Ongoing challenges in Kingdom’s efforts to end domestic violence
Slow action from courts and police, a dire lack of mental health counselling and sparse government funding were named as ongoing challenges in Cambodia’s quest to eliminate violence against women at a conference on 4 July. Minister of Women’s Affairs Ing Kantha Phavi said that while government statistics had not recorded a spike in violent cases, she feared the violence was now more acute. “What we are really concerned about is the form of that violence is even more serious, because more and more people are drinking more alcohol and using drugs,” she said. Phavi said education and awareness were sorely needed, pointing out that many Cambodian women still believed their husbands were entitled to beat them.
