The Dignity Project is part of NGO-CEDAW’s ongoing efforts to update the Cambodian law on domestic violence and establish more awareness and better protection for all people affected by gender-based violence. The physical, emotional and mental weight many women have to carry throughout their lives often remains unseen. Women may feel overwhelmed and worried. However, their role as caring mothers, wives and workers demands resilience, strength and compassion, despite partners or cultural attitudes that treat them with little respect or appreciation.

Ten years after Cambodia’s Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of Victims (DV Law) was passed, the limitations of the law have become apparent. The law is rarely implemented effectively, and many people including authorities in charge (such as police and commune chiefs) do not understand the law well.

Currently, local officials only give spoken warnings to abusers or ask them to sign a pledge not to be violent again. Protective orders and administrative decisions are an effective and cost-efficient tool to protect victims of violence from further abuse. The order can include requirements that the abuser stay away from the victim’s house or work while still paying for the support of family members. Violators can be immediately arrested. A temporary decision or order should be mandatory every time a woman fears future violence.

Next, the law needs to be expanded to include not only spouses living with the abuser, but also unmarried partners and former partners. Often an abuser will stalk a woman who tries to end the relationship and move away. Only a protective order or jailing the abuser will help.

Currently, many judges and prosecutors in domestic violence cases only apply Criminal Code Article 222, which outlaws violence against a spouse, claiming that other articles which call for longer sentences do not apply because they don’t mention spouses specifically. Both the criminal code and the DV law need to be revised to clarify that the fact that a victim is a relative is an aggravating factor, not a separate crime, allowing for longer, not shorter, jail sentences for abusers.

Finally, even the best law will not protect women until every police officer and other authority learns about the law, understands the law, and fully uses the law. We urge the government to provide mandatory training to every to every authority at the local and national levels.

[The above statement was included in the 2015 Dignity Project exhibition and booklet, as well as in press releases and joint statements to government officials on Intenational Human Rights Day 2015.]