Objective

To examine the relationship between gender-based violence, HIV risks, psychological distress and binge drinking among female entertainment workers (FEWs) in Cambodia.

Design

Cross-sectional study.

Setting

Phnom Penh and three other provinces in Cambodia.

Participants

We recruited 600 FEWs from entertainment venues using a stratified random sampling method. Participants were eligible if they were at least 18 years old, working in the selected entertainment venues and self-identified as a FEW.

Primary outcome measure

Binge drinking was defined as drinking more than five units of alcoholic drinks in 24 hours on at least one occasion in the past 3 months.

Results

The prevalence of binge drinking was 76.7%. Adjusted odds of binge drinking were significantly higher among FEWs who earned >US$250 per month than those who earned ≤US$120 per month (adjusted OR (AOR) 2.96, 95% CI: 1.40 to 6.24), had been forced to drink more than once per month in the past 3 months than those who had never been forced to drink (AOR 5.66, 95% CI: 2.19 to 14.65), worked at karaoke bars than those working at a restaurants/café (AOR 1.85, 95% CI: 1.19 to 2.88) and experienced emotional abuse in the past 6 months than those who did not experience it (AOR 2.71, 95% CI: 1.22 to 6.02). The odds of binge drinking were significantly higher among FEWs with lower psychological distress than those with higher psychological distress (AOR 1.65, 95% CI: 1.09 to 2.49).

Conclusions

This study highlights a high prevalence of binge drinking among FEWs and its associations with working environments, conditions and contexts. Our findings suggest that individual-based behavioural intervention may not effectively reduce binge drinking among FEWs. Structural and occupational health policy interventions may be needed to change the working environment.