1. Psychosocial and Legal Services
for Women and Girl Survivors of Violence
Experiences from
Cambodian Women’s Crisis Center (CWCC)
Mrs. Pok Panhavichetr, Executive Director
Asian Conference of Women’s Shelter (ACWS)
CHATEAU DE CHINE, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
02- 04 December, 2013
1

2. Outline of Presentation
 Situation related to GBV and Trafficking of women and girls

About CWCC and CWCC’s Progamme Strategies

CWCC’s services delivery
 Legal counseling, documentation of cases and drop in
shelter
 Legal Support Services
 Social support Services: safe shelter, reintegration

Key Challenges

Lessons learned

3. Why Cambodian Women confront with GBV?
• Cambodia has one of the lowest levels of gender equality in Asia as
measured by the gender development index (0.427) and the gender
empowerment index (0.283)
•
Violence against women is perpetuated by poverty, gender inequality
•
Poverty and low education has placed women to be economically
dependent on heir husbands – subordinate position within the families.
• Domestic violence is consistently underreported by victims – women/girls
• Women/girl survivors of domestic violence often do not get support due
to prevailing attitude that domestic violence is a family matter
• With low education women/girls are easily cheated by
brokers/recruitment agencies – increase vulnerability caused by
trafficking.

4. Why women and girls fall into trafficking?
Cambodia is downgraded to tier 2 in the watch list of human trafficking as
the government did not show evidences of its effort in combatting human
trafficking. The incidence of human trafficking is high due to:
•
Low level of literacy and education force young women to take high
risk jobs: working in karaoke parlors, beer halls, sex work and/or
migrating for work, thus increasing their exposure to exploitation and
trafficking
• Unsafe migration domestically and internationally to seek for job
• Women are vulnerable to trafficking because of the lack of effective
supporting mechanism at local level
•
Ineffective law enforcement at all levels remains a major contributing
factor perpetuate trafficking in Cambodia
• A culture of impunity was identified by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs
as a key factor in the continuing exploitation/Trafficking of girls and
women

5. About CWCC
•
CWCC was founded in 1997 and registered with the Ministry
of Interior in 1998 by a group of women who witness the
vulnerability of women and children resulted from gender
based based abuse such as trafficking, rape, and domestic
violence
•
Terre Des Hommes Germany and Netherlands are the first
donors, who support this initiative
•
Current Annual budget is around 1.2 m with generous
support from TDH-NL, TDH-G, DCA/CA, LO, UNFPA, FWC,
GKS, GIZ, Plan international and USAID/Winrock

6. OUR MISSION
To empower women and girls to
claim their universal human
rights to personal security and to
equal participation in
community, civil, economic,
social and cultural life

7. The overall Goal of CWCC’s Program
is to contribute to the empowerment of
vulnerable women and girls through
protection, prevention and advocacy in
order to promote a peaceful, genderequitable and compassionate society

8. CWCC’s Program Approaches
• Clients are informed
by CWCC staff of
their human rights
under the UN
Protocols that
Cambodia is a state
party to.
A Rights
Based
Approach
• CWCC works closely
with communities,
agencies and
authorities to achieve
three Strategic Goals of
prevention, protection,
and advocacy in the
interests of women and
children in Cambodia.
An
Empowerment
Approach
A CommunityBased
Approach
A Holistic
Approach
• “Helping Women
Help Themselves”
means respecting
each client’s
decision at every
stage of their
involvement with
CWCC.
• Developing
responsively over
time, our programs
seek solutions
resulting in the
successful
reintegration of
women and child
8
survivors of violence.

9. CWCC’s Strategic Program Areas
PREVENTION
PROTECTION
ADVOCACY
9

10. CWCC’s Target Groups
Target Groups/Clients:
Women and girl survivors of Gender-Based Violence (SGBV):
domestic violence, rape and trafficking
Target areas:
1) Phnom Penh
Regional Office in Phnom Penh with shelter
2) Siem Reap
Regional Office in Siem Reap with shelter
3) Banteay Meanchey
Regional Office in Poit Pet with shelter
4) Kampong Thom
Regional Office only

11. Why Psycho-social and legal services?
• Violence Against women is perpetuated by poverty, gender
inequality and a culture of impunity
• Lack of effective supporting mechanisms at local level that
holds perpetrators and duty bearer accountable for criminal
activities.
• Women and Girls survivors are confronted with severe
social and emotional problems (loss of personal safety,
depression, isolation, anger, fear…etc)
• Social and emotional problems are often the largest
obstacle in legal justice, reintegration and psychological
well-being

12. Monitoring/Investigation of Violence Cases
• Interview clients and record Cases
• Working closely with community and
duty bearers to Investigate cases
• Provide legal protection and medical
treatment
• Facilitate clients to stay in drop in
center as needed
Clients and relatives
PNP
BMC
SRP
KPT
Total
Domestic Violence
196
81
291
86
654
Rape
98
47
87
36
268
Trafficking
48
37
24
5
114
Total
342
165
402
127
Jan-Dec. 2012
• Refer cases to shelter and
lawyers to prepare legal
documents
12
1,036

