Thai women forced into sex work in Sydney

2 Feb 2012, 6:39 pm   -   Source: AAP
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The Salvation Army had learned of the women's situation and contacted the police. (Salvation Army)

The Salvation Army had learned of the women's situation and contacted the police. (Salvation Army)

Three Thai women who were told they were coming to Australia on student visas were instead forced to work as prostitutes in Sydney, police allege.

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A Sydney brothel owner charged with trafficking three young women from Thailand, holding them against their will and exploiting them as sex workers has been granted bail.

Australian Federal Police (AFP) raided five premises in the city's west on Wednesday night, including the 42-year-old's home and the brothel at Guildford.

The Salvation Army tipped off the AFP to the women's situation but would not provide details about the incident.

The women were brought to Australia on student visas but were allegedly subjected to debt bondage - forced into work to pay off the person who had arranged their passage.

AFP's head of Human Trafficking Operations, Glyn Lewis, said the women were told they were travelling to Australia on student visas, but their passports were taken once they arrived.

They were taken to the brothel and held against their will.

"These women live under very harsh conditions," Mr Lewis told reporters in Sydney on Thursday.

"As you can imagine, their freedom is restricted. They may be forced in various ways coercively, threatened with deportation by the owners, lied to.

"They basically wanted to talk to us and they went to the Salvation Army and they were referred to us."

The AFP would not reveal the women's ages or how long they had worked at the brothel.

The three women could be offered witness protection visas and allowed to stay in Australia.

Human trafficking was not a widespread problem in Australia, Mr Lewis said, but 70 per cent of the victims ended up in sexual servitude.

Most come from Asia and end up in Sydney.

The brothel owner is of Chinese-Cambodian background but police would not reveal his status in Australia or whether he could face deportation if found guilty.

He was charged with facilitating the women's entry into Australia with intent to exploit them, and operating a business involving sexual servitude.

Additional charges included forcing the women into debt bondage and allowing them to work, in breach of their visa conditions.

The maximum jail term for the offences is 25 years.

The man is due to face court in Sydney's Downing Centre on February 14.

The AFP referred the women to the Australian Red Cross (ARC), which operates a support program for human trafficking victims.

About 70 people, mainly women forced into sexual servitude, participate in the program, which began in 2009.

Lis De Vries, who heads the ARC's Migration Support Programs, said such women develop many health and welfare issues.

"They often have quite extensive experiences of torture or trauma as a result of the trafficking," she told AAP.

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