WUNRN
CAMBODIA - RAPE, ABUSE IN KINGDOM IS
REACHING CRISIS LEVEL: MINISTER
26 November 2009 - Lily Partand
Siem Reap
SEXUAL and domestic violence against women and girls
has become a problem of pandemic proportions that is stalling development of
the Kingdom, according to Minister for Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi.
She spoke on Wednesday at the opening session of the two-day Asia Pacific
Regional Conference on Primary Prevention of Violence Against Women and
Children: Focus on Urban Youth, which included 120 participants and speakers
from countries throughout the Asia-Pacific region.
Ing Kantha Phavi said that although the number of rapes and sexual assaults
that get reported is increasing, the number of cases that go unreported is of
even greater concern.
“In Cambodia, the reported rate of domestic and sexual violence is 22 percent.
But due to our culture of silence and shame, and the widespread practice of
victims accepting compensation instead of prosecuting their abusers, the actual
rate of violence could be much higher. This risks jeopardising the recent development
and progress of Cambodia,” she said.
First lady Bun Rany spoke of the importance of youth in tackling the issue in
Cambodia, where 56 percent of the population is under the age of 25.
“If we can develop effective initiatives for youth, we will be able to reach
young people while their attitudes towards gender equality, relationships and
violence are still being formed. If we succeed, this could have a significant
impact on reducing violence against women and children,” she said.
Facilitator Ellen Minotti, who has worked in the field in Cambodia for 17
years, said the conference would help identify best practices and find ways to
evaluate the effectiveness of prevention programmes.
“One of the points made ... was that there’s been lots of work done on domestic
violence and sexual violence, and the rate is not going down anywhere. So we
need to look at new ways, but we also need to measure if they are working or
not,” Minotti said.
Dr Jean D’Cunha, regional programme director for the UN Development Fund for
Women in East and Southeast Asia, said it was important to involve men and boys
in the campaign against sexual and domestic violence.
“We’ve done very little work with men and boys, but this is not just an issue
for women and girls – it concerns the whole of our society. Men and boys need
to be partners with women and girls against violence.”
The conference, which concludes today, was organised by the Ministry of Women’s
Affairs. The results will be used to shape recommendations for Cambodia’s
National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women 2009-12.
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