Launching Orange Day into the local communities in Cambodia

Phnom Penh, Cambodia – Hundreds of people from the local commune Sen Sok, Cambodia gathered on the 25th of June to shed an orange light over the streets of Phnom Penh and raise awareness on violence against women and girls.

Debora Comini during the inauguration of the Orange campaign. Photo: Ricardo Perez-Solero

“As violence against women is a de facto manifestation of inequality, social norms that perpetuate inequality between women and men must be challenged” said Deborah Comini, acting UN Resident Coordinator at the launch of the event. Participants and speakers echoed this call to action. “If we don’t speak out about it, if we don’t challenge it, brutal violence can and will be normalized in Cambodia” said Hun Many, president of the Union of Youth Federation of Cambodia.

“I am so proud seeing Orange Day taking place large-scale” said participant Seng Sovann, who is working as a local trainer on violence against women. Every month, the 65 years old trainer works with 50 women, teaching them about the laws and policies of domestic violence. “I try to inform the women of my community about the laws and policies that exist in Cambodia and in the world on violence against women”, said Seng, adding that over the past years she had also had started engaging men in the community. Seng has worked as a trainer in Phnom Penh Thmey commune for the last 30 years, and she has seen clear improvement in the situation for women on the ground. “Just since 2010, we see a clear improvement in the way that women report and talk about violence. It used to be seen as a completely private manner, and something that was to be handled within the four walls of the home. Now, I see that more and more women dare to talk to me about the violence, or go to the police if they suffer from abuse”.

The event was organized by UN Women´s partner organization “People Health Development”, and financially supported by CARE International through the UN Trust Fund to End Violence Against Women.