Beer girls in Cambodia

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Beer girls in Cambodia

• Beer promotion women
• A.Ulstein, Dublin 16.May2008

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(No Transcript)
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• 4-5.000 beer girls in Cambodia
• Carlsberg has 750 beer girls in Phnom Penh.
• 1.200 Heineken beer girls in China (Prof Ian
  Lubek)

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• Beer promotion women sell one brand of beer in
  bars and restaurants underpaid.
• Prostitution
• High prevalence of HIV/Aids
• Pressured to drink
• Violence
• Heineken, Inbev, Carlsberg, Becks, San Miguel,
  Guinness and local brands

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• Question asked
• Are they deliberately underpaid to add the
  attraction of sex to the promotion mix?

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HIV/Aids

• Research suggest high sexual risk among beer
  girls in Cambodia
• Combodia over all average 20 HIV/Aids
  prevalence.
• SiRCHES, activist NGO Siam Reap Citizens for
  Health, Educational and Social Issues
• www.youtube.com/watch?vIKYxgpvAu9A

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SiRCHESI demands

• pay a "living wage"
• provide free treatment
• improve health education before employment,
• provide contracts transparently,
• end all workplace drinking

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Industry response

• Independent audit in Cambodia by CARE
  International
• Beer Selling Industry Cambodia (BSIC) with Code
  of Conduct, October 2006.
• It is the policy of the BSIC that during working
  hours, BPs should not sit or drink with
  consumers. etc
• Carlsberg, Heineken, Guinness agreement 07.
• Best practice medical conference autumn 2008

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Heineken response

• Heineken acknowledge responsibility some
  concessions, free treatment, awareness on health
  services, encourage testing
• Introduce the Enjoy Heineken Responsibly
  messaging in Khmer in commercial communication
  and website. In addition, we will further develop
  support material for BP educators.
• etc

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• Heineken itself reports 15 growth in sales in
  Cambodia in 2007

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Reserouces

• www.beergirls.org
• www.bsicambodia.com
• www.fairtradebeer.com
• www.ethicalbeer.com
• Press release of recent research in Combodia
  www.fairtradebeer.com/read/PressreleaseAPr14,2008.
  rtf
• data suggest high sexual risk among beer girls
  in Cambodia Sexually Transmitted Diseases.
  32(12)745-751, December 2005. Kim, Andrea et al
  Journal of the American Sexually Transmitted
  Disease Association.
• Prof Ian Lubek, Psychology Department,
  Universwity of Guelph, Ontario, Canada Visisting
  Professorial Fellow, NCHSR, UNSW, Kensington,
  NSW, Australia.
• www.youtube.com/watch?vIKYxgpvAu9A
• COLLABORATIVELY CONFRONTING THE Lubek et al.
  ASIAN PSYCHOLOGIST, Vol 3, (1), 2002, 21-28