Victims Support Section of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC)

Promoting gender equality and improving access to justice for female and GBV survivors under the Khmer Rouge regime – Phase II

Focus area: Strengthening Institutional Response, Improving Service Delivery

From 1975 to 1979 the Khmer Rouge was responsible for one of the worst mass killings of the 20th century. It is estimated that approximately 1.7 million people died during this time as a result of execution, torture, forced labour, starvation and disease. The Khmer Rouge committed specific forms of sexual and gender-based violence, including systematic forced marriage and rape in prisons, in re-education camps, among Khmer Rouge soldiers and of male victims. In 2011, the UN Trust Fund supported a project implemented by the ECCC on “Promoting gender equality and improving access to justice for female survivors of GBV under the Khmer Rouge regime”. An external evaluation of the three-year project highlighted its positive results and potential for significant and sustainable impact in the longer-term if the achievements during the first phase project could be built on and strengthened.

Photo: The Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) 

Accordingly, the current project aims to reinforce and enhance gender sensitivity among stakeholders, ensure meaningful participation in ECCC proceedings of female civil parties and victims of gender-based violence. It also seeks to provide greater public outreach and government advocacy and improve the psychological well-being of this group of victims. A new component of the project is to connect female civil parties and victims of gender-based violence with skills training for income generation in recognition of the financial impact such trauma has had on families. The project will also strengthen the Ending Violence against Women Legal Aid Network, formed under its first phase. This provides an important platform for lawyers, legal practitioners and law students linking the ECCC’s work with the present day situation of violence against women in Cambodia.