Sompop Jantraka is a Thai activist dedicated to protecting children from exploitative labor and child trafficking.
[1][2][3][4] After graduating with a bachelor's degree in political science from Chiang Mai University in 1988,[citation needed] Sompop began working as a researcher for the International Labour Organization.
[5] Working with a network of volunteers in villages in northern Thailand, DEP intervenes with girls and their families before they are sold to brothel owners, providing them with free vocational education so they can be self-reliant and economically independent.
[6][7] In 1992, DEP became a part of a larger umbrella organization, Development and Education Programme for Daughters and Communities (DEPDC).
[8] Sompop resigned as director of DEPDC in 2007 to focus on anti-trafficking programmes throughout the Greater Mekong sub-region, including Laos, Vietnam, Burma, Cambodia, and Yunnan Province in China.