Monday, June 02, 2008

Sex workers demand law amendment

Monday, June 2, 2008
Everyday.com.kh
Translated from Khmer by Socheata

On Sunday, 5,000 members of the Women’s Network for Unity (WNU), which is an organization including sex workers, have all agreed to send a letter to Prime minister Hun Sen to ask for his intervention in bringing an amendment to law on human and sex trafficking. Mrs. Keo Tha, the WNU representative, told The Mekong Times that the request for the law amendment was done to avoid abuses imposed by the police force during crackdowns on women sex workers. Mrs. Keo Tha indicated that since the anti-human trafficking law and anti-sexual exploitation law was put to use since March 2008, in order to eliminate the sex industry, clubs, bars and Karaoke bars were shut down and the industry went underground. She said that hundreds of women were arrested and sent to reform centers, and some escaped to continue the trade underground. Dozens of other women were raped and beaten up by police officers and security forces during their temporary incarceration. Keo Tha asked the government to recognize the sex trade and to agree to recognize it as a job just like any other jobs, and she asked that there will be rights protection for these workers to earn a living as well.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

making demand is better than keeping quiet because keeping quiet is like cheating on cambodian people.