The prices are considerably lower than in Thailand, Cambodia’s neighbour and one of the world’s most notorious sex tourism destinations.
Western tourists, though, are more likely to pay at least $ 20 to $ 30. It is said that women sell themselves for as little as five dollars. Most prostitutes come from the poor Cambodian countryside, but some are from neighbouring countries like Vietnam. The statistics do not inspire confidence. More than one in four establishments are unlicensed, according to the report, so the government does not regulate them. Not all of them are sex workers, of course. The newspaper Cambodia Daily quoted tourism minister Thong Khon as saying that there are 659 adult entertainment venues across the country employing more than 11,000 workers. They work in karaoke bars, massage salons and on the streets. Whether in Siem Reap, the gateway to the famous temples of Angkor, in the capital Phnom Penh or the resort town of Sihanoukville, girls are readily available. Prostitution, although prohibited by law, is rampant all over the country and especially visible at the touristic hotspots. The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) stated in a report released in February it was concerned about “orphanage tourism, which seems to be a growing phenomenon where children in institutions and orphanages are being exposed to sexual exploitation by foreigners” in Cambodia ( see box).Ĭambodia has long been a destination for male sex tourists from Asia and western countries. Several cases of this sort were uncovered in the past years. Male perpetrators, in the guise of tourists or volunteers, get easy access to underage girls and boys. The latest trend seems to be sexual abuse of children in Cambodian orphanages. In 2014, more than 4 million foreigners visited the Southeast Asian country, attracted by the temples of Angkor, tropical beaches – and some of them by cheap and readily available prostitutes. The number of tourists in Cambodia has doubled over the past four years.