photo
But advocates say that new legislation enacted in February to curb trafficking and sexual exploitation has really only given authorities a license to rape and rob – evidenced by the spiraling number of reported abuse cases at the hands of police rousting former brothel workers from their perches in parks and on street sides. “What is happening is that the police are confiscating property – chairs, tables – from outside karaoke bars, they’re taking everyone’s jewelry,” said one source who did not want to be named but who has repeatedly visited public places where prostitutes gathered to monitor the nightly raids by the authorities. Worse still, allegations and first-hand accounts are piling up that prostitutes are being arrested and some raped before being forced to pay money in exchange for their release, the source said. (via The Phnom Penh Post - Brothel busts drive sex workers underground, via fabrider)