Beer Women and Legal Protection

By Soy Sophea

All people, there is no one that does want to live a dignified life with respect and honor. Regardless of any races people always want dignities no matter what their businesses are, but sometimes their wishes can not succeed.

If we look into a corner of the current Cambodia society, there are many works that people do not value the works even though some of the works are being offered values.

According to Raksmei Kampuchea newspaper volume 15 issue 4456 published Friday 7 December 2007 stated that at Wat Phnom resort on December 5th, there were Cambodian Women Crisis Center in cooperation with committee of CEWDAW and Phnom Penh Municipality with supported budget from USAID through East West Institute organized a forum that entitled beer women and legal protection.

The same source quoted Acting President of CWCC Nup Sarensreyroth who said during the forum that was organized in an aim to celebrate the 29 anniversary of the 16 days campaign against the women violation and the elimination of discriminatory ideas against beer women that have regarded all beer women are prostitutes who obsess with sex and thirdly to educate people about the needs of beer women for their social living standards including advantages and disadvantaged consequences from their works.

To improve the working conditions as well as [respect] human rights for beer women are vitally needed government participation, relevant institutes, Non-Governmental Organizations and beer companies. Care Organization has reported that there are 4,000 beer promotion women across Cambodia1. What does the government should do?

The government and NGOs should establish continuous campaigns against the beer women discrimination in order to promote the beer and wine promotion n women something like the 16 days campaign in order to disseminate and show existing articles of the laws involving sexual harassment or internal rape2 for the publics. Article five of the penal code of the Kingdom of Cambodia stated “1. Anyone who rape or attempt to rape on any one regardless the same sex or different sex, they breach the rape offense and must be imprisoned from 10 to 15 years….” At this point we have observed that there are three ministries are involved with the work, they are Ministry of Women Affairs, Ministry of Commerce and the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Trainings. The Ministry of Women Affairs should disseminate widely about laws to promote women values such the treaty on elimination all kinds of discrimination against women. For the Ministry of Commerce should encourage and cooperate with beer companies to respect women rights who are their staff to promote or sell the beers the same as garment factories workers and the Ministry of Labor should work on the working conditions and other rights that stated in the labor law in order to investigate and check all beer companies or distributors who are not respect the staff rights and do not implement the labor law. The government has full rights to withdraw licenses for any companies that make mistakes more than two times and continue to make the same mistakes.

Furthermore, NGOs and other civil organizations also have vital roles in advocacy especially for the establishment of federations and unions for beer promotion women. In addition, NGOs can also play the roles to monitor any abuses against the women by helping the government in the campaigns, and when it necessary to participate in drafting the law and to support the respect of human rights for beer promotion women. Establishing federations or unions for women are needed for them to have their initiative and self-leading. To succeed this, the women would stop thinking that they are indirect sex workers that the women are being judged by men customers in a bad way.

Furthermore, companies or beer retailers can also help in the works. the companies have the roles to draw out policies or principles to define the working conditions, appropriate salary, vacation, transportation for the beer promotion women at 10 p.m, this is a way to be responsible for the staff. Uniforms and the transportation must be provided by the company to make it easy for the staff management. The companies should also conduct survey from the customers of their attitudes toward the beer women so the companies can make measure in order to respond the customers’ needs as well as for staff protection and to make profit.//