13. At Drop in Center
• Upon arrival of clients
CWCC’s staff conduct
psychological counseling
collect information related to
violence cases
•Provide legal counseling
Clients and relatives
Jan-Dec. 2012
PNP
BMC
SRP
KPT
Total
Domestic Violence
67
48
176
68
359
Rape
23
32
55
16
126
Trafficking
19
35
26
0
80
Total
109
115
257
84
565
•Provide safe accommodation
and food (not more than 7
days)

14. Legal Services
• Provide legal counseling to clients and
make
them aware about their rights
• Provide legal
Protection i.e seeking court
order to protect join property
• Facilitate out of court mediation (if
clients
prefer)
• Assist clients to prepare complaints and
working with monitor group to collect
evidences
• Prepare detailed legal documents and stand
as their legal representation
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15. Achievements of Legal Service
No. Cases filed complaints to
court
No. of
Complaints
No. Cases passed Trial
PNP
BMC
SRP
KPT
Total
Cases passed the
trial
Jan-Dec 2012
PNP
BMC
SRP
KPT
Total
Domestic Violence
69
25
48
29
171
Domestic Violence
30
16
38
14
98
Rape
47
18
20
6
91
Rape
19
24
22
1
77
Trafficking
1
1
2
0
4
Trafficking
0
0
0
0
0
Total
117
44
70
35
266
Total
49
40
60
15
164
Jan –Dec. 2012
No. Cases pending in the court
No. perpetrators in Jail
Cases pending in
the court
Jan-Dec 2012
PNP
BMC
SRP
KPT
Total
No. of perpetrators
in Jail
Jan-Dec 2012
PNP
BMC
SRP
KPT
Total
Domestic Violence
96
19
11
9
135
Domestic Violence
1
0
0
0
1
Rape
47
57
7
5
116
Rape
18
21
21
1
61
Trafficking
3
8
2
0
13
Trafficking
0
0
0
0
0
Total
146
84
20
14
264
Total
19
21
21
1
15
62

16. Safe Shelters
• Provide safe Shelter for Women and girls
Survivors (6 – 9 months)
• Provide food, basic medical care and
group/individual counseling
• Baby Day Care and facilitate children to
attend public school
• Literacy class and life skills
• Vocational training (sewing, cooking,
bakery, coffee making and , chicken/pig
raising, small business
• Send Clients to study skills outside the
shelter
16

17. Achievements of Safe Shelters
Clients and Relative stay in the
shelters clients and
of
Shelters
Jan-Dec. 2012
Relatives
PNP
88
BMC
94
Clients received counseling service
No. of Clients
Jan-Dec. 2012
PNP
BMC
SRP
Total
79
59
69
207
79
65
79
223
158
124
148
430
SRP
120
Group counseling
I
Individual
Counseling
Total
302
Total
Children received education
No. of
children
Jan-Dec. 2012
PNP
BMC
Day care
26
24
4
Public school
22
22
Total
48
46
SRP
Total
Clients attended literacy class and
vocational training
No. of Clients
Jan-Dec 2011
PNP
BMC
SRP
Total
54
Literacy class
93
0
57
150
30
74
Vocational
training
51
15
30
96
34
128
Total
144
16
87
246
17

18. Protection Program: Reintegration
• Conduct community and family
assessment along with counseling
• Accompany SGBVs to reintegrate to
community (CWCC, DoWA and DoSAVY)
• Provide life start up grant
• Provide business grant
• Facilitate to establish women’s group and if
possible facilitate to set up saving
group/group business
• Regularly follow up to learn about their
situation to build confidence and selfesteem (up to 1 year)

19. Achievements of Reintegration
Clients and Relatives received
reintegration support
No. of clients and
Relatives
Jan-Dec. 2011
PNP
SRP
BMC
Total
Domestic Violence
52
72
48
173
Rape
6
19
32
59
Trafficking
7
0
26
38
Total
65
91
106
270
Clients integrated to employments
Location
No. of Clients
Jan-Dec. 2011
PNP
7
SRP
6
BMC
6
Total
19
19

20. Key Challenges
• Clients do not have enough necessary documents: family book,
marriage certificate, birth certificate tec..
• Difficult to access to forensic exam – Rape Cases
• Court process is too slow – lack of enforcement of court order
 Clients do not trust the court system
• Clients prefer to have mediation outside court rather than go
though legal process
• Survivors of trafficking do not want to file complaints
• Survivors of rape (minors) are traumatized and face the social
stigma
•Psychosocial support is costly - difficult to show cost – effectiveness
• Donors are not keen to provide funding for shelter
20

21. Lessons learned
• Counseling techniques: meditation, creative art therapy, social
activities…etc. help enhance psychological therapy
• Collaboration with concerned stakeholders (gov’t and
NGOs) help reach out more clients and facilitate referral
services
• Collaboration with MOJ help strengthen capacity of law
enforcement (e.g Seminar about legal process with judges and
prosecutors
• The way that CWCC accept only female clients has ensured
security in the shelter - no risk associated with sexual abuse
• Understanding on Women’s Human Rights, Gender Based
Violence and life skill helped build client’s confidence
• The Skill Trainers have to work hands in hands with counselors to
enable traumatized clients participate in vocational skill training.

22. Thank
You!