[women-rights] Cambodia: A prevailing culture of violence targeting women

FIDH Press release
22/03/2006

The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its members in
Cambodia - the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human
Rights (LICADHO) and the Cambodia Human Rights and Development Association
(ADHOC) - welcome the recommendations addressed to Cambodia by the UN
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (« the
Committee ») and request the Cambodian authorities to implement these
recommendations as soon as possible.

At its 34th session, the Committee considered the combined initial, second
and third periodic reports of Cambodia on the implementation of the
Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discrimination against Women
(CEDAW). The recommendations issued by the Committee reflect many concerns
expressed by a coalition of Cambodian NGOs, the Cambodian Committee of
Women (CAMBOW) in its alternative report to the Committee. Trafficking,
prostitution, rape and domestic violence are ordinary phenomena to the
Cambodian society. An expert qualified the extent of trafficking and
prostitution as « shocking ». Reports by civil society show that the
number of women affected is growing.

Violence against women in Cambodia is linked to traditional stereotypes
and particularly the persistence, of « Chbab Srey », a traditional code of
conduct taught in schools, which hinders any serious progress in the fight
against violence targeting women. This code includes provisions such as «
never turn your back to your husband when he sleeps and never touch his
head without first bowing in honor » or « have patience, prove your
patience, never respond to his excessive anger ». « How is it possible to
fight domestic violence without challenging the code of conduct for women
», asked an expert to the Government.

The Committee recommends that the Cambodian authorities, together with all
relevant sectors of society, undertake a comprehensive assessment of the
traditional code of conduct so as to identify those elements that
discriminate against women and are the root causes of women’s
disadvantaged position, and refrain from disseminating and teaching those
elements.

The culture of impunity is further reinforced by the corruption and
deficiencies in the Judiciary. “The Committee is concerned that women face
significant obstacles in accessing justice because of a lack of trust in
the judicial system, the arbitrary interpretation of the criminal law by
judges in favour of perpetrators, the prevalence of impunity of
perpetrators, the limited availability of legal aid and the high cost of
medical certificates that are required in cases of rape and sexual
assault. The Committee is also concerned about the persistence of
permissive attitudes towards gender-based violence and that women fear
stigmatization when seeking remedies.”

“Additional efforts are necessary in order to fight violence against women
and promote gender equality. We hope that the Cambodian authorities will
now ensure the proper follow-up by fully enforcing the Committee’s
recommendations”, concluded ADHOC, LICADHO and FIDH.