And this is a good thing because it sends a clear message that any form of sexual abuse will no longer be tolerated in the country known for cheap sex. No tourist can claim that a woman/girl just happened to break into his bedroom or get him drunk. Tourists in Cambodia now have to be responsible for what they do there or face terrible consequences. Since the desperation and poverty of Cambodian locals cannot be quick-fixed, foreigners need to legislate themselves and a 100% rate of conviction translating to several years in prison sends a strong message that Cambodia is not the country for you, if you're looking to laze around, get drunk and exploit(or be exploited by) the locals for cheap sex.

"Before 2000, pedophiles enjoyed "a good time because there was no real police action against them," said Guth, who advises the Interior Ministry on how to train and equip police to deal with human trafficking and sexual exploitation. The project, which has received about US$250,000 a year in funding from the Netherlands since 2000, began making progress after special police units were created two years ago in Phnom Penh and six provinces, Guth said. Before police received the training, they seemed to have little idea of what constitutes sexual abuse against minors and thus were often reluctant to act when asked for help, said Hang Vibol of Action Pour Les Enfants" -^[1][2]

1. ^ http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/03/29/2003108190
2. ^ http://goo.gl/ruCSq

The law does not target pedophiles so much as foreigners looking to marry local adult women. Any white male tourist talking a local woman or girl is photographed, followed and is in constant danger of being convicted of a sex crime he may or may not be involved in. "Several respondents mentioned they had archival documents that pointed to NGOs as having been involved with the arrests and convictions of people that were innocent of the charges, and claims have been made that unnamed public officials in that country were in on the scam. One respondent mentioned that he was a victim himself. "-^[1] "No foreigners over the age of 50 can marry any Cambodian women, even if they were both consenting adults... the same age or older. That means if a 50-year-old man were to meet a 60-year-old woman and fall in love (I'll admit, it's not likely to happen in this country) they would be legally forbidden from tying the knot. If that weren't enough, foreigners who make less than $2,500 a month are forbidden from getting hitched with Khmer women. This equates to about 10 times the national Cambodian salary, in a country where police make $25 a month, and a hell of a lot more than anyone I know earns, as English teachers are lucky to crack $1,200 per month. That would be comparable to making about $400,000 as a foreigner to legally marry a Canadian woman. If that weren't discriminatory enough, the law flat out does not apply to foreign women, who could marry a 15-year-old if they damn well felt like it without taking any flack from the government. Not to mention the fact that the prime minister declared his assets for the first time in the country's history last month -- at a laughable salary of just over $1,400 a month. Comparably, Barack Obama pulls in a comfortable $400,000 a year."^[2]

1. ^ http://www.wowasis.com/travelblog/?p=3153
2. ^ http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/adam-miller/cambodia-human-rights_b_868429.html

Cambodia is a beautiful country with an attractive natural landscape. And that is what the Country wants to offer up to visitors. The Government keeling under pressure from Human rights' groups for strict law reform is a step in the right direction. The amount and extent of sexual abuse by tourists and pimps alike is deplorable and it is high time that action was taken. "Faced with pressure from groups such as AFESIP, the government also has begun taking tentative steps to prevent the crimes, and activists say the message is finally being sent out that Cambodia is no longer a pedophile's safe haven. Starting next month, authorities will start asking tour groups, guesthouses and hotels to report suspicious child sex activities, said Deputy Tourism Minister Thong Khon. Already, tourism pamphlets stacked in the arrival areas of Phnom Penh's international airport contain warnings against sex with children. "We welcome tourists ... but not sex tourists or child sex tourists. They mess with our law, they'll be thrown in jail," Thong Khon said. Most pedophiles in Cambodia either live here or frequently visit the country specifically to exploit children because of Cambodia's weak law enforcement, and because it is cheaper to buy sex here than in other countries. "If all of them were to be caught, there may not be enough space for them" in prisons, said Hang Vibol, director of Action Pour Les Enfants (Action for Children), a French group focusing on pedophilia" -^[1]

1. ^ http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/03/29/2003108190

Not every White male in Cambodia gets arrested, being under the radar is one thing and being 'convicted for no reason' is an exaggeration of what happens in the country. When a country has a reputation for cheap, unpunished solicitation, it has to take to stringent measures to protect the human rights of its citizens (or at least to appease international human right's groups/orgs).

The reason the government is complacent about this is because it does naturally hurt Cambodia's tourism industry since sex without consequences is a stereo-typically attractive venture. It is a corrupt country and there are false convictions which is why tourists need to be vigilant, careful and not flirt with the locals but do whatever it is they come to do (so long as it is legal) and go home.

According to the Post, Prior to the incident that led to Demeret’s conviction, the girl was being cared for at a shelter run by a local NGO, leading Dun Vibol to question whether the crime could have been prevented in the first place. “Demeret was being investigated by the NGO’s caseworkers and police when they saw him take the girl to sleep with,” he said. “or this case, I was wondering why the girl was freed from the shelter and came to do business as a prostitute with Demeret”-^[1] There have been instances when girls who are supposedly living in NGO shelters, are pimped to foreigners. There are other instances when unsuspecting foreigners are haggled by women photographed arrested and convicted for doing nothing at all. With girls claiming that they signed statements claiming they were molested or paid for sex, by policemen just looking to convict foreigners, period/full-stop.^[2] as Adam Miller of the Huffington Post rants: "This effort to combat the standard sight of grandfather-esque men trolling the streets for girls barely out of high school is somewhat admirable in theory -- but in practice it does nothing to reduce this accepted, never-ending conveyor belt of white-bread-ophiles. It only allows, nay encourages, this sexual oppression by the rich and powerful -- quite possibly the worst breed of this predator class. Instead of scrutinizing foreigners' intentions with the often vulnerable and desperate women of this country on a case-by-case basis, if they were really concerned about this problem at all, the Cambodian government has taken the lazy route (as is the norm) by casting a stereotypical net over the problem."^[3]

1. ^ http://www.wowasis.com/travelblog/?p=1440
2. ^ http://www.wowasis.com/travelblog/?p=3153
3. ^ http://goo.gl/yRB7s