Asian Institute of Technology

School of Environment, Resources and Development Studies (SERD)

Gender and Development Studies (GDS)

Course: ED 75.06-

Gender, Culture and Human Development

Instructor: Dr. Bernadette Resurreccion

Student: Sreng Sopheap

ID: st107692

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 Assignment: Set 3

The state is not gender-neutral but is ‗a bearer of gender.‘ How does state regulate gender?
Exemplify this point by providing a case that involves how the state can regulate gender
relations through specific laws and policies.

Introduction:

As far as gender is very much social constructed and a part of social institutions, which
these institutions as considered as social structures that mediate through families, markets,
schools, religious and governments (Anderson, 2000; Connell, 1999b). And among these,
government is one of the leading roles in influencing way women‘s and men‘s living; this is
particularly the case where a government policy is pursued, then the way of living and
thinking among its citizens is inevitably changed too (Ken‘ichiro, 1993).

States as raises by Connell (1999b) are changing and varied in different levels ranging
from international, regional, national, provincial and local which are very complex to draw the
line. However, what level(s) the states located must ensure that no discrimination is imposed
to its citizens and same as to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women (Cook,
1993). Article 4 on the Elimination of Violence against Women proposed by UN that ―states
should condemn violence against women and should not invoke any custom, tradition or
religious consideration to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination…‖( UN, 1993).
Yet, many women in many countries do not enjoy same treatment before laws and policies
handed down to the people such as property rights as man, rights to make certain contracts,
rights to association, rights to decide over her body, mobility and even religious (Nussbaum,
2002).

Various state policies can really influence its citizens in many ways. For instance, such
as China One Child Policy determines only one child per couple not only limit people
sexuality, interests and behavior but also shows an unusual rise of ratio from sex-selection
abortion, informal/non-registration of female babies and even gender discrimination against
girls before birth is even worrisome (Ostlin, George and Sen, 2001). Norway Father Quota
(Connell, 1999a) or Norway Paternal Leave (Deustch, 2007) is another policy introduced by
Norway government has encouraged about 78% in 1997 and 80% 2004 of fathers to apply
for four weeks leave paid to help their wives and take up caring work of children and
household (ILO, 2005). Also such state policy as the British marriage legislation introduced to
Sri Lanka under the British colonial as opposed to the traditional inheritance laws where only
firstborn son would inherit the properties (patrilineal inheritance); women rights to divorce is
limited (monogamy) and woman should to be protected by her husband (Risseeuw, 1991).

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Also an imposed ban on recognized legal intermarriage by state between the colonized and
colonizers lead to social categorization and segregation of white men middle class to benefit
over the colonized concubinage women (Stoler, 2000). In this sense, the state explicitly is a
agent of regulatory on people as well as a force which mark into the history gender (Connell,
(1999b)

The above policies have shown really influential and regulatory on how women and
men are shaped and produced gendered. My focus on this essay is to demonstrate how the
Cambodian recent law bans sex workers that I consider as it regulates gender relations by
providing two arguments on the regulations the state has made.

Gender regulation by state law1:

Following Thailand success pilot project in 100% Condom Use Programs (100% CUP)
during 1989, Cambodia also started in 1998 to introduce 100% CUP among brothel based
sex workers to slowdown spread of the HIV/AIDs epidemic (WHO, 2004). The 100% CUP
aims to reduce HIV, STI transmission, ensure that condoms are ―used 100% of the time; in
100% of risky sexual relations; and in 100% of the sex entertainment establishments‖ (Ibid,
p.9). This government initiation showed successfully to a great declined in HIV/AIDs from
43% to 21% between 1998 and 2003 (Avert International AIDS Charity, 2008; UNIFEM,
World Bank, ADB, UNFPA and DFID/UK, 2004).

Last year February 2008, Cambodia launched the ―Law on the Suppression of Human
Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation that aims to protect human rights and dignity,
to improve the country‘s proper customs and cultural value‖ (International HIV/AIDS Alliance,
2008). Under this law now no longer the case that 100% condom use in brothel based is
effective nor selling sexual services will be allowed when the government actually bans sex
workers and sex entertainment establishments.

