IMPACT
Advocacy
For over 30 years, NGO-CEDAW has been a leading force and resource for women’s rights and gender equality in Cambodia. The government recognizes the joint expertise within the coalition, with NGO-CEDAW and its members playing a key role in influencing policy and legal framework developments and through the regular monitoring of the government’s implementation of CEDAW.
The core problem that NGO-CEDAW seeks to address is the need for the Cambodian government to take stronger actions to promote gender equality. Although Cambodia has made formal commitments to advancing gender equality by ratifying the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), the implementation of these commitments remains limited.
In recent years efforts to amend the law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of Victims (DV Law) have stagnated, and the long-awaited NAPVAW (IV) has now been delayed, reflecting the global backlash against women’s rights and symbolic gestures which fail to deliver change in Cambodia.
In this complex context, NGO-CEDAW plays a vital role in bridging grassroots concerns with national, regional and global advocacy platforms.
In 2025…
∗ NGO-CEDAW’s inputs to the evaluation of National Action Plan on Violence Against Women (NAPVAW III) were accepted and inevitably informed the strategic objectives in the new NAPVAW IV.
∗ NGO-CEDAW members contributed towards the development of the new NAPVAW IV, the Neary Rattanak VI, and the Pentagonal Strategy. The strategies all now take a gendered lens to social development and climate change mitigation issues in Cambodia.
∗ All of NGO-CEDAW’s recommendations on the roadmap to amending the DV law are being integrated.
∗ MoWA and other national and sub-national officials engaged increasingly with NGO-CEDAW advocacy actions.
Over the last 30 years…
∗ NGO-CEDAW was influential in lobbying the government to develop the first National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women and Girls.
∗ NGO-CEDAW influenced the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to adopt the Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of Victims in 2005…
∗ … as well as the Anti-Trafficking law in 2008.
∗ With the prompting of NGO-CEDAW, the National Assembly ratified the Optional Protocol on CEDAW in 2010.
∗ In 2019, the CEDAW committee’s concluding observations included almost all issued raised by NGO-CEDAW’s reports and in-person advocacy.
Every year, NGO-CEDAW produces an annual evidence-based CEDAW Monitoring Report to hold the government to account on its commitments to improve the status of women and girls in Cambodia.
“One of my target groups are sex workers who have faced harassment and abuse in the workplace. It is a challenge to provide them with the right support or direct them to the right place. Joining NGO-CEDAW, I have a larger network with other CSOs and more resources.”
NGO-CEDAW member
Members value the collaboration with coalition members to strengthen solidarity, women’s rights and gender equality.
Together, the network is stronger!
Being part of the coalition provides a sense of safety in numbers and empowers members to have a voice and feel confident to contribute towards national and sub-national advocacy and campaigning activities.
Capacity Development
NGO-CEDAW supports its members in building their capacity on issues relating to women’s rights, gender equality and the prevention of GBV so that they can mainstream CEDAW issues into their programming and into their work amongst their own target beneficiaries. Their learning is disseminated widely and local stakeholders keen to address these issues benefit greatly from the capacity development support and expertise they receive from coalition members.
The capacity development includes workshops and tailored trainings on priority issues and specific topics that members require support with, a space to connect and collaborate with other CSOs, as well as building confidence to collaborate in advocacy, campaign and lobbying activities.
“At the organisational level, we have improved on data records, and we are more focused on recording evidence of cases that have happened and research initiatives now.”
NGO-CEDAW partner
Networking
Coalition members value the space provided to share information, experience, skills, and to form important relationships with related CSOs across Cambodia to build collaboration, solidarity and joint working opportunities.
Research
NGO-CEDAW sponsors members to conduct research to inform the annual CEDAW monitoring report. We also conduct research and produce policy briefings and updates to keep members informed of strategic developments relating to women’s rights and gender equality in Cambodia.
“My organisation has changed a lot in the way we deal with marginalised people; we understand more and are more inclusive when we provide support to our communities. We include gender in every aspect of our work. We are trying to include a child protection policy in our workplace, and we plan to ask for advice from NGO-CEDAW.”
NGO-CEDAW member
2025 Trainings
∗ Gender policy development and revision
∗ Prevention of sexual harassment, exploitation and abuse (PSHEA) in the workplace policy and practice
∗ Gender mainstreaming
∗ Documenting women’s rights violations
∗ Strategic planning
∗ Resource mobilization strategy development
“NGO CEDAW and members have shared information with our staff so we have larger access to who we can refer DV survivors to, as our organisation’s main focus is sexual health and there are overlaps with sexual assault. What has changed is the number of resources we now have. Before the coalition, we could only provide sexual health services. Now we can provide a more comprehensive range of services including access to mental well-being services.”
NGO-CEDAW member
Public Awareness
NGO-CEDAW is raising awareness about women’s rights and gender equality among the public through creative and innovative tools and initiatives. NGO-CEDAW collaborates with RULERs to organize a university debate called Youth Perspectives (YP). These debates not only teach university students about topics like equality and gender-based violence, but also how to critically debate the issues and share with their friends, networks, families and wider communities. YP is heading into it’s fifth season in 2026. Dignity Cambodia provides a platfrom for young artists and other creatives to portray issues relating to gender equality, gender diversity and gender-based violence, and to stimulate discussion, connect to the topics on a personal level and encourage audience participation around the issues.
“At first, I was not interested in gender topics, only in the debating. But YouthPerspectives has provided so much knowledge about GBV, gender equality, and women’s rights. I would like to give back to the next generation.”
YP participant, now mentor
“I talk about gender equality and women’s rights at my workplace, and now my co-workers come to me for advice so that they don’t discriminate against anyone.”
YP project leader
The Youth Perspectives 2025 on Women and Globalization reportedly yielded significant impacts in advancing gender discourse and youth empowerment in Cambodia. The young people involved discussed how it had increased their critical thinking, debating skills, public speaking skills, and gave them a heightened awareness of gender equality issues. Beyond individual growth, the competition has played a crucial role in empowering university students’ voices and fostering a new generation of gender equality advocates for the future. The competition addresses deep-rooted cultural norms through structured argumentation and respectful disagreement within a designated “safe space.” This unique environment allows for the exploration of sensitive topics and the questioning of traditional norms in a non-confrontational, intellectual manner.
“Before the project, I always thought women needed to be lower than men. But now that I’ve learnt about all these women’s rights, I can speak up for myself and support other women in my life.“