Hun Sirivadh
Motorists drive past a KTV.

Women at Karaoke Parlors Pressured Into Abortions to Keep Their Jobs

Six entertainment workers told VOD of forced pregnancy tests, pressure to terminate and the experience of self-induced abortions while trying to hold onto jobs. As the women experience potential trauma, the motivation among employers often comes down to superstition: Pregnant women are “four-eyed girls” bringing bad business.

Street vendors’ carts in front of a factory in Phnom Penh. (Hun Sirivadh/VOD)

Garments Slump Spills Over to Surrounding Businesses, Residents

Street vendors of all stripes around Phnom Penh manufacturing districts say their small businesses are becoming nearly impossible to sustain, one of the many knock-on effects of a decline in the country’s garment industry amid the global pandemic.

Former Dignity Knitter workers rest under a tent in front of the closed garment factory in Takhmao City on May 1, 2020. (Hun Sirivadh/VOD)

Awaiting Payouts, Fired Garment Workers Keep Watch Outside Factory

About 100 fired garment workers have been guarding their closed factory in shifts since mid-January. They aim to ensure the owner does not sell equipment left inside and disappear with the money before paying workers what they are owed by the end of May.

A truck is seen transporting logs in the Prey Lang Forest in Kratie province in early 2019. (Ouch Leng)

New Trails, Satellite Images Point to More Logging Inside Prey Lang

Forestry watchdogs say they have seen increased logging activity in the Prey Lang sanctuary, especially after independent forest patrollers were stopped by authorities from entering, but officials have defended their ban on unregistered forest patrols.