Abortion Rights, Sex Ed and Intersectional Feminism in Cambodia with Catherine Harry
In this episode, Hannah is joined by Catherine Harry, who is a feminist vlogger and sex educator. Cath talks about growing up in Cambodia’s conservative purity culture, being made to memorise the women’s code of conduct at school, and when she started questioning what she’d been taught. She gets into why she makes videos in Khmer, her most requested video topics, and how the people that take the biggest issue with her work are actually western white men. Cath discusses what intersectional feminism means to her, her work with abortion organisations, and what it’s like navigating access to sexual health services and contraception in Cambodia. Finally, Cath and Hannah talk about how LGBTQ+ rights have been improving in Cambodia, how race impacts how accepting Cambodian society can be towards queer tourists, and the importance of having a support system who care about you when you’re working as an online sex educator.
CW: discussion of abortions, mention of sexual assault
Read the episode transcript here!
QUESTIONS FROM LISTENERS
Does religion influence sexuality and sex education in Cambodia?
How does accessing sexual health services work in Cambodia? Is obtaining contraceptives easy/free?
How do you see youth in Cambodia changing relationship and sexuality norms?
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MORE ABOUT CATHERINE HARRY
Catherine Harry is a feminist vlogger and founder at A Dose of Cath, a channel that focuses on sex education, gender equality and cultural issues from a feminist perspective. Her channel has 1 million followers on Facebook. Asides from being a vlogger, Catherine is also an agented writer.
Named one of Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2018 and shortlisted as one of Women of the Future Asia 2019, Catherine has been working to raise awareness on feminism and empower women to further the feminist movement.
When she’s not speaking in schools and making her vlogs, she’s an avid reader and a passionate writer who enjoys spinning tales in a way that’s never been told before. She’s also enthusiastic about environment causes and animal rights.
As an intersectional feminist, Catherine recognizes the challenges that women from different backgrounds have to overcome. She realizes that the feminist movement can’t be advanced without allies and support from other people, especially other women. With this in mind, she always looks for ways to empower women and inspire them to shine in their communities so that they can pass on the inspiration to more women.
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