Abstract

Vulnerable workers: Unwanted sexual behaviors faced by women migrant beer promoters in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand

Jean Grassman, MS PHD CPH1, Denise Spitzer, PhD2, Ratana Somrongthong, PhD3, Carly Blair, MS1, Luck Bounmixay, PhD4, Ong-On Prajakett, PhD5, Leakana Duong, BA6 and Hatairat Kaoiem, PhD7
(1)CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy, New York, NY, (2)University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada, (3)Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, Thailand, (4)Independent scholar, Vientiane, Lao People's Democratic Republic, (5)Royal Thai Military Nursing School, Thailand, (6)Independent Scholar, Phnom Penh, Cambodia, (7)Royal Thai Military Nursing School, Bangkok, Thailand

APHA's 2019 Annual Meeting and Expo (Nov. 2 - Nov. 6)

In Southeast Asia, employment as a beer promoter provides many migrant women with an enticing pathway to financial independence for themselves and their families. To document the experiences of beer promoters in Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand, a mixed method study was undertaken by a team of academics, students, and research assistants (who themselves had worked as beer promoters). This report focuses on questions about workplace hazards specifically related to unwanted behaviors from customers. The findings come from analysis of questionnaire responses obtained from 951 migrant women employed as beer promoters. The questionnaires were evenly stratified by country and three different types of venues: restaurants, bars/beer gardens, and nightclubs/karaoke clubs. The proportion of women reporting that they typically experienced unwanted behaviors from customers more than one day a week did not differ by venue and was highest in women from Cambodia (76-88%), followed by Laos (55-60%), and Thailand (30-42%). Further characterization of workplaces indicate that Cambodian women beer promoters face the most adverse conditions with a larger proportion reporting 1) having been physically hurt at work, 2) high levels of beer consumption, and 3) a lack of enforcement of protective rules. Compared to Laos and Thailand, a higher proportion of Cambodian women reported factors related to vulnerability including lower levels of education and the need to support family members. Country specific recommendations for government, industry and NGOs have been developed based on feedback from the questionnaire results which were presented at stakeholder meetings held in October 2018.

Occupational health and safety Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines Public health or related public policy