Wednesday, September 1, 2010

"Cambodian Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual and Transgender"

Healthy LGBT is not mean Health Diseases but about Human Rights Equality!
This is event:
Human Rights for Everyone:
Celebrating Cambodia’s LGBT Community on International Day Against
Homophobia and Transphobia
The International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia (“IDAHO”) is celebrated every year
on 17th May. It is coordinated by the Paris-based IDAHO Committee founded and presided over
by the French academic and gay rights activist Louis-Georges Tin. 17th May was chosen as the day
for the event because it marks the date in 1992 that homosexuality was removed from the
International Classification of Diseases of the World Health Organization. IDAHO is celebrated in
more than 50 countries around the world. Cambodia’s Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender
(“LGBT”) community and its supporters will come together to celebrate IDAHO as part of
Cambodian Pride Week 2010.

Sunday, August 1, 2010

Taza Cafe is a place where LGBT can find a private rooms to chat, share experience and well serve with excellent food and coffee by our profesionals!

COME JOIN US ON TAZA CAFÉ’S OPENING DAY ON
MONDAY, August 2, 2010! WE’LL BE OFFERING 20% DISCOUNTS
OFF OF ANY PURCHASES MADE. OFFER WILL LAST FROM August 2 TO AUGUST 30, 2010.



TAZA CAFÉ is Phnom Penh’s newest and hottest café deli where we serve not only great coffee and tea, but also sell fantastic Asian and European food. While the typical cafés around Cambodia only boast about their coffee and building fixtures, we however offer much more than gimmicks and the ordinary. Some of the key features of TAZA CAFÉ are fast & free Wi-Fi, delicious Khmer and foreign food for breakfast and lunch, international TV programs/news broadcast, art hall, small library, educational classes (i.e. English language, computer literacy), and most uniquely, LGBT support services for the community! Our overall aim is to provide a friendly, comfortable, productive and educational environment for everyone. Come visit us!

Saturday, July 24, 2010

Sexual and Reproductive Health are Recognized around the World as Human Rights

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&as_q=to+be+healthy+as+human+being&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&num=10&lr=&as_filetype=pdf&ft=i&as_sitesearch=&as_qdr=all&as_rights=&as_occt=any&cr=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&safe=images

Coming out in Phnom Penh

Weeklong LGBT Pride Festival celebrates the Kingdom’s homosexual culture

Drag divas Deedee (left) and Oak perform at Phnom Penh’s Blue Chilli bar in August 2008. The gay-friendly bar scene has heated up in the city in the past several years.PHNOM Penh is hosting its seventh annual Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Festival until May 17, a weeklong event that celebrates LGBT culture and provides practical support for those in the gay community.

Over the past few years, Phnom Penh and Siem Reap have seen the opening of an increased number of gay bars, and last year’s festival was attended by 50 women from the provinces, perhaps showing that “open” gay culture is not only limited to the cities.

Cambodia, along with other predominantly Buddhist countries, enjoys a reputation for tolerance and acceptance of homosexuality.

In some ways gender and sexuality are more fluid here than in Western societies. There are considered to be three genders: male, female and khtuey. Generally speaking, khtuey refers to men with feminine characteristics who are also usually gay.

When people talk about Khmer culture being accepting of homosexuality, what they’re usually referring to is khtuey, which actually represents only a small section of the LGBT community.

When compared to other Asian countries, Cambodia has a less draconian stance. In January of this year, for example, Beijing authorities closed down the Mr Gay pageant an hour before it was due to start, confirming that China’s attitude towards the gay community is undecided at best.

Meanwhile, there hasn’t been any official opposition to the Kingdom’s Pride Festival, but ongoing “morality” crackdowns are sporadic and unpredictable, with the definition of immorality ever-changing.

Tolerant views of the LGBT community are not shared by everyone. The lack of public hostility and aggression toward LGBT people does not mean that homosexuality is widely accepted in Cambodia or that discrimination does not take other forms.

Homosexuality has never been illegal in Cambodia, but there are currently no laws protecting people against discrimination based on their sexual orientation, and ignorance can lead to victimisation of LGBT people by others.

“Sometimes people will say rude or hurtful things, but they don’t think they’re discriminating,” said Lang, a student in Phnom Penh.

Many believe that being gay is accepted in Khmer culture but only when it’s presented in a way that does not threaten the traditional family structure.

