China: Avoiding Exploitation

Go with You: Helping young Chinese women move away from village to city

As China’s economy expands, hundreds of millions of people have moved from rural villages to China’s coastal cities.

It’s the largest human migration in the world’s history.

Young rural women often fare the worst. They lack the education, economic skills, and legal protections that could help them avoid exploitation.

In 2004, AFSC began the “GoWith You” project in Changsha, the capital of Hunan Province. AFSC and the Hunan Province Women’s Federation distributed thousands of small booklets about workers’ legal rights, health and safety, and contact information for health, education, and legal rights organizations.AFSC also organized a visit for Hunan province officials to Guangdong province, Hong Kong, and the Philippines to study government policy and services for migrant workers.  

The program has provided information to thousands of young women in Hunan, supported a telephone hotline, and shaped provincial migration policy.