Seila, a tall, heavily made-up woman with orange-blonde hair, said she was in a park in Siem Reap last year when policemen approached her, put a gun to her head and told her if she ran, they would shoot.

Her only crime, she says, is being transgender, which in Cambodia, advocates contend, is more than enough.

Legally, the Kingdom’s Constitution protects the equal rights of its citizens regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. But at an International Human Rights Day discussion yesterday, NGOs and activists say increasing anecdotal evidence shows that incidents of bigotry, harassment and abuse are commonplace.

“It happens every day, we are discriminated against and stigmatised by authorities,” said Seila, a transgender outreach worker.

Continue reading:Groups insist on equal rights