run online awareness-raising campaigns, equipping them with computer literacy skills and motivating them with diploma and bachelor certificates for their service, impact and learning.
Our partners support girls who, as a result of OCSE, have PTSD, are being blackmailed to provide sexual materials, and are living with crushing shame and fear. This is preventable at a fraction of the cost of trying to rebuild shattered lives. Creating peer groups where there is hope and a strong positive identity is a powerful tool for change.
Before attending our partners’ education workshops, Sreynich said “I knew nothing about Online Child Sexual Exploitation, how to recognise the signs, the possible solutions or how to use my voice to raise awareness and grow prevention. I knew nothing about how to keep myself safe online, how to create and design a campaign and plan for it. I didn’t have the ability to create interactive videos, posters and presentations for the online and offline campaigns”. She went on,
“I could not find the time to present my idea to the leaders of my village. I was really scared and shy to present my idea to the leaders of my village. I didn’t realise I had the ability to be part of the solution, to facilitate or lead my peers in discussion. I didn’t know how to create a Facebook page that would raise awareness about OCSE and educate other girls about keeping safe online”.
After the workshops, Sreynich formed a group called “Online Educated”. This group continued to meet and plan OCSE awareness raising through an event with their secondary school. They also created a video and posted on a Facebook page they created. “We will keep updating about our group work soon, so stay tuned for it!” she told us with enthusiasm.
Sreynich joined a village-wide reflection, mapping and planning process so that together they could devise ways to reduce exploitation that they and their children face. ”I had the chance to discuss with my villagers how I could do more to keep them safe and build a protection system. I had the chance to present my idea to my uncle, aunty, village chief and teacher which I found was a practical way to show my ability and capacity as a future leader.” Sreynich is also excited about the future and next steps of her change agent journey. “I am looking forward to attending the citizen researcher workshops and starting a group to conduct more research about finding evidence of OCSE. We can continue to raise awareness and spread more information about Online Child Sexual Exploitation and other issues that we have identified through community discussions.”
Sreynich finished telling her story with her vision – “In the future, I want to continue to spread the awareness of OCSE as much as I can. I want to create more videos, posters and presentations to post on our page or share with my peers at school. I want to keep more girls and young women safe.”