As dusk falls and men flock to the bar where she works, she chews her nails nervously. The past week has been scarier than usual. A total of 8, athletes from 11 countries are competing in events over the course of 12 days.
Officials say thousands of women and children have faced or could be facing increased sexual abuse, with government agencies failing to protect them ahead of the games. Prostitution is illegal in the Philippines, and girls are not supposed to work in bars if they are under 18, but rules are easily broken, and birth certificates regularly exchanged.
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Girls in both those cities are very vulnerable. Women and children from China and Vietnam are also being trafficked to provide sexual services during the games, with police rescuing more than 20 from multiple sites in Angeles City in the last 10 days.
There is an increased police presence and medics have been placed on standby at all associated sporting venues. The night before the SEA Games opening ceremony on November 30, the Angeles City Information Office said local authorities including the police had rounded up 44 freelance sex workers and massage therapists who could not provide an official ID. She said the threat of arrest would deter most sex workers and trafficking victims from asking for help from the police in the first place.
Besides the Philippine government, activists and human rights advocates have remained quiet, in comparison to the many groups that adopted aggressive anti-trafficking stances ahead of international sporting events such as the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the Asian Indoor and Martial Arts Games in Turkmenistan. In , regional child protection organisation Child Rights Coalition Asia publicly called upon the organisers of the Asian Games in Jakarta, Indonesia, to implement an extensive child-protection strategy ahead of the event β advising on emergency hotline numbers and information for tourists on Indonesian child exploitation laws.
