Bar Street, Siem Reap, Cambodia © peripheries

IRIN reports how recent legislation against human trafficking introduced by the Cambodian government early this year, is shifting sex work from brothels to bars and karaokes leading to the development of new sexual behaviours increasing the spread of the HIV infection.

Like Thailand, Cambodia’s fight against HIV became another success story when back in 2001 Prime Minister Hun Sen endorsed a 100% condom policy for sex workers. Prevalence amongst sex workers plummeted from 45.8% in 1998 to 12.7% in 2006.

But earlier this year, under US pressure, the Cambodian government enforced a law which though aiming at reducing human trafficking led to numerous abuse of sex workers by the police (see comment at Wisdom of Whores) followed by street protests.

Cambodia men are now joining the “sweetheart” culture of men having unprotected sex with bar and karaoke hostesses who can have on average 14.6 paying sex partner a year but of whom only 42% use a condom regularly according to a Population Services International (PSI) survey.

Won Sopheap, a university student, said he had taken on two sweethearts in the past six months. “A few years ago, people went to the brothels – it was just a fun weekend thing to do – but now a lot of my friends pick up sweethearts at the karaokes. We can trust them more; they don’t have diseases because they’re long-term.”

Worse, the PSI survey observed that clients are often mobile increasing the risk of spreading the disease countrywide. That’s what happened when foreign ideologues with little knowledge and even less understanding put dogma before evidence-based interventions.

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