August 4, 2005
Mobile phone porn craze sparks call for action in Cambodia
Following a similar teenage craze in India consisting of sending doctored naked images of female celebrities by mobile phones a Cambodian minister for government is demanding action against pornography in his country, according to the Middle East Times.
"The local press in the mainly Buddhist nation has been in a frenzy in recent weeks over the sudden spread of pornographic images by phone after the mother of a pop singer spotted a photograph of her daughter sent to a phone.
Fuel was added to the media fire late last month when a man was arrested for allegedly forcing a woman to take off her clothes while being filmed in return for not being sexually assaulted. The four-minute movie was quickly distributed around the capital via mobile phones.
"The increase in the distribution of the pornographic pictures to youth has severely affected the value, honor and dignity of Cambodian women and family, social, cultural and Khmer traditional values," the women's affairs ministry said in a separate statement."
In a letter to Prime Minister Hun Sen, Ung Kantha Phavy described the phenomenon as "a state of emergency because if there are no measures to crack down quickly, more women will become victims".
Picture from The Guardian.
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