Cambodia’s Sex workers hail government’s intervention

By Chhay Sophal

On 15 February, 2008, Cambodia launched a new law on its human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The law aims at punishing all crimes against human trafficking and sexual exploitation in order to protect human rights and dignity; to improve the country’s proper customs and cultural value; and to implement the UN protocol on the issue. Article 23 of the law states that: “Prostitution” in this law shall mean having sexual intercourse with an unspecified person or other sexual conduct of all kinds in exchange for any value”.

However, entertainment workers (EW)/sex workers (SW) and AIDS activists have expressed their concerns on the legislation. “I have never heard of the sexual exploitation law and if it is real I think it is really severe for us. I agree to say that selling sex is affecting the Khmer culture and really bad for the Khmer women’s reputation but we have no choice,” said a 36-year-old direct EW in a brothel in Sihanouk Ville, the international seaport and resort. Srey Rath, a widow of four children, who has been a sex worker for about 10 years said she and her friends do not want to make their living from selling sex but they are poor and illiterate. Rath was trafficked to Thailand to be a sex worker in late 1990’s. She used to use drugs as well. “We are women. We do not want to be sex workers but the poverty and the social situation has driven us to this. The leaders should understand about our situation”.
Poverty and the lack of skills seem to be significant factors hindering the social progression for the Cambodian women who contributed to the discussion. Most of them depend financially on their husbands, some of the women expressed that their husbands had died and that this placed a significant strain on their life particularly if they had children, “I really do not want to go out and sleep with men but since my husband died I have no support. I have no skill to find a job,” said a 27-year-old widow of three kids working as a waitress in a restaurant in Sihanouk Ville. “Going out with men at night I get about US$30 and sometimes up to $100,” she said. “If the sexual law becomes into affect and the enforcement is strict, I think it is really bad for us. We do not know how to survive.”
According to the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Dermatology and STDs (NCHADS), it is estimated that there are 3,430 direct EWs and 13,723 indirect EWs in Cambodia. KHANA, through its implementing partners nationwide, reached 1,568 direct EWs and 4,715 indirect EWs, providing them knowledge of HIV and STD preventions last year.

Anter Nita, Director of the Sihanouk-based Community United for Development (CUD), said if the law enforcement is so strong, EW, especially the brothel-based EW will go into hiding. CUD and other organizations working on HIV and AIDS and STDs will then need to reassess the current prevention methods to reach this population, to continue to provide them with health education. “My organization helps regularly educate about 345 sex workers how to prevent themselves from HIV and AIDS and STDs transmission, how to lobby their clients who use violence for sex without using condoms, and how to find good services for their health care,” Nita said. “Our programme for 100 condoms use and HIV prevention education programmes among sex workers will be affected if sex workers are in hiding.”

According to reports from local non-governmental organisations, the local police in a few provinces have instructed owners of karaoke parlors, night clubs, and bars that they will be finned if premises contain condoms. The reports showed that since the inception of the law some brothels have closed and people are now afraid of talking openly about or displaying condoms.
“I would like to appeal that the law should drop the version of punishment sex workers otherwise we have no way to make our living. We of course do not want to be sex workers, but we have no other job to do. On the other hand, the brothel-based sex workers will become freelance sex workers who have no specific place to stay and they can not receive any education on HIV and AIDS,” Srey Rath said.