DanChurchAid
Cambodia
Fighting for children’s rights in Cambodia
By Jonas Parby, DanChurchAid Cambodia Programme Officer
Borin is a girl aged 14. She was assaulted by two men who raped on her just outside the village where she lives. Borin is just one of hundreds of young girls who each year get raped in Cambodia. Most girls and their relatives cannot afford the costs of a lawyer to bring their case to court. Often they do not even have the resources to travel to the nearest city, which is often far away. Consequently, very often the perpetrator is never prosecuted, while the victim has to live with the risk of being expelled from the local village or community.
Legal aid to children
In a three-year program supported by EU, DanishChurchAid has since July 2004 worked to improve children’s rights in Cambodia. DCA cooperates with two Cambodian organizations, LAC and LICADHO, who both provide direct assistance and support to children like Borin. Through advocacy work, these organisations achieve increased attention on child abuse which takes place on a daily basis in the Cambodian society.
LAC renders legal aid to Borin from their office in Battambang, which is one of four LAC offices in the country. The case is being investigated in cooperation with the police, which may make it possible to get the perpetrators in a court of justice. Through its network partners, LAC makes it possible for Borin to live in a shelter with other young children who themselves are either victims or criminals.
In the long run, LAC aims at ensuring access to legal aid for all under aged, and advocates that the Cambodian court of justice to a larger extent than today show consideration to under aged in the meting out of punishment and custody.
Children in labour accidents
In July 2005, a nine year-old boy lost one of his arms when loosing control of the stone crusher which he operated in a brick factory just outside Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. The incident was only one of many labour-related accidents, which affect thousands of children working in shrimp ponds, fish factories or brick factories or working as servants in homes all over the country.
The case was brought to light by one of DCA’s partners, LICADHO, who works for improvement of child labour conditions and against assaults and child abuse. Through the local media, LICADHO created attention to the particular accident and managed to press the employer to pay compensation to the boy and his family.
Cooperation with the authorities
LICADHO offers direct help to children who experience molestation during employment or who face extreme labour conditions. The organization cooperates with local authorities and the police in order to develop clear rules on how and when children may be involved in labour.
DanChurchAid aims to further strengthen the cooperation between NGO’s and authorities working with children in Cambodia. Through the partnership with LAC and LICADHO and by raising the issues of children’s rights towards the government it is expected that 6-8.000 children will be reached and have their life improved over the next three years.
Cambodia
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