In Cambodia, those tasked with upholding the law are often those who inflict some of the worst abuse. Sex workers in particular know this to be true. Women and girls involved in sex work face beatings, rape, sexual harassment, extortion, arbitrary arrest and detention, forced labor, and other cruel and degrading treatment at the hands of police, public park security guards, government officials, and those working in the centers and offices run by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans, and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSAVY).
Sex workers told Human Rights Watch that police officers beat them with their fists, sticks, wooden handles, and batons that administer electric shocks. Police officers also threatened sex workers with guns. In several instances, police officers raped sex workers while they were in police detention. Some sex workers described being detained in Social Affairs centers under horrific conditions, with restricted freedom of movement, experiencing or witnessing beatings or rapes, and inadequate food and medical care.