Khmer Rouge destruction still extracts deadly toll

By Rosario Liquicia
October 17, 2001

PHNOM PENH - Vuth Vireak, 23, does not sound like he's bragging when he talks about his many girlfriends, with whom, he says quite casually, he has intimate relations. Elsewhere, 14-year-old school boys have been known to buy sex in brothels.

This casual attitude towards sex is what is worrying policy-makers and health experts involved in the campaign to address the HIV/AIDS problem in Cambodia, where it is believed that 10,000-20,000 men buy sex each day.

This Southeast Asian country, with a population of 11 million, is the worst affected by the epidemic in Asia. Its prevalence rate of 2.8 percent among its 15- 49-year-old population in 2000 is the highest in the Asia-Pacific, statistics show. The rate, however, has seen a decline from 3.9 percent in 1997, authorities say, partly because of the vigorous promotion of condom use.

Vireak has no qualms about having many sexual partners because he says he practices safe sex. "I've got condoms everywhere: in my car, in my pocket," says the dentistry student.

Research shows that young people are becoming more sexually active. Indeed, government planners regard sexual behavior among youth as an important factor in the fight against the epidemic: either it declines through effective intervention, or grows as a result of neglect.

"Values of sexual responsibility and fidelity would have an impact on the future course of the epidemic," says a situation and response analysis report on HIV/AIDs put together by the National AIDS Authority (NAA). "However, this optimism must be tempered with the fact that irresponsible sexual practice among this group is likely to accelerate the epidemic."

Young people make up a large proportion of the Cambodian population, with 54.8 percent of the population under 20 years of age, according to government statistics. Given the few opportunities available for personal and social development, experts say, this age group finds itself participating in risk behavior. Thus, they are disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS. Statistics show that people below 24 years old make up nearly half of new infections.

As in many other countries, the commodification of sex in Cambodia and the erosion of traditional values among its population are hobbling efforts to fully and forcefully address the problem of HIV/AIDS. NAA secretary-general Dr Tia Phalla said among the government's tools is a drive to promote a return to the old value system of honesty and family bonding, which the country's civil war had destroyed. The atrocities and terror campaign carried out by the genocidal Pol Pot government from the mid to late 1970s, experts say, broke the social and moral fabric of the country, weakening family bonds and distorting values.

"In this post-conflict country, sex is very, very cheap: one dollar, two dollars average. We keep promoting faithfulness but still it doesn't work very well," Phalla said in an interview.

Religion, which was banned during the Khmer Rouge regime, is only beginning to again take root. Meanwhile, the onslaught of "pop" culture and the proliferation of pornographic materials have influenced sexual behavior, altering attitudes towards sexual responsibility and fidelity, Phalla said.

Pierre Legros, regional coordinator of AFESIP, a non-government organization that helps victims of sex trafficking, agrees with the view that people's sexual behavior has roots in the repression and suppression of the Khmer Rouge regime in the 1970s. "It is a societal evolution, from the very strict Khmer Rouge regime - where society and the government decide who will be your husband or wife - to anarchy. To me this is a problem," he said.

Adds Phalla: "This delayed sex, you know, waiting for the proper time, this is criticized as 'old style'. The 'new style', [which is] up-to-date and fashionable for young people, is pop culture. They have more and more partners."

The opening of Cambodia to the outside world and the phenomenon of globalization has brought changes in young people's attitude towards relationships and sex. With the infusion of foreign capital into this poor farming economy came materialism, which again influenced the society's value system, say experts. People who have power, money, multiple partners - they seem to be the role models. That is why 50-60 percent of men bought sex last year because people believe that that is the model of a strong man, they add.

The flip side of this, on the other hand, is the perpetuation of the discriminatory treatment of girls and women. As the sex industry continues to flourish, more and more young girls are either being lured or sold to brothels. While it is true that many girls are trafficked into sex slavery, it is also a fact that women end up in brothels or sell sex elsewhere because it means extra cash.

"What puts them in such vulnerability? Because they believe materialism is good," points out Phalla. "Because right now the message in society, in the media, is negative, that of promoting sex. But this thing we can change, if we start to see HIV/AIDS as a development issue."

Many believe, though, that change is not forthcoming, given the magnitude of the problem. "One cannot change this attitude in one generation, but one has to start," says Roman Catholic priest Father Jim Noonan, whose organization in Phnom Penh runs a hospice for AIDS patients. "It's a delicate balance because the attitude is so blatant. The way women are regarded, the way women are treated, the way they are cheated, this needs to be changed."

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