\u201cThe idea of victim assistance is new to the Royal Thai Police,\u201d said Major Gen. Monthon Ngernwattanam, who participated in the training, \u201cbut it\u2019s very helpful. This program will show the international community that we can try our best to fight against human trafficking.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the FBI, a victim-centered approach in crimes against children cases is standard practice. Victim specialists are on hand during investigations to assist young victims in a variety of ways. Trafficked children might only have the clothes on their backs when recovered by law enforcement. They might live on the street and need shelter, or their parents or caregivers might be their abusers. Victims often need referrals for medical or mental health treatment. They also need an advocate for court proceedings. Just as important, they need adults in their lives who are trustworthy. Victim specialists can provide all those things\u2014and that frees investigators to focus on gathering evidence and preparing cases for prosecution.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis approach is very important in the U.S.,\u201d said Special Agent Ernie Weyand, the assistant legal attach\u00e9 in the FBI\u2019s Bangkok office, \u201cbut it\u2019s a concept that\u2019s relatively new.\u201d As little as two decades ago, he explained, U.S. investigators \u201csometimes ran past the victim to work the case, and often the victim was left in the wake.\u201d It was not until the FBI established its victim assistance program in 2001 that things began to change. Today, dedicated victim specialists are assigned to every FBI field office around the country. That is the model the Royal Thai Police seeks to emulate.<\/p>\n
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“Ultimately that approach made for better cases and made our victims more whole,\u201d Weyand said. \u201cIn the end, victims were better\u2014they were better witnesses and they were more complete people. They weren\u2019t harmed in the process of being actively involved in an investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n While the Thai police force works to establish its own victim assistance program, the Child Advocacy Center (CAC)\u2014the country\u2019s first such facility\u2014is already putting the victim-centered concept to work. Located in Chiang Mai, a popular tourist destination in Northern Thailand, the recently opened center offers shelter and resources to victims of child sexual exploitation and other abuses, some as young as 12 years old.<\/p>\n [youtube]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=Co6A-dsF618[\/youtube]<\/p>\n The director of the Child Advocacy Center in Chiang Mai, Thailand, talks about the services her organization\u2014which receives financial and investigative support from the FBI\u2014provides to child victims.<\/em><\/p>\n The director of the CAC, who goes by the name Boom, said the center aims to be a \u201cone-stop shop\u201d for victims. \u201cMany of the children here come from poor families,\u201d she said. \u201cThey do not have access to counselors or lawyers. We are here to make sure they get all that, along with after-school programs and basics such as food. We look after them.\u201d<\/p>\n At the same time, the children can establish relationships of trust with investigators in a friendly, stress-free atmosphere away from the sometimes intimidating environment of a police station. \u201cThe police are here working with the victims from the beginning,\u201d Boom said.<\/p>\n The center also has an FBI-funded interview room with state-of-the-art recording equipment where trained child forensic interviewers can conduct victim interviews\u2014often a critical part of a sexual exploitation investigation. The recording equipment allows investigators and others such as social workers and prosecutors to view the interview in a separate room as it occurs. That way, young abuse victims are not re-traumatized by having to tell their story multiple times.<\/p>\n \u201cThe CAC offers help and hope,\u201d Boom said. \u201cThe abuse happened, but this place makes sure the kids are not walking alone.\u201d<\/p>\n It is hoped that the CAC will serve as a model for more child advocacy centers in Thailand and Southeast Asia. Failing to provide such support and services, said a veteran police detective in Chiang Mai who works with the CAC, will only perpetuate the cycle of abuse.<\/p>\n Without intervention, he explained, young victims may well grow up to become abusers themselves. And abusers can easily become traffickers. \u201cWe have experienced many cases of that,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the situation that we have seen.\u201d<\/p>\n [youtube]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=44BJDdqJkqg[\/youtube]<\/p>\n![\"fbi2-3\"](\"http:\/\/www.thaianti-humantraffickingaction.org\/Home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/FBI2.3.jpg\")
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