Understanding and Challenging Stigma toward ... - Pact Cambodia

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Personal Experiences of Stigma
Example stories:
Story 4:
My sister found out I was MSM and told my mother that I had invited a boy home
to have sex. But we were not doing anything, just talking. My mother came home
when she heard this, grabbed a stick and beat me severely. I felt betrayed by my
sister. She was the one I used to share everything with. Now there was no one to
talk to. I left home and never went back.
Story 5:
I have three brothers and I am the last born. One of
my brothers and I are both MSM, and we support
each other. One day when my oldest brother found
out, he beat the two of us, but he gave no reason.
Another day he refused to help me prepare for an
exam, even though he helped my other brothers.
I felt very sad that my brother refused to help,
because I am MSM.
Story 6:
When I go to the clinic the nurse says in a loud voice so everyone can hear, “Oh,
the katooey is here again.” The doctor tells me to come back at 2:00, but when
I return at 2:00, the doctor has already gone. When I finally get to see him, he
says, “I don’t know how to examine katooey. You’re not normal. You’re half man
and half woman.”
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