Since then, Sopheapanhat has built her work around action, procedure and persistence. She speaks with clarity about the importance of understanding legal processes and acting quickly when harm occurs. Delays, she says, can mean lost evidence and lost chances for justice.
“My intention in doing this is to help all abused women and children receive legal protection,” she says.
When a call comes from a village chief, she goes immediately, coordinating with police and local authorities because, as she puts it: “This is teamwork; we cannot do it alone.”
One case remains especially vivid in her memory. Two children were located after family violence had torn their home apart. When their father was found, one child ran to hug him. But when Sopheapanhat gently asked whether the child wanted to return with him, the child shook their head. In a private conversation, the child explained why: “Father beats mother.”
That moment helped shape the decision to keep the children safe rather than send them back into harm. For Sopheapanhat, it was a reminder that protecting children requires patience, careful listening and the courage to act on what they reveal.
She believes women need more than advice. They need practical support, someone to accompany them and someone who will help them face intimidating systems with confidence.
“If I don't help them, they will certainly be alone,” she says. That support may mean helping with paperwork, accompanying women to court, or simply making sure they don’t have to speak in fear by themselves.
What keeps her going is simple: the community trusts her, and she refuses to leave women facing violence alone.
“They say: ‘Teacher, if you forget us, we have no one else to help’,” she says. “That language makes me think that if I abandon them, they will be more isolated, and I will have more regrets.”
Even at difficult hours, she continues to respond. “Honestly, whether it's midnight or 1 AM, if the police call, I go. I never stay home,” she says. “Yes, I'm going to help my people.”
For Sopheapanhat, women’s leadership is also about voice. She believes that when women participate in meetings and decisions, communities make better choices.
“If we don’t have women participating, there is no complete or perfect agreement,” she says. Through her work in Kampong Cham, she continues to show that leadership is not only about position. It is about making sure women and children are heard, protected and never left to face violence alone.
