Svay Pak - Economic Situation

Economic Situation

The brothels in Svay Pak are in direct competition with each other and see little advantage in cooperation even when faced with external threats (i.e. police). Sex workers from different brothels do not usually associate with workers from another brothel. This is due to personal differences as well as the competition for clients. Sex work, particularly acts that involve underage workers, were a cornerstone of the local economy. At any one time it was estimated that over 300 commercial sex workers lived and worked in the Svay Pak area. Virgin children were sold for a very high price ($400–600) which is then continually lowered until they are worth only a few U.S. dollars. Some brothel owners are willing to put their workers under hymen-reconstruction surgery in order to create the appearance that their workers are still virgins.

Brothels were usually run by a couple. The man tends to take care of financial issues and security while the woman interacts with the sex workers on a daily basis. Some of the female owners were sex workers themselves. Almost all of the owners are Vietnamese and have good connections with the areas from which sex workers are delivered to Svay Pak. The relationship between brothel owners and sex workers is complicated. Most women claim that their owners are kind to them but others refuse to speak about their owners for fear of repercussions. Women and children who work involuntarily are usually beaten and/or given drugs in order to make them complacent if they refuse to have sex with a certain number of clients a day. Some brothel owners refuse to let their workers out when they’re not working while others are more lax in their treatment of the sex workers.

For Vietnamese workers that were sent there by their families or came voluntarily, brothel owners paid each woman’s family or intermediary a sum ranging from $50 to $3000. The women worked off this debt for a period between 6 months and 2 years with an average of 14 clients a week. Currently Svay Pak suffers from a severe lack of health and social infrastructure. Fee-for-use schools and healthcare facilities make it impossible for the inhabitants to receive a proper education or treatment for illnesses. Partly as a result of a lack of health education programs it is estimated that the HIV rate among commercial sex workers is 40%. In addition some workers are willing to have sex without a condom in order to win over more clients from a competing brothel or to just make more money.