“My family don’t know I’m living with another woman,” said Heng, a bar worker.

“If they did I don’t think they would talk to me anymore.”

But a handful of activists in the LGBT community are working to educate the public about homosexuality. One of the festival organisers, Srorn Srun, is a project manager for Marie Stopes International, which offers vital sexual health services, including HIV/AIDS referrals and advocacy work for gay men.

“There needs to be more focus on the causes of HIV/AIDS in the gay population. In our advocacy work we try and educate people about what it is to be gay and encourage communities to be accepting,” says Srorn Srun.

Srorn Srun said the situation is particularly difficult for gay women because they keep their sexuality a secret and face more societal and family pressure to get married and follow convention. Lesbians and transgender people in particular lack support in areas that don’t affect gay men. For example, unlike men, who can marry and have gay relationships, it is very difficult for a married woman to have the same autonomy outside the home.

“I know a lot of gay men who are married. I don’t know any lesbians who are. Once they’re married there’s no opportunity for them to meet other lesbians,” said the owner of a gay bar in Phnom Penh.

For more: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2010051139002/Lifestyle/coming-out-in-phnom-penh.html

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Healthy People Companion Document for Lesbian, Gay, Bixesual, and Transgender (LGBT) Health

C o n t e n t s:

I n t r o d u c t i o n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1
Access to Quality Health Services. . . . . .. . . 2 7
C a n c e r.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 7
Educational and Community-Based Programs. .. . . . . . . . . . . . 11 2
Health Communication.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 5 1
H I V / A I D S . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 2
Immunization and Infectious Diseases. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 9 7
Mental Health and Mental Disorders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 0 5
Nutrition and We i g h t . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 0
Public Health Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 5 8
Sexually Transmitted Diseases (Infections) . . . . . . . . . 2 9 8
Substance A b u s e. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 3 0
Tobacco Use . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 5 2
Violence Prevention. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 7 6
A p p e n d i c e s
Appendix A: Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . 417
Appendix B: Acronyms. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435
Appendix C: LGBT Definitions .. . . . . . . . . . . . . 443
Appendix D: Resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 451
Appendix E: Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 477

For the detail document please visit http://www.glma.org/_data/n_0001/resources/live/HealthyCompanionDoc3.pdf

Sunday, May 30, 2010

Result of An LGBT Workshop!

WORKSHOP REPORT
Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK)
‘What is life like for LGBT in Cambodia?’ – 9-11th March 2010


Workshop participants
Over 100 hundred participants gathered in Men’s Health Cambodia (MHC) to be part of the 3 day workshop. A group of six participants came from 13 provinces, a larger number of twenty-two came from Phnom Penh and some MSM NGOs sent staff to facilitate and learn. The provinces were:
 Kompong Chnang, Siem Reap, Kompong Speu, Banteay Meanchey, Takeo, Kompong Som, Kandal, Battambang, Kompong Cham, Svay Rieng, Prey Veng, Kampot, Pursat and Phnom Penh city.
Participating and supporting NGOs were:
 Men’s Health Cambodia (MHC); Men’s Health Social Services (MHSS); Family Health International (FHI); Building Community Voice (BCV); Social Action for Change (SAC); KHANA, Women’s Network for Unity (WNU); BC, CUD.
It was the first time such a workshop has taken place in Cambodia, bringing together a mixed group of lesbian, gay and transgender people to share experiences.
For the lesbians from the provinces, it was certainly the first time- apart from Cambodia Pride 2009 when lesbians from five provinces participated- that they had been invited to be part of such a workshop.

For more go to www.phnompenhpride.blogspot.com

Monday, May 3, 2010

Love Who You Are! Life Is Beautiful!

One Week LGBT Pride 2010 In Phnom Penh!

You need more details please link to www.phnompenhpride.blogspot.com.

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

Cambodia Pride Week 2010

We are proud to officially announce that plans for Cambodia Pride 2010 are well underway!

As with last year we will celebrate Cambodia Pride from the 11th-17th May, to coincide with International Day Against Homophobia (IDAHO) 2010.

We have a busy team of Cambodian and international volunteers working hard to make Cambodia Pride 2010 even more fabulous than 2009, if that’s possible! So get your dancing shoes on and get ready to paint Phnom Penh pink once again with a fab line- up of activities!

