Exhibition on Forced Marriage under the Khmer Rouge
25 August 2016
GIZ Cambodia celebrates that victims of the widespread practice of forced marriage perpetrated by the Khmer Rouge are telling their stories in public hearings for the first time at the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC).
Through the Civil Peace Service program, GIZ Cambodia has been working since more than eight years with governmental and non-governmental organizations to seek justice for victims of forced marriage and/or sexual violence committed by the Khmer Rouge regime.
Due to the continuous efforts and advocacy by Civil Party lawyers of the Civil Peace Service program, the current Case 002 of the ECCC includes in its indictment the crime of forced marriage and the rapes that occurred in the context of those marriages. Furthermore, the Civil Peace Service has been supporting women’s hearings since 2012 giving victims of gender-based violence and forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge a public platform to talk about their experiences.
Forced marriage under the Khmer Rouge regime
In cooperation with the Civil Peace Service program, the GIZ Cambodia’s Access to Justice for Women program worked closely with the Cambodian Ministry of Women’s Affairs to break-up the silence of the Cambodian Government about sexual violence and forced marriage. As a result, the issue was effectively integrated into two Cambodian national policies, namely the Fourth National Strategic Plan for Gender Equality (2014-2018), known as Neary Rattanak IV, and the Second National Action Plan to Prevent Violence against Women (2014-2018).
The long-standing and continuous work of GIZ Cambodia and its Civil Peace Service program to support civil conflict transformation and promote reconciliation and justice in the context of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal has been repeatedly featured by international, German and Cambodian media.
Authors: Ms. Ursula Sticker and Mr. Rodrigo Montero Cano
For more information please contact Mr. Marc Smith, coordinator of the Civil Peace Service program, at
