Young men gather on the busy riverside in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh (AFP Tang Chhin Sothy)PHNOM PENH (AFP) - "Having sex with men is just something I like to do, it's relaxing," says a pub manager who gave his name as Pov as he sat among drinkers, all men, at his bar a few blocks off of the capital's busy riverfront.
In Cambodia, as elsewhere in the region, men having sex with men is nothing new.
But Pov's world, like that of many Cambodian men who are known as "MSM," is defined by secrecy and, in some cases, self-delusion and denial.
MSM -- men who have sex with men but who may not consider themselves to be homosexual or bisexual -- account for four percent of Cambodian men, according to experts, and represent a ticking HIV/AIDS timebomb.
Pov admits that his wife in rural Cambodia, whom he sees a couple of times a week, has no idea about his trysts with two or more male partners a month.
Young men gather on the riverside in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh (AFP Tang Chhin Sothy)
But he says he does not consider himself to be homosexual, or even bisexual, despite his predilection for sex with men.
Health workers say this growing and largely unseen trend towards risky sex threatens to seriously undermine progress in tackling one of Asia's worst HIV/AIDS epidemics.
Aggressive condom and sex education campaigns largely targetting Cambodia's sex industry effectively halted a spiralling HIV infection rate that in 1997 peaked at 3.7 percent of the country's approsimately 11.5 million people, making Cambodia the Asia-Pacific region's worst-affected country.
Cambodia's overall HIV prevalence has since dropped to 0.9 percent.
But health officials say they are failing to reach MSM, who have become the most vulnerable to infection.
"There is a very serious concentrated epidemic among MSM," says Tony Lisle, Cambodia's UNAIDS country coordinator.
Young men gather on the busy riverside in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh (AFP Tang Chhin Sothy)
Noting that MSM make up roughly four percent of all men in the country, he adds: "The hidden MSM population is significant and if we don't avert new infections the MSM epidemic could contribute significantly to the overall (HIV) prevalence rate."
Prevalence among men engaging in gay sex is 8.7 percent, nearly 10 times the norm, while incidences of other sexually-transmitted diseases are rapidly rising, indicating that fewer MSM are using condoms.
"All the messages are around heterosexual behaviour, particularly brothel-based sex work. An enormous amount of work needs to be done," said Lisle.
One of the biggest tasks is challenging Cambodia's conservative social norms that force many men to quietly seek sex with other men -- very few of whom are prostitutes -- while carrying on with lives that include marriage and family.
"There is a lot of stigma and discrimination. Culturally, economically and socially, there are all of these reasons that work against talking about sexual behaviour," said Lisle.
"In the meantime there are people seeking sex in a whole range of situations. They would never identify themselves and that makes prevention very difficult," he said.
While a barrage of public service campaigns have raised overall awareness of the causes of HIV/AIDS transmission, a shocking level of ignorance is also fueling this growing crisis among MSM, advocates say.
Graphic giving HIV statistics for Cambodia (AFP Graphic)
"MSM are at a higher risk of becoming infected with HIV because they usually don't understand how it is transmitted," says Sum Thy of the non-governmental organisation Family Health International (FHI), which has surveyed thousands of men on their sex habits.
"They think HIV only occurs among men and women who have sex and don't use condoms," he explains, but adds that the situation is slowly turning around.
At least one clinic deals almost exclusively with MSM, with the numbers seeking its services rising from a handful in 2003 to more than 200 a month last year.
Another positive sign, according to UNAIDS' Lisle, is the establishment of a national MSM working group that is trying to coordinate outreach programmes in a bid to head off new HIV infections.
The creation of the working group is a "very healthy sign that Cambodia is really starting to move to address the MSM epidemic," Lisle says. "But even if the government is providing space for this, at the same time you have to move society around.
"It's a huge journey. If we don't scale up efforts, it could be very serious."
In Cambodia, as elsewhere in the region, men having sex with men is nothing new.
But Pov's world, like that of many Cambodian men who are known as "MSM," is defined by secrecy and, in some cases, self-delusion and denial.
MSM -- men who have sex with men but who may not consider themselves to be homosexual or bisexual -- account for four percent of Cambodian men, according to experts, and represent a ticking HIV/AIDS timebomb.
Pov admits that his wife in rural Cambodia, whom he sees a couple of times a week, has no idea about his trysts with two or more male partners a month.
Young men gather on the riverside in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh (AFP Tang Chhin Sothy)But he says he does not consider himself to be homosexual, or even bisexual, despite his predilection for sex with men.
Health workers say this growing and largely unseen trend towards risky sex threatens to seriously undermine progress in tackling one of Asia's worst HIV/AIDS epidemics.
