Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2013
Abstract
Cambodia’s 100% Condom Use Programme is credited with an increase in consistent condom use in commercial sexual interactions and a decrease in HIV prevalence among female sex workers (FSWs). There has been little improvement in condom use between FSWs and non-commercial partners, prompting calls for more innovative approaches to increasing condom use in these relationships. To understand why condoms are used or not used in sexual interactions involving FSWs, we examined condom negotiation across different types of relationships. We conducted 33 in-depth interviews with young (15 to 29 years) women engaged in sex work in Phnom Penh. There was an important interplay between the meanings of condom use and the meanings of women’s relationships. Commercial relationships were characterised as inherently risky and necessitated condom use. Despite a similar lack of sexual fidelity, sweetheart relationships were rarely construed as risky and typically did not involve condom use. Husbands and wives constructed their sexual interactions with each other differently, making agreement on condom use difficult. The lack of improvement in condom use in FSWs’ non-commercial sexual relationships needs to be understood in relation to both sex work and the broader Cambodian sexual culture within which these relationships are embedded.
DOI
10.1080/17441692.2013.767930
Recommended Citation
Lisa Maher, Julie Mooney-Somers, Pisith Phlong, Marie-Claude Couture, Serey Phal Kien, Ellen Stein, Anna Juong Bates, Neth Sansothy, Kimberly Page & on behalf of the Young Women's Health Study Collaborative (2013) Condom Negotiation across Different Relationship Types by Young Women Engaged in Sex Work in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, Global Public Health: An International Journal for Research, Policy and Practice, 8:3, 270-283, DOI:10.1080/17441692.2013.767930
Comments
This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Global Public Health on 22 Feb 2013, available online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17441692.2013.767930.