abortions
(Illustration: Michael Dickison/VOD)

Opinion: Shame Around Premarital Sex Is Making Abortions More Dangerous

Abortions have been legal in Cambodia since 1997, but social, cultural and religious stigmas are preventing women from accessing them in safe settings. Cambodia needs information campaigns that tackle the stigmas keeping women silent, writes Future Forum’s Heng Molika.

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.