Things haven’t been entirely quiet on the streets of Phnom Penh lately. On Thursday, officers from the Anti-Human Trafficking and Juvenile Protection Office, joined by local district officials and a deputy court prosecutor, raided two tucked-away massage parlors in a village out in Por Senchey district after receiving tip-offs that something was seriously off.
When authorities moved in, they found three adult women and four underage girls on the premises. According to local reports, the minors were actively working in the shops. The parlor operators were detained on the spot and are now waiting to face legal proceedings, while the rescued girls have been handed over to the Phnom Penh Department of Social Affairs to be looked after.
If you ride around town enough, you see these small massage parlors everywhere—hidden down quiet alleys, glowing with that familiar purple-pink light. Most people just drive past, but raids like this are a stark reminder of what can happen behind those doors. The authorities moved fast this time to shut the places down and make arrests. Hopefully, those young girls will finally have a safe way forward.
