Gender and Development for Cambodia (GAD/C)

Violence against women is a growing issue in Cambodia. Even though a wide range of donors, government agencies, and NGOs have worked intensively to reduce violence against women, particularly the domestic violence the situation has not improved significantly.

Violence against women in Cambodia takes place in an attitude of men that they are entitled to more rights than women. There is broad consensus among Cambodian men that a wife challenging her husband's dominance or right to do as he pleases can justify even the most severe violence. So, men's attitude gives rise of violence against women widely. Violence against women is not only the problem of women but also the problem of all including the men. This has serious impacts on country's social and economic development. With the notion that violence against women is also men's problem Gender and Development for Cambodia (GAD/C) established the Cambodian Men's Network (CMN) in 2000 to build a platform of activist men against men's violence against women. CMN is the only network of men at national level in Cambodia works for ending violence against women. Currently more than 1000 men of different socio-economic classes, religious faiths, professions, ages and creeds are the members of CMN. CMN is not merely a network but also a movement to work against men's violence against women.

Vision and Mission
CMN is envisiones a Cambodian society free from all forms of violence against women. The mission of CMN is to build a strong network of like-minded men to work for a peaceful, just and equitable society where women can live without fear of violence.

Goals and Objectives
Overall goal of CMN is to encourage men to work together to eliminate the violence against women and to be male role models for their peers and sons.

Specific objectives of CMN are to establish and strengthen men's network throughout the country. Make men understand and realize through different program interventions that violence against women is a men's problem and men must address the problem of violence. Lobby with the local administration and police at community level to enforce laws (such as DV law) in case of violence against women.

Major activities of CMN
Until now, the activities of CMN mainly concentrated on 16-Day White Ribbon Campaign (WRC), publications (gender scoreboard and gender view), capacity building program of network members at national level, and CMN meeting. But from 2007, the CMN is going to operate its function at commune level and new program activities are planned to start. The new activities include:

Baseline Survey
A baseline survey will be conducted in the commune level to get information on the level of men's violence against women, men's perceptions and justification of their violence against women, and presence of male role models. The baseline information will later be used as the benchmark to measure the progress of the project.

Commune Conference
The baseline information will be disseminated among the local stakeholders for their information, and action. District chief, commune chief, commune councilors, VDCs, school managers, teachers, lay men, police officers, and villagers will be invited in the commune conference. Commune conference will work as a platform to introduce the project to the local people.

Formation and Functioning of Community-based Men's Group (CMGs)
After baseline survey and commune conference Community-based Men's Groups (CMGs) will be formed in each of the target communes. Each CMG will comprise of six men who are layman, teacher, commune councilors, policeman, VDC and village chief. CMGs will work at the commune level to end violence against women. They will monitor the implementation of law on domestic violence, counsel men not to be violent, and improve inter-personal communication skills of men in the commune. the CMG members will be provided with required training. The CMGs will organize small group discussion with men in their respective commune Every week the members have to organize a small group discussion among men, violent men and nonviolent men to learn and share each other what they are encountering.At the same time, participants who have problems will be assisted through counseling and the ways to address their problem with culture of non-violence. Every month, members in men's core group have to make its monthly report on what they have done with the project as door-to-door visiting by sharing gender concept, law on DV and HIV. Their report have to demonstrate number of men have attended in small group discussion they have organized and number of men receiving awareness directly from men's core group as well as number of cases intervening by men's core group in commune in every month. The roles of members in men's core group also assist to coordinate the field training, will be provided by project coordinating team, to invite men villagers to sit and discuss on their issue.

Capacity-building training for CMGs
In every three months, MPP team will go down and work with CMGs and other men in each village in the selected communes of three provinces. The aim of the field training is to provide concepts on gender, masculinity, and laws related to DV, culture of non-violence, and gender and HIV/AIDs to the CMGs. The field training will open space for men to learn about their masculine identities, role models in household and community, and non-violent attitudes and behavior of men.

>> 16-day White Ribbon Campaign

Background

Since its inception in 1991 in Canada, the 16-day White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) has become the largest effort in the world of men working to end men's violence against women. Each year, through WRC men, and women are urged to wear a ribbon for 16 days, starting on November 25 - the International Day for Eradication of Violence Against Women. During the sixteen days from 25th November to 10th December, WRC has been organized in many countries throughout the world to call for men working together to end violence against women. The White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) gives an opportunity to men to realize the socio-economic harm of violence against women. Celebrated globally, the WRC ushers a healthy relationship between men and women.

Why is WRC important?
Studies reveal that although, a law on domestic violence and a number of DV related programs and projects are in place in the country for the last few years less improvement has been achieved in terms of reduction of domestic violence in Cambodia.

A baseline survey conducted by UNIFEM in collaboration with MoWA and GTZ on Domestic Violence shows that 22.5% of women are suffered violence by their husbands. Cambodian Demographic and Health Survey (CDHS) 2000 revealed that 23% of women of age 15 to 49 suffered from violence in their life. In the year 2005, some 345 cases of domestic violence reported to ADHOC -the leading rights-based organization in Cambodia and out of them 34 cases were death related.

In the same year, Cambodia Women's Crisis Center (CWCC) received victims of some 889 cases of domestic violence. Studies also show that violence is most accepted by the society and it emerges when women challenge men's traditional masculine identities. Men use violence as a means to control women and establish their dominance over their female partners. Finding no other alternatives to establish their sovereignty men offend violence against their partners.

So to end violence against women, there is a dire need to make men aware about women's human rights along with laws and programs. 16-Day White Ribbon Campaign creates room to approach men to change their traditional masculine identities, which make them violent. This is why WRC is important, particularly in Cambodian context.

What activities are carried-out during the WRC?
A number of activities take place to observe the White Ribbon Campaign (WRC) each year. Activities include campaign meeting, public march, press conference and news release, door-to-door campaign, Vox-pop show, popular public concert, pinning white ribbon and media campaign. Pinning white ribbon on their shirts between 25th November -10th December, men pledge not to commit violence against women. The central message of all these activities is call men not to be violent to women and play active role to end men's violence against women. The campaign also make men realized that violence against women ultimate affects men also.