Cambodia: NGOs call for stronger domestic violence law

By Lauren Crothers

PHNOM PENH, Cambodia

A failure to properly implement Cambodia’s decade-old domestic violence law enables perpetrators to continue their behavior and avoid punishment, a coalition of women’s rights NGOs said Friday.

The 12 organizations said that since its passing, a number of flaws and loopholes have become evident and that serious amendments are needed in order to bolster its reach.

In addition, victims and survivors would benefit from the authorities taking their cases seriously in the context of the law, the groups said.

“Ten years after the DV Law was passed, the limitations of the law have become apparent,” the statement said. “The law is rarely implemented effectively, and many people including authorities in charge (such as police and commune chiefs) do not understand the law well.”

It added that “local officials only give spoken warnings to abusers or ask them to sign a pledge not to be violent again.”

The groups have suggested that legislators include provisions in the law that would ensure the issuance of protective orders, meaning that the abuser would be legally mandated to “stay away from the victim’s house or work while still paying for the support of family members.” Immediate arrest would be the consequence of failing to comply with the order.

The law’s limitations are also linked to the language used to describe who can be considered as victims and perpetrators, according to the groups, who stressed the need to expand the law “to include not only spouses living with the abuser, but also unmarried partners and former partners.”

Because of this, they said, judges and prosecutors are limited in an article in the criminal code that only mentions spousal abuse, and not intimate-partner violence in general.

“Finally, even the best law will not protect women until every police officer and other authority learns about the law, understands the law, and fully uses the law,” they added.

The statement comes just two weeks after the Ministry of Women’s Affairs released the results of a study on violence against women, finding it to be “a prevalent issue” around the country.

That study — the first of its kind in Cambodia — found that although 90 percent of women beaten by their partners need medical treatment, nearly half do not try and receive any.

It also found that 21 percent of women had been beaten or sexually assaulted by their partners and in three-quarters of these cases, the violence was considered severe.

Women’s rights advocates have said that there is a lack of trust in the judicial system and likelihood of proper recourse if a complaint is made.

Indeed, the study found that nearly half of the women who experience abuse did not tell anyone about it, and if they did, it was usually discussed with family members instead of law enforcement officials.

Women’s Ministry spokesperson Sy Define could not be reached.