Pregnancy tests and forced abortions reveal the darker side of KTV

Cambodia’s popular KTVs, or karaoke clubs, are in almost every town in the kingdom. They are known as places frequented mainly by men, who go there to drink, sing and be entertained by the attractive hostesses. But there is a dark side to these neon-lit clubs. Life is a struggle for the mostly poor workers trying to make enough money to support themselves and their families, but considered to be prostitutes by wider society.

The women’s jobs depend on enticing men into the clubs. As such, pregnancy is not an option and many say they have been forced or chosen to have abortions to keep their incomes. One 25-year-old from Takeo province, who gave her name as only Sopheak out of fear of reprisals or her family discovering the work she had been doing, spoke to Khmer Times about the hardships she and others faced working in KTVs.

She said many clients at KTV clubs regularly abused the hostesses, groping them and treating them as if they worked in a brothel. Others carried guns, which they used to threaten women into having sex with them. “Some men ask a KTV girl to have sex with them, then refuse to give her money afterwards and leave her to pay for the guesthouse room. Others steal the girls’ phones,” she said.

read more http://www.khmertimeskh.com/50107469/pregnancy-tests-forced-abortions-reveal-darker-side-ktv/

 

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