On the basis of sex workers, where the discourse of ―language naming Sex
Workers/Prostitute2‖ comes to play very powerful of what it meant to be in such sector and
what really women feel under this term prostitute, not even sex workers. This labeling or
stereotyping sex workers as the one who destroys country‘s proper customs, culture, as the

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Some part of this essay was published as “ Letter to Editor” in Phnom Penh Post, 6 th April: Can be viewed via:
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2009040625216/National-news/Laws-must-not-be-biased-
against-women.html

2
I am using the word “sex workers” rather than prostitute as the social norms of this term called in Cambodia.

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disease transmitter and therefore must regulate them. This has blindly let government of
Cambodia cracked downs on red light areas and arrest of sex workers while leaving male‘s
clients free of the bar who are generally abusers and refuser of protections for HIV/AIDs
transmitters (Womensphere, 2008). With the current law that is being implemented marks
two important issues which I focus on is gender regulations, women‘s employment and
private and public spheres.

The assumption is that the law must be gender-neutral or fair to everyone but liberal
feminist argues that the state is not neutral in its treatment of women. And that women are
suppressed and suffered unjust discrimination that it may also perpetuate gender such as
accessing health care or discriminatory in laws itself (Reeves and Baden, 2000; Connell,
1999b; Rosser, 2006). This is where women sex workers have been suppressed by the
ideas of male bias dominant law in Cambodia. Sex workers who have been generally
‗already‘ considered immoral and deserving of punishment, yet, such criminalization by the
law may exacerbate violence against sex workers or subject to sexual exploitation as they
are illegal and suffering from forms of social and law discriminations. Now sex workers will
not be able to report their sexual violence and often their dismissal claims on sexual violence
will continue to be dismissed and unrecognized (WHO, 2005). Such countries whose
criminalize sex workers, sex work is then illegal not just by the society that punish them but
by the state/government, therefore, frequently sex workers are regarded as objects and easy
targets for harassment and violence.

Even with some prejudices and sedimented of claims on sex workers as shames and
stigma attached to them resulted in many underreporting of rape to authorities; despite the
fact that sex workers used to enjoy some level of rights to mobility and public places where
they negotiated with clients to earn income as part of their survival of the families. Unlike
now sex workers have moved or have to move onto the hidden streets or become
informal/illegal sex workers in beer gardens, karaoke and entertainment establishments as
illegal workers with limited choices to be present in the public where they used to be
(Whyte, 2009).

This new sex workers law does not only regulate how women should choose their work
as career, but also create additional more burdens into historical gendered on the existing
shame and stigma by the society that has been perceiving sex workers as dirty and a fallen
women/damaged person. The Network of Sex Work Projects have committed to raise
awareness and advocate for sex workers as everyone whose ―reasons for engaging in sex
work, and for leaving it, are personal, economic and social – as complex as anyone‘s

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reasons for involvement in any occupation. Sex workers merit the same human rights and
respect as other people‖ (Network of Sex Worker Project, 2008).

A contradicted argument such as by Coalition against Trafficking in Women may see

that prostitution is something violence against women, sexual exploitation and ‗victimizes all
women, justifies the sale of any woman, and reduces all women to sex‘ (CATW, 1998: 2
quoted in Doezema, 1999). My argument is not to distinguish the two views of sex worker
standpoint. However, the ban and regulation imposed by the current government on sex
workers and prostitutions, where all women as the target, also left hundreds of them
unemployed sex workers and became even more vulnerable to sexual exploitation, arrested,
beaten, jailed or displaced as the result of such law banning sex workers (RH Reality Check,
2008; Womensphere, 2008; Straitstimes, 2008, Whyte, 2009, Ditmore, 2008).

