'Behind closed doors': Debt-Bonded sex workers in Sihanoukville, Cambodia

Sandy, Larissa

Abstract

In the trafficking discourse and international law, debt-bonded sex workers have been defined as 'victims of trafficking'. The hyperexploitative contractual arrangements faced by debt-bonded sex workers may be the most common form of contemporary forced labour practices in the modern industry. However, in this paper, I present women's individual experiences working under indenture in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. I do so because women's narratives raise many questions about 'consent' and 'coercion' that, to date, remain unanswered. By examining women's own perceptions of the situation, the present paper attempts to address issues related to 'consent' and 'coercion' in order to highlight some of the possible implications this has for both how we theorise about and respond to the issue of indenture.

Citation

Sandy, L. (2009). 'Behind closed doors': Debt-Bonded sex workers in Sihanoukville, Cambodia. Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 10(3), 216-230. https://doi.org/10.1080/14442210903114223

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Online Publication Date: Jul 29, 2009
• Publication Date: Sep 1, 2009
• Deposit Date: Jun 29, 2023
• Journal: Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology
• Print ISSN: 1444-2213
• Electronic ISSN: 1740-9314
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 10
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 216-230
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14442210903114223
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/5278443
• Publisher URL: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/14442210903114223