Understanding and Challenging Stigma toward ... - Pact Cambodia

Annex A:11
Code of Conduct for Health
Workers
Every individual has the need and desire for proper medical care throughout his or her
life. Men who have sex with men are no different and deserve the same health care as
anyone else.
Under the code of conduct for health workers in Cambodia, every patient has the right
to:
confidentiality about his or her medical issues and anything shared with a
health worker;
privacy during any medical exams or tests; and
equal treatment without being judged for sexual orientation or gender
identity.
Too often, MSM are judged, their confidentiality violated or they are denied basic
medical care. Therefore, we encourage the use of the following code of conduct in your
healthfacility to ensure equal treatment of all patients:
I/we will give everyone the same type of medical care, to the highest quality
possible at our facility, regardless of identity or behavior.
I/we welcome men who have sex with men (MSM) into my/our practice and
offer all health services to patients on an equal basis, regardless of
sexual orientation, gender identity, sexual behavior, marital status and other
non-medically relevant factors.
I/we believe that MSM identities are within the spectrum of normal human
experience and are not in themselves pathological, "unnatural" or sinful.
I/we therefore do not promote or support attempts to change patients' sexual
orientation or gender identity.
I/we respect the visitation and health care decision making rights of MSM
patients, their unmarried partners, their non-biological children, and any
others they may define as family for the purposes of visitation and health care
decision making.
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