Facts
Facts taken from social scientists, research reports, university theses, annual government surveys, medical practitioners and press reports.
alcohol risks

In Memoriam
The women who have died at work serving beer were real people and should be remembered.

Brands?
Find out if your favorite beer is being sold by 'beergirls' in Cambodia.

Ways to help
Easy ways to contribute to change.

YOU CAN SUPPORT THE HIV/AIDS PREVENTION WORK IN CAMBODIA! Visit the SiRCHESI website

Some of the world's largest beer companies exploit Cambodian women to sell their products, and may deny these women basic labour and human rights, (refusing to recognise them as employees). When AIDS, alcohol and other work place dangers prove fatal, these 'throwaway beer girls' are replaced with young recruits.

Many "beer promotion women" in Cambodia may die on the job unnecessarily within the next 2 years: 20% are HIV/AIDS sero-positive but cannot afford life-saving medications. How can we urge international breweries to take urgent steps to save the lives of these women? 

Aug 2011 Beer Sellers Take Action in Cambodia Local newspaper stories cover the beer-sellers strike in Cambodia: from protest outside Cambrew Headquarters in Phnom Penh to campaigns to Carlsberg and the Deputy Governor intervention with a commitment to paying overtime. read press coverage see photos of the protest On 5 Aug the Beer Sellers Union CSFWF contacted beer sellers about the temporary ending of the strike. Read letter (rtf)

In October 2006, major businesses in the Cambodian beer market came together to found a professional industry organization called "Beer Selling Industry Cambodia" (BSIC). This had followed more than 6 years of alarming press reports on the precarious position of Cambodian beer-selling women, and a growing body of systematic research findings on the workplace health and safety risks, and financial insecurities, faced by women who competed nightly in restaurants and bars to sell their exclusive brands to male customers.
Still, health, safety and security for Cambodian women beer sellers were substandard in 2009: Urgent actions are still required by all major brewers (AB/INBEV, Carlsberg, HEINEKEN/ Asia Pacific Breweries, SAB/Miller, Guinness, San Miguel, Bavaria, Asahi, etc.) ... read the full report from Michelle Green and Ian Lubek or a summary in the press-release 2010
The report was picked up by the Phnom Penh Post in this article on April 27, 2010. Heineken-affiliated Cambodia Brewery Ltd declined to comment.

For more facts, background information and action strategies, why not consult our sister site Fair Trade Beer or visit Beergirls.org, a site providing a voice to the women at risk in Cambodia.

Find out about the work SiRCHESI is doing at Angkorwat-NGO - or read the 2008 newsletter

Heineken releases CAS Audit (Jan. 2009). 
Beer Selling Industry Cambodia (BSIC), of which Heineken, Carlsberg, Guinness, Tiger Beer, etc.,are members, hired  Cambodian research organization CAS to evaluate progress made since Jan. 2008 (unpublished, CAS "Baseline" AUDIT), and to document adherence to 7 principles in their Code of Conduct (Oct. 2006). The CAS study focusses on those  7 items, without addressing some of the additional concerns raised by SiRCHESI, SOMO (2007, 2009) and shareholders representatives from VBDO, addressed at Heineken AGMs since 2007. (e.g., Living wages, free (HAART) anti-retrovirals for HIV+ employees). Within the 7 questions covered, there is direct confirmation of some SiRCHESI results-- e.g., basic Heineken salary still averages $69.00 when SiRCHESI data shows women need $141 to feed their families. There is some praise in the CAS (and SiRCHESI) reports for areas of progress, such as uniforms. But the CAS also admonishes the beer companies to do more about nightly drinking by 73% of beer sellers who still, in 2009, reported that they sit and drink with customers, against BSIC's Code of Conduct  (SiRCHESI data showed more than 90%). As with SiRCHESI's recently released reports (Press release 2009, and Backup information 2009), CAS highlighted many problems of employees' contracts-- transparency, compliance with Cambodian Labour Code,  and confusion about benefits, rights and the pay structures and amounts due to them. Some data reported in the CAS study are in sharp contradiction with independent SiRCHESI findings, and require further discussion and methodological analyses  For example, a conservatively worded question about workplace drinking produces a CAS finding of 0.71 litres being drunk on the last shift  by 105 BSIC saleswomen, or 3 glasses of beer or standard drinks. This amount in itself requires comment: it is 3 times the amount suggested by the US website (0.25 litres=1 glass) for American women--30% greater in height, weight and BMI than Khmer women-- www.enjoyheinekenresponsibly.com; at the new Heineken Cambodia site, Cambodian women are told that 1-2 drinks are advised as a limit (0.25- 0.50 litres), less than the BSIC sellers are currently drinking-- in fact the SiRCHESI data for 2008 suggested that mean alcohol drunk per shift by BSIC brands was 1.48 litres nightly or 6 standard drinks, N=103).

Oct 07 The NGO Global Witness has recently published their report focusing primarily on illegal logging in Cambodia but with additional information concerning the alcohol beverage industry (pp. 82-86). Download report in pdf (5mb) at: www.globalwitness.org

Aug 07 SiRCHESI researchers observe for the first time Royal Stout Ginseng, Bayon and Guinness being sold by female beer sellers in Siem Reap. Royal Stout Ginseng and Bayon* are owned by Carlsberg. *Bayon is brewed by Cambrew which is half owned by Carlsberg.

16 June 2007 Cass, a Korean beer owned by INBEV and sold by women in Cambodia "recently released a new product [in Korea] with twice the alcohol of average brews after it realised sales of its other products were falling because they took too long to get people drunk" an article in The Independent reports. In Korea the culture of business binge drinking "forces" women to drink "corrosive combinations of beer and rice wine to climb the career ladder". Read the full article online or in in rtf 16kb

April 2007 SirCHESI suggests to VBDO (Dutch Association of Investors for Sustainable Development) six points for shareholders to raise at the Annual Heineken meeting on 19th April 2007. more

SiRCHESI has partnered with 3 pioneering Siem Reap hotels in a Hotel Apprenticeship Program which runs from 2006-2008. more

March 2007Citing Van Merode (2006) a brief prepared for Heineken shareholders states "The workplace risks from nightly alcohol overuse, violence, forced sex, and HIV/AIDS for sellers of Heineken (and part-owned brands Tiger, ABC, and Anchor) are alarming". The detailed brief goes on to outline the two major causes of health and safety risks not addressed by the BSIC code of conduct for beer sellers. Read shareholders brief (rtf 88kb)

25 Oct 2006 Beer Selling Industry Cambodia (BSIC) publish a Code of Conduct for Beer Promoters (BPs) Read (pdf 33kb)

Oct 2006 'Why are Cambodian ”beer girls” still at risk? Scientists and practitioners criticise Heineken’s anti-AIDS policy: Suggest International brewers must urgently do more for women’s health and security in Cambodia' - press release is sent to media in N.America, Cambodia and the UK read press release (rtf 37kb) and background info (rtf 57kb) or read press release in Dutch (rtf7.76kb)