This law cracking down prostitution has potentially increased the risk of violence
against sex workers rather than protected them, regulated women‘s employment and
decision to their own agency and body to be in sex works. This should not be based on the
principles that engaging in provision of sexual services make sex workers to be denied on
the basic rights that all human beings are entitled equally under law or international
employment law. Thus, the sex workers/prostitutes should be recognized as a
professional/job like other jobs and it is job not just for one individual but for family well-being
such as feeding and sending their children to school and sending remittances back home
(Kempadoo, 1998; Jeffreys, 1996).

The second argument I will make on how state regulates gender is the accessible to
public sphere with public services tend to carter every citizen. These public service reactions
which have been informed that sex workers now are no more legitimate and they are illegal,
and the subject to arrest contribute to certain behaviors women may have to comply with as
the results of this law. With labeling of stigmatizing and using the language/term of sex
workers as illegal make even difficult for them to consult health personnel and with badly
quality of public health interventions lead a large proportion of sex workers no longer bother
to seek help from anyone other than a small network of friends (Jenkins and Sainsbury,
2006).

The law makes sex workers with both brothels based and freelance turn their face on
hiding from police and no longer at all dare to seek services from public health when
handling condoms is justifiable as evidence of prostitution. Sex workers in no way can
continue to stay at the brothel, access to wage income and use condom to protect
themselves, which may increase more risk of HIV/AIDS (Whyte, 2009; Nita, 2008;
International HIV/AIDS Alliance, 2008). Though, some sex workers, especially those are

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previously based on the freelance may be forced to give service of unpaid and unprotected
sex to some powerful people who oversee law enforcement in order to escape arrest,
harassment and free release from temporarily place (WHO, 2005).

The regulation of the law has serious potential impact on gender relations and identities
which mark differences between those who are not holding condoms and those who are not
as identity can be indicated by such symbols of condoms (Woodward, 2004). In addition, as
where existing cultural norms and traditions have been entrenched that sex workers are bad
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women and now those sex workers and even normal women who go out at night are subject
to arrest by the police (Kunthear and Chhay, 2009). Within this law makes sex workers
shouldering more of the burden from society, legal status and from those who are taking the
opportunities to exploit them on the basic of illegal careers and bad women. Plus normal
women‘s mobility must be constrained as well as sex workers‘ is now restricted as police can
fine any woman who hold condom as the condom is an indicator of sex worker; this is
particularly in the Cambodian culture where typical woman would not bring such condoms
when they go out, only sex workers have (PSI/Cambodia, 2002; Medel-Anonuevo, 2002). For
those guys who frequently visit the brothels or city parks where they can hang around and
bring girls/sex workers along for the night now have to find alternative ways to get those sex
workers. This may lead to attempted rape and sexual violence where the masculinity uses
excuse made on the basic of their uncontrolled behavior due to non-availability of sexual
service that used to be provided by sex workers.

My conclusions whether it is ―nights or day time, paid or unpaid job‖, the current law
has demonstrated clearly how it regulate women‘s choices, body and agency and are
subjected to arrest. Yet, identity of condoms and being out there at night that generally
identify as legitimate to arrest put much restriction on how women should go out and when
they should go out. Plus, such state law builds on the gender blind principle of viewing
women as the object and leaves the men free continue to reproduce another gendered
history where society overlooks the existing women‘s image. Such regulation without taking
into account of differences between men and women and among them who are both
unequally considered in the society have really affected women more in term of their rights
and their control over their sexuality, while the men leaving women to cleanse the waste. We
can no longer afford to see that every action that needs intervention have to put women first
exclusively while the root cases are also the men; however, if HIV/AIDS and human rights
are the issues that not alone women‘s faults or burden, then both men and women and the

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Normal women are the women who are not sex workers

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law will have to work together and protect each others that to ensure women will not be
limited on the law that biases to male. In addition, if anything is about sex workers sex
workers should be the legitimate persons to do it (Millett quoted in Jeffreys, 1996, p21). And
this brings my arguments that state is the bearer of gender and how state decides is very
much influencing how gender is being regulated, reproduced and constantly changed.

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