Midwives on motorbikes spread sex sense in Cambodia

Chum Pao Chenda (R), demand creation officer of a non-profit reproductive health organisation, educates about safe sex (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy)

Cambodian midwife Ly Siyan (R) shows villagers how to use a contraceptive device (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy)

Waitresses at a beer garden are educated on the use of a condom in Siem Reap town (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy)

A poster to educate Cambodian women about contraception (AFP/File, Tang Chhin Sothy)

‎May 28, 2011‎

By Michelle Fitzpatrick (AFP)

CHANLOUNG — Sitting in the shade of a large tree and surrounded by a group of women, Cambodian midwife Ly Siyan holds up a colourful poster displaying a range of contraception options.

She patiently waits for the giggles to subside when she points to a condom, aware that the two dozen women in the village of Chanloung in northwest Siem Reap province have rarely experienced such an open discussion about sex.

Once the 37-year-old has their full attention again, she talks about long-term contraceptive methods and debunks some of the more persistent myths about their side-effects.

Businesses in Cambodia Should Address Unsafe Practices in Commercial Sex Industry, AIDS Authority Says

Nov 06, 2008
Kaiser Daily HIV/AIDS Report

As Cambodia's commercial sex industry increasingly moves away from brothels and into businesses such as karaoke bars and beer gardens, the country's National AIDS Authority is calling on private businesses to address unsafe sex practices in the industry, the Phnom Penh Post reports. According to NAA Secretary-General Teng Kunthy, a focus should be placed on ensuring that private businesses provide sex education and are more integrated into health services. "We think that the change of behaviors is a new challenge, as high-risk behaviors become associated with beer promotion and mobile work," Kunthy said, adding, "As a result, we need to make connections with the private sector."

According to a recent report from NAA, although Cambodia in 2002 adopted HIV/AIDS-related legislation, "enforcement and implementation in workplaces and the private sector is weak." It added, "This is especially important to gain access to businesses where there is a high reluctance to implement HIV prevention measures."

In particular, the construction industry in Cambodia poses an issue, according to NAA. The industry primarily is based on small companies that hire male workers who are mobile and work on short-term construction projects, making it difficult to ensure that the industry is providing workers with appropriate HIV/AIDS information -- including the risks of engaging in sex with commercial sex workers (Sokheng, Phnom Penh Post, 11/5).