SEX WORK AND THE LAW - HIV/AIDS Data Hub

Harbouring a person who has been unlawfully transported for the purpose of
exploitation (Article 19)
A 2008 Police Guideline on the Implementation of the Law on Suppression of Human
Trafficking and Sexual Exploitation states that sex workers are not criminals. 373
Cambodia
The Law on the Prevention and Control of HIV and AIDS, 2002 includes prohibitions
on compulsory testing (Articles 19 and 20), breach of confidentiality (Article 33) and
discrimination (Articles 36-42).
6.2.2 Law enforcement practices
Nature of sex work
Female sex workers operate primarily from massage parlours, guesthouses and
entertainment establishments such as bars, beer gardens, restaurants and karaoke clubs.
Some transgender people also sell sex at entertainment establishments. The number
of sex workers (sometimes referred to as ‘entertainment workers’) is estimated to be
between 42,000 to 47,000 nationwide, with approximately 21,000 in Phnom Penh. 374 A
small proportion of the sex industry (including female, male and transgender sex workers)
operates from public places such as streets, parks, markets and bus terminals.
The brothel-based industry has decreased significantly in size over the last decade.
UNAIDS states that this trend was primarily due to changes in male client social and
sexual networking, rather than law enforcement practices, but that police crackdowns on
brothels in 2007-2008 accelerated an already well-advanced change.
In interviews undertaken in support of this study, the Cambodian Prostitute Union (CPU)
confirmed that brothels have decreased in number dramatically in recent years, and sex
workers are based instead in venues such as karaoke bars, massage parlours, and beer
gardens. A focus-group discussion with entertainment workers held in Kampong Cham
in 2011 confirmed that it is now standard practice for entertainment workers to rent
rooms and operate their businesses on their own. As a result, brothel-based sex work is
now virtually non-existent in Kampong Cham Province and across Cambodia. It is widely
understood that legal sanctions are severe for people who profit by acting as mediators
between clients and entertainment workers. Similarly, a focus group discussion with staff
and activists of the NGO Save Incapacity Teenagers (SIT) in Prek Leap area (Phnom Penh)
confirmed that there were 67 entertainment establishments operating in Prek Leap in
2011, but brothels no longer exist in that area.
Information from focus groups and key informants in Kampong Cham confirmed that the
street or park-based sex workers are estimated at only 2% of all sex services. Street and
park-based work is thought to occur in Sihanouk Ville, Phnom Penh, Poipet and Siem Reap.
The Women’s Network for Unity estimated that there are less than 1,000 people working
in the streets and parks in Phnom Penh, while the Cambodian Prostitutes Union estimated
that there are around 1,100.
373 Kingdom of Cambodia, Taskforce Against Human Trafficking and Smuggling (2008) Labour and sexual
exploitation of women and children, Guidelines on Enforcing the Law on Human Trafficking and Sexual exploitation,
No. 001sNnbCrBP, 28 October 2008.
374 Serey Phal Kien, Consultancy Report to UNDP, Jan 2012.
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