WUNRN
By KER MUNTHIT,
Associated Press
2007-09-14
PHNOM
PENH, Cambodia (AP) - The strong demand for young virgin girls from men who
patronize prostitutes in Cambodia fuels the entry of underage women into the
commercial sex trade, a humanitarian group said in a report Friday.
More than one-third of female sex workers surveyed for the report by the
International Organization for Migration said they entered the sector through
the sale of their virginity.
"Like other Asian men, they (Cambodian men) have a strong cultural desire
for virginity," said Eleanor Brown, author of a report on sexual
exploitation in Cambodia.
Some Asian cultures believe that sleeping with young virgins helps preserve
virility and vitality.
The report said 203 women and girls working in brothels and places like
nightclubs and bars were interviewed in depth for the study.
The average age of girls who sold their virginity was 16-17 years old, it said.
Though some girls sold their virginity voluntarily, many were tricked into the
trade by friends and relatives or were forced by poverty and domestic violence
into it, the report said.
"While in the majority of instances this trade appears to be voluntary for
women and girls selling their virginity, there was a high use of force and
incapacitation through drugs or alcohol at the time of commercial sex," it
said.
It said 18 percent of women and girls were incapacitated in some way, with up
to 10 percent being completely unconscious.
The findings indicated that Cambodian men, who accounted for 49 percent of the
market for virgins, are the primary customers for commercial sex trafficking,
especially the trade in virgins, the report said. Other Asian clients were
Chinese, Japanese, South Koreans, Taiwanese, Thais and Filipinos, it said.
Westerners accounted for 9 percent, it said.
The study was conducted in Siam Reap and Koh Kong provinces and in the city of
Sihanoukville, which are trafficking "hot spots" in northwestern and
southwestern Cambodia mainly because of their links with tourism and
foreign-led demand, IOM said.
Thirty-eight percent of the women and girls interviewed had their virginity
sold, and they collected an average of US$482 (euro347), the report said. In
most cases middlemen pocketed sizable amounts from the deals, Brown said.
Trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is widespread in
Cambodia, which has weak law enforcement. In recent years, authorities have
stepped up efforts to crack down on sex offenders, but have focused on
Westerners who prey on children.
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