Aggressive condom and sex education campaigns largely targetting Cambodia's sex industry effectively halted a spiralling HIV infection rate that in 1997 peaked at 3.7 percent of the country's approsimately 11.5 million people, making Cambodia the Asia-Pacific region's worst-affected country.
Cambodia's overall HIV prevalence has since dropped to 0.9 percent.
But health officials say they are failing to reach MSM, who have become the most vulnerable to infection.
"There is a very serious concentrated epidemic among MSM," says Tony Lisle, Cambodia's UNAIDS country coordinator.
Young men gather on the busy riverside in Cambodia's capital Phnom Penh (AFP Tang Chhin Sothy)Noting that MSM make up roughly four percent of all men in the country, he adds: "The hidden MSM population is significant and if we don't avert new infections the MSM epidemic could contribute significantly to the overall (HIV) prevalence rate."
Prevalence among men engaging in gay sex is 8.7 percent, nearly 10 times the norm, while incidences of other sexually-transmitted diseases are rapidly rising, indicating that fewer MSM are using condoms.
"All the messages are around heterosexual behaviour, particularly brothel-based sex work. An enormous amount of work needs to be done," said Lisle.
One of the biggest tasks is challenging Cambodia's conservative social norms that force many men to quietly seek sex with other men -- very few of whom are prostitutes -- while carrying on with lives that include marriage and family.
"There is a lot of stigma and discrimination. Culturally, economically and socially, there are all of these reasons that work against talking about sexual behaviour," said Lisle.
"In the meantime there are people seeking sex in a whole range of situations. They would never identify themselves and that makes prevention very difficult," he said.
While a barrage of public service campaigns have raised overall awareness of the causes of HIV/AIDS transmission, a shocking level of ignorance is also fueling this growing crisis among MSM, advocates say.
Graphic giving HIV statistics for Cambodia (AFP Graphic)"MSM are at a higher risk of becoming infected with HIV because they usually don't understand how it is transmitted," says Sum Thy of the non-governmental organisation Family Health International (FHI), which has surveyed thousands of men on their sex habits.
"They think HIV only occurs among men and women who have sex and don't use condoms," he explains, but adds that the situation is slowly turning around.
At least one clinic deals almost exclusively with MSM, with the numbers seeking its services rising from a handful in 2003 to more than 200 a month last year.
Another positive sign, according to UNAIDS' Lisle, is the establishment of a national MSM working group that is trying to coordinate outreach programmes in a bid to head off new HIV infections.
The creation of the working group is a "very healthy sign that Cambodia is really starting to move to address the MSM epidemic," Lisle says. "But even if the government is providing space for this, at the same time you have to move society around.
"It's a huge journey. If we don't scale up efforts, it could be very serious."
14 comments:
You see, in most cases, wherever we found gay people, there is a link to the west. In this case it is the Pub. Pub is not a khmer thing and we all know that.
Anyhow, you guy abroad better watch what you eat in the west. There might be things that could cause defective gene and turned some of your offspring into gays and lesbian. I know this is easier said than done, but what I will do is not to be greedy. Just eat enough to live, but don't live to eat. Avoid, anything that is abnormal such as deformed or oversize, or over-sweet fruits or vegetable ... . And oh, go easy on cow milk. Those are for cow not for human. Hell, if nature is intended for us to drink cow milk, I would think it would make our mums half cow and half human. Wouldn't you agree? And if you must have cow milk, then try to be selective about it by picking milk from a normal size cow, or just buy your own cow. That way, you know what you got.
Last but not least, defective gene should be repaired, not accepted and allowed it to spread HIV/AIDS to others.
Sounds like AIDS-infected 3:34 PM here is catching his last breath while rambling nonsensically about God-knows-what, doesn't it?
Well, AIDS is not a Khmer things. The culture of impunity spread the contaminated blood all over world and killed over 50 millions innocent people up to this time.
To "brother" above,
I like to think that people in the West their mind are polluted by the media. It sounds like you're watching too much movie, or lacked of knowledge about infectious diseases. The human DNA cannot, or will not mutate to cause you to have HIV/AIDS. Come'on brother, you're in the States, get educated. Schools in Cambodia are for the able one, you know.
It's a fact that your DNA can mutate under the UVR, thus, resulted in damage. But, the body will repair it. Also, you CANNOT get HIV/AIDS from Nutritional substances either. Please don't embarrased us, go to school, and DON'T ACCEPT DEGREE FROM AH YOUNS'S SCHOOL EITHER. YOU WILL REMAIN DUMBER FOREVER.
