Spousal killings call commune officials’ mediation role into question

In her wedding photo, Pen Chan Sreykuoch smiles at the camera, wearing lolly-pink lipstick and her hair swept back, large blue jewels glittering at her neck. Her head is pressed against that of her groom, Hang Chanthou, who stares – unsmiling – at the camera.
Just last week, Chan Sreykuoch, 23, was brutally stabbed to death in a bathroom, allegedly by her husband. Chan Sreykuoch’s mother cradled her body as she bled out in her arms. No arrest has been made, and police suspect that Chanthou, 26, is on the run.
Mere hours before she was murdered, Chan Sreykuoch and her husband went to Koh Prech Commune Hall in Takeo, where she demanded a divorce.
Commune Chief Chhit Pan said he knew of the financial, emotional and physical abuse Chan Sreykuoch was subjected to, but did not take steps to protect her. Read full story.

 

When ignorance leaves pregnant surrogates on the wrong side of Cambodian law

Malis* sits under her home in a remote village with her legs folded under her swelling belly. She’s six months pregnant, expecting a baby girl, and knows nothing about the child’s parents except that they are Chinese.
She also is unaware that, as of yesterday, she could find herself facing serious jail time for her role in an illegal surrogacy operation. Read full story.

 

 

 

Kandal village emblem of Kingdom’s domestic abuse problem

As the government issued a familiar package of platitudes and promises on International Women’s Day, a walk through a single rural village in Kandal offered a shocking glimpse into how widespread – and widely accepted – domestic abuse remains in the Kingdom.
Prime Minister Hun Sen yesterday denounced violence against women, placing the blame on a cocktail of dwindling social morality, a lack of education, materialistic over-enthusiasm and an abuse of social media.
But for countless women living within the grip of domestic violence, the causes are a heady mix of alcoholism, victim-blaming and a pervasive view that their partner has a right to beat them. Read full story.