Sexuality beliefs among Cambodians: implications for health care professionals
Kulig, J.C.
Health Care for Women International 15(1): 69-76
1994
ISSN/ISBN: 0739-9332 PMID: 8169171 DOI: 10.1080/07399339409516096Document Number: 277542
Cambodian immigrants in northern California 16-85 years old, were interviewed and observed to collect information about their beliefs about sexuality (menstruation, sexual intercourse, and family planning). Before the war, discussion about menstruation and sexual intercourse rarely occurred among friends and relatives. They thought that limited knowledge about sexuality prevented premarital sexual intercourse. Any digressions from acceptable behavior by daughters tarnished family honor. Cambodians accepted pregnancy as inevitable and natural. During the Khmer Rouge years, families were separated for long periods of time. The Khmer Rouge considered premarital sex a crime and punished the man and the woman with death. They arranged marriages, most of which dissolved when the Vietnamese invaded or at the refugee camps. Most women suffered from amenorrhea during the Khmer Rouge period. The year the Vietnamese invaded, birth rates increased, signaling the return to menses and a normal family life. In the refugee camps, the Cambodians were introduced to family planning. Thus, they became exposed to new information, which engaged them in discussions about an intimate topic with strangers. Rumors about family planning methods first surfaced in the camps and continued in the US. This exposure apparently led to a change in women's behavior, e.g., premarital intercourse and not listening to husbands or fathers. Information received in the US reinforced this behavior. Parents were concerned that sex education classes teach children how to have sexual intercourse. Premarital pregnancies reinforced this belief. Cambodians realized the difficulty of having a large family in the US. Extramarital affairs increased. Health care providers, e.g., nurses, should work with the Cambodian community to design and implement culturally appropriate health education programs.