The Cambodian Committee of Women (CAMBOW) will organize a campaign in Phnom Penh on Sunday November 30 and campaigns in the provinces of Sihanoukville, Koh Kong and Siem Reap on Sunday December 7 to highlight the ongoing violence committed on women and children in particular rape, trafficking and domestic violence.

The campaign is part of the international 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence. The 16 Days campaign is conducted every year in many countries around the world between November 25 th, International Day Against Violence Against Women, and December 10th, International Human Rights Day. The 16-day period also highlights other significant dates including December 1 which is World AIDS Day, and December 6 which marks the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre.

The campaign in Phnom Penh will begin at 4:30 PM in front of Botumvodey Pagoda starting with a musical concert; followed by a theater play on trafficking of women and children and domestic violence and ending by a question and answer contest until about 8:45 PM.

“The 16-day campaign is a very important international event which commemorates the murder of activists who demonstrated for non violence and equity in the family and society in Montreal, Canada”, said Dr. Kek Galabru, Chairperson of CAMBOW.

According to research conducted by the National Institute of Statistic and the Ministry of Health in year 2000, 25 percent of Cambodian women are victims of domestic violence including physical, sexual, verbal and mental abuse. “It is unacceptable that Cambodian women and children are subjected to domestic violence and serious abuses on a daily basis and that the abuses are considered internal family problems instead of being dealt as criminal acts by gov’t authorities and law enforcement officials”, Kek Galabru adds.

“Current legislation is still inadequate in protecting women and children from domestic violence so we need the proposed Domestic Violence law to be debated by members of the National Assembly and for law enforcement officials to enforce the adopted law ” said Meas Sokhom, Program Coordinator of Women Resource Center of Cambodian Defender Project (CDP).

“We hope that the new government will incorporate and prioritize trafficking issues in their political platform, especially the application of law enforcement and we propose that the National Assembly amend the 1996 Law on Suppression of Kidnapping, Trafficking, Sale and Exploitation of Human Persons as the existing law does not mention other forms of trafficking such as forced marriages, adoptions, domestic work, beggars, fishermen and other forms of slave labor”, said Ung Chanthol, Executive Director of Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center (CWCC).

CAMBOW urges the formation of the National Assembly to debate the proposed law on domestic violence and amend the 1996 Trafficking law and urges the new Royal Government and law enforcement officials to work together to resolve and prevent the trafficking of persons.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek, President of LICADHO at 012 802 506
▪ Mrs. Ung Chanthol, Executive Director of CWCC at 012 840 507
▪ Mrs. Meas Sokhom, Program Coordinator of Women Resource Center of Cambodian Defender Project (CDP), at 012 673 313.

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