"Child Brides of China" / Yen Duong
Lao Cai, Vietnam - 2018
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Across rural Vietnam, thousands of young girls have been pulled into trafficking networks that move them across the border into China, within Vietnam and to other neighboring countries. In China, a severe gender imbalance has left millions of men without partners, creating demand for foreign brides. In this market, impoverished Vietnamese children are sometimes sold for “less than the price of a buffalo.”
Vietnamese photographer and journalist Yen Duong has documented this crisis. Her reporting shows the mechanics of trafficking; trusted relatives or friends persuading girls to leave home, false promises of jobs or love; and then, the reality of being sold into forced marriages.
The aftermath is devastating. Survivors who return face deep trauma, social stigma and little institutional support. Many remain trapped in China, cut off from their families, while parents in remote villages wait for news that may never come.
Duong’s images trace both sides of the story, the isolated mountain communities losing their daughters, and the women scarred by abuse and abandonment. Her work shines light on a modern-day slave trade that persists largely in the shadows, where social and economic disparities as well as structural discrimination of ethnic minorities lead to an ongoing cycle of vulnerability and exploitation.
Yen Duong is a Berlin-based photojournalist whose work often captures quiet, human moments while examining larger social issues. Before relocating to Germany, she spent years reporting across Vietnam, documenting stories on human trafficking, child marriage, climate change, natural disasters, and the effects of rapid urbanization on marginalized communities.
In addition to her photography, Yen works as a journalist, producer, and independent researcher, with a focus on migration and global development. Her reporting has been supported by the Pulitzer Center, where she completed hostile environment training in 2021.
She is a member of Women Photograph and Diversify Photo, and collaborates with collectives such as The Journal on editorial and program development. Her work has been published internationally, including in The Smithsonian Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, and The Atlantic.
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