The 1992 Demand for Prostitution in Cambodia
As I mentioned before, the communist regime in the 1970’s and the following government control in Cambodia kept prostitution to a low during its rule (although the rule did have a LOT of other flaws making life very difficult for the average Cambodian).
Civil war was going on in Cambodia and the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) in 1992 was sent into Cambodia to stabalize the environment so that Cambodia could have a general election. Although they were sent with intentions to help the situation in Cambodia, one effect of having the UNTAC 20,000 mostly-male troops and personnel was that there was a huge spike in the demand for prostitutes. The demand decreased in 1993, when UNTAC withdrew from Cambodia, but prostitution, brothel ownership, and sexual exploitation already had become a way of life for many Cambodians. Rather than finding a new way of life, many just began finding new customers. This is one of the underlying reasons for Cambodia’s problem with illegal prostitution.
Link to an article where I got all this lovely information: http://www.hrsolidarity.net/mainfile.php/1996vol06no04/219/
[...] 21, 2008 The Sex Trafficking blog takes a brief historical look at prostitution in late 20th and early 21st century Cambodia. As I mentioned before, the communist regime in the 1970’s and the following government control [...]