Bong Khmer
WI
Well folks, I rather think 3:34's post was a satire. Not too bad either. some things have to be taken with a smile on the face.
Well, I wasn't talking about nutrition causing AIDS. However, nutrition can cause gay/lesbian.
If you want to know what causing AIDS there are many theory, but we don't care about that. What we care about is who spread the AIDS, and that is your culture of impunity who did it. And now that many prostitute/gay/lesbian get it, they keep on spreading it to innocent people.
Last but not least, because AIDS is a virus, it will evolved just like any other virus, and soon or later, it will be able to live in water to infect our aqua life food supply. and do you know what happened then?
thats insane.when i stayed in phnom penh,i tend go to the Phnom Penh Internet Pub right by the waterfront and it was mostly hosted by female hooker.i'll be surprise if i go back this november if there a booming effect of male hooker now.
It is very surprise to me .I used to think that Cambodian males are straight but boy was i wrong all along.How could men attract to men sexually, god must wire them wrong or some.So my advice to all khmers out there just watch your behind from now on would ya?
this is yet another negative influence from the western sex pervert living and traveling in cambodia.
cambodia did not have a homosexuality problem until these people came to molest our women and children.
it's distusting and abominable.
There no such thing Cambodia has no gay ,lesbian or homosexual every where every country having that thing do not lie to your self,some people has said Alexander the great II he's gay that centuries ago ,but also Thailand there a lot a lot gays and tomboy,please do not give the nuisance comment ,and showing the hates ,by the way please post your relatives address I personally will tell them to stop send you over sea the money (because the money from West it should contagious with HIV/AIDS also
Yeah, but that is only because you guys contaminated us with all of the junks.
Cambodia needs foreign aid, not foreign AIDS
Not surprisingly much of the homosexual courtship takes place near establishments along the the Tonle Sap riverside.
For those of you who have not visited Cambodia, the riverside is lined with dozens of Western-owned bars, restaurants, nightclubs, shops, hotels and massage parlors. Pubs (as mentioned in the article) did not exist in Cambodia before the Westerners arrived.
The strip is a popular attraction for foreign sex tourists and pedophiles. I once spotted a Western man speaking with an American accent attempting to pick up a little Khmer girl who was no more than 11 or 12 years. She was a street vendor selling magazines and books to tourists. He did not seem to be concerned about dozens of passers-by watching his sick– not to mention criminal– behavior. That particular little girl was able to quickly speed away out of his sight, but we can only wonder how many poor street kids like she fall victim to sex predators on a daily basis.
Needless to say, I was shocked and embarrassed to learn that 8.7% of Cambodian men are engaging in homosexual behavior. The activities of the Western “sexpats” in Cambodia have no doubt contributed to the decline of morality in our society. Before the advent of these foreign sex deviants, Cambodia did not have a homosexuality problem.
Notice I said homosexuality problem, not homosexuality.
To be sure, homosexuality has always existed in Cambodia, as in any other country, but it was not a problem to most Cambodians. Homosexuality was never a problem because (1) it was not nearly as prevalent back then as it is today and (2) Cambodians have been exceptionally tolerant to homosexuals.
In fact, like many other Cambodians I’ve always found homosexuals to be amusing rather than despicable. Much of this tolerance is rooted in our Buddhist beliefs and on the relative rarity of the behavior in our society. This is in sharp contrast to the much higher prevalence of homosexuality in Western societies and Christianity’s vehement opposition to the practice.
However, the behavior is hardly amusing any more, given its potential to inflict another health crisis in our country. Cambodia already has the highest prevalence of HIV infection in Asia. It is well known that anal sex is many times more like to spread HIV than heterosexual sex. Moral considerations aside, the acceptance and normalization of homosexuality in Cambodia is indeed a AIDS time-bomb threatening to ravage an already impoverished country.
http://www.oudam.com
freedom of love. freedom of choice.
Hi,
I hope this finds you well. Healthline just released an informative article with graphics regarding HIV/AIDs facts in the US and around the World. The page details who is being effected and the cost of treatment. You can check out the resource here: http://www.healthline.com/health/hiv-aids/facts-statistics-infographic
This valuable, med-reviewed information shows the need to continueeducating people on prevention and how to protect yourself and your loved ones. I thought this would be a great resource for your audience, and I am writing to ask if you would include it as a source of information on your page: http://ki-media.blogspot.com/2007/10/casual-sex-among-cambodias-msms-hiv.html
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Warm regards,
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Healthline • The Power of Intelligent Health
660 Third Street, San Francisco, CA 94107
www.healthline.com | @Healthline | @HealthlineCorp
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