Shamed and exploited
Kneeling on the wooden floorboards of the Cambodian Prostitute Union’s “drop-in” centre, Bopha’s voice began to tremble as she spoke of the obstacles her daughter faced at school. Bopha, whose name has been changed to protect her identity as a sex worker, said her daughter’s problems began soon after she was registered at the Kalob Primary School in Phnom Penh’s Daun Penh district. The teacher, she said, asked for $0.25 each day and another small monthly payment for water and electricity. Bopha, who told The Post she can rarely afford three meals a day, balked at the requests. But the teacher would not reduce the price of the bribe. “I told the teacher I don’t have money to pay every day, I’m a sex worker.”
