Determined efforts pay off with drop in domestic violence

Sokheng (red shirt) making soup for customer in the wooden kitchen of their roadside eatery

In 2007 the chief of Svay Popea village came to see Nouv Sokheng and her husband Sambath at their humble wooden house.

Sambath had been violent to his wife since their marriage in 1993. Although the physical violence soon stopped, he still shouted and swore at her.

The village chief told them to attend a course on domestic violence, which was run by Plan Cambodia.

The couple knew Plan since it had provided scholarships, clothing and bicycles to allow their two daughters to stay in school.

Seeing clearly

For Sambath the course was a revelation.

"I understood the bad effects of using domestic violence," he says. "The programme taught me how to calm down and to think about the consequences of using violence."

Svay Popea village stands in Dambae commune in the eastern province of Kampong Cham. As in most of Cambodia, residents scrape a living from small plots of land.

For a decade Chuon Sarun has been the representative for women and children on the commune council. It fell to her to disseminate the message that domestic violence was wrong.

It was a tough sell.

"Villagers would look down on me because they didn't understand," she says.

But with the help of Plan and the combined efforts of the village chief, the police and the commune chief, things improved. In 10 years domestic violence rates have dropped sharply in Dambae commune.

It's the same across Cambodia. A recent survey shows the number of domestic violence cases declined 24 percent between 2006-09.

That change is driven by a combination of efforts: policy changes at the government level, and education, support and collating statistics at the grassroots.

Lessons to learn

Discussion sessions and videos help to educate villagers like Sambath and Sokheng on topics such as domestic violence, rape and child rights. Prum Thary is the child rights specialist for Plan Cambodia.

"We focus on women because when they are abused it affects the children in their house too," he says.

Plan also builds support structures that people in need can turn to.

The aim is to have child-safe communities that prevent the physical and emotional abuse of children and women, he adds.

By 2015, he says, Plan wants to ensure all young people in its target areas are protected from all forms of abuse, and know how to take part in decision-making that affects them.

Find out more about Plan's work in Cambodia.