Pride last year was possible with the generous support from the LGBT groups and individuals from all over the globe from America to Russia to India. We would welcome support again, whether financial, technical or just a email to share the love ;o) Here are some ways….

• Can you volunteer any technical skills? Designing posters, DJs, dancers, photographers, camera crews, artists and fundraisers- please do share your time and skills with us!
• We need Cambodian LGBT volunteers, please contact us if you want to be involved and join our team!
• If you are a member of an LGBT group business, please consider running a fundraiser for us.
• Pride is a voluntary group and we rely on donations to keep events free for local LGBT- if you can make a donation towards this, it would be hugely appreciated by us.
• If you have any bright ideas or suggestions please let us know! And please invite all your LGBT friends to join the group, or anyone else who feels the Pride love!

Please watch this space this updates, as soon as the line-up in decided we will let you know. We look forward to seeing as many of you as possible. Please contact us on facebook or email cambodiapride@hotmail.com .

Lots of love from

The Pride Committee xxx

Friday, February 26, 2010

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Sharing your life as LGBT in your community in Cambodia

  • Cambodia Pride Week 2009

During February-May 2009 a loose alliance of lgbt Cambodians, ex-patriots, NGO workers (working with MSM/HIV/AIDS NGOs) and gay business-owners worked together to plan and hold the first week-long Cambodia Pride 12-17th May 2009 (supported in part by British Embassy funds). This was the 5th Pride event in Cambodia but the first to last a week and embrace a range of activities and actors.

Following a successful week of events (workshops, art exhibition, film festival, social nights and networking) those involved have reflected on the experience and found lots of possibilities for building on Cambodia Pride week. Apart from large numbers of Cambodian lgbt enthusiastically participating in Pride week, the week highlighted both the level of willingness for activism and the level of need which exists in Cambodia’s still fledgling lgbt community and movement.

What services do exist for the community predominantly cater for MSM, or men who have sex with men, some of whom are gay. For Cambodian transgender few services exist beyond sexual health and safe sex support. Human rights abuses suffered by the trans community- who often earn a living as sex workers due to limited employment options- regularly go unreported and victims receive limited support due to a lack of resources and services, as well as a challenging human rights context.

Very little exists for lesbians. In fact this was one of the great successes of Cambodia Pride week as over 50 lesbians from 5 provinces traveled to PP to take part in the weekend section. They attended workshops and witnessed the level of organising currently in place for MSM. This inspired them to have such a vision for Cambodian lesbians too and since May two lesbian groups have self-organised, one in PP (over 200 members) and one in Kg Chnang (over 100 members) with support from Women’s Network for Unity (WNU).

For the NGOs who supported Cambodia Pride week the range of issues/needs raised by participants at the workshops was challenging as the NGO remit is solely a health service remit. As NGOs are currently the largest service provider to the lgbt community- or more accurately MSM community- the thinking and understanding of what it means to be ‘gay or lesbian’ is often reduced to the sexual health issues involved in having that identity rather than a broader exploration of what it means to be gay or lesbian or bi or trans in Cambodian society.

What also remains lacking is a broad range of services to support the most-times difficult personal journey involved in being lgbt- personal support like drop-in centres where people can meet and experience a sense of community and solidarity; support for coming out to family and friends; help-lines to break the isolation experienced by lgbt people especially in rural areas; life skills training, including personal development courses and specific job skills training; advocacy training to lobby for greater security for and understanding of lgbt people in Cambodia.

  • Building on Cambodia Pride Week 2009

Regular meetings have followed Cambodia Pride Week- mostly monthly and sometimes bi-monthly. As a result of Cambodia Pride week there is now a greater number of lgbt people attending these meetings, Cambodian and ex-patriot. Some follow-up activities have happened already. These include:

- information sessions for students of Gender Studies in Pannasastra university

- self-organising of two lesbian groups (PP, Kg Chnang)

- preparation of Cambodia Pride promotional dvd (soon to be completed)

- monthly lgbt film nights at META House

- a post-Pride photo exhibition at META House

While ideas are already taking shape for a bigger and better Cambodia Pride Week 2010, there is a lot of momentum among Cambodian and ex-patriot lgbts to harness the connections and possibilities generated by this year’s Pride and strengthen the lgbt community/movement through developing activities/services/events other than Cambodia Pride Week.


This year, we will celebrate Pride Week from 11 to 17 May 2010.