The taboo topic is sex. Not commercial sex, a topic as common in the local newspapers as the trials and political maneuvers. Youth and sex. As was the case in countries in the West a little more than a generation ago, traditional values dictate that unmarried couples simply do not have sexual relationships, particularly young women who should be virgins when they marry. But traditional values, while filling as important a role in Cambodia as they do in any culture, can be as fragile as fairy tales when confronted with the fast-changing facts of modern life.
Young people do have sex in Cambodia.
For young men premarital sex is a foregone conclusion, a rite of passage, most commonly experienced with a commercial sex worker. While premarital sex is less common for young women, it is increasing significantly, and young women who marry as virgins often marry men who have been frequenting brothels prior to their marriage. The major factor contributing to the very high maternal mortality rate is septic abortions. Young people need the fast-changing facts, the knowledge and skills that will allow them to make and negotiate intelligent choices about their own sexual lives. Be faithful, use Condoms, and Don't share needles.