During the first week in December, forty-eight NGO and government participants from four countries in the Mekong Basin Sub-region, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam, gathered in Phnom Penh for three days to discuss Legislation on Domestic Violence. They were supported by six resource persons from India, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Germany. The workshop was jointly organized by Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (Forum-Asia), Asia Pacific Forum on Women Law and Development (APWLD) and UNIFEM, and hosted by the Cambodian Minister for Women and Veteran's Affairs, H.E. Mu Sochua.

Domestic violence continues to be a major gender issue in the sub-region. A recent study in Thailand suggested that almost half of all Thai women have been physically or sexually abused. It is alarming statistics such as this, that are bringing people's attention to the serious problem of domestic violence. However, no specific laws addressing domestic violence have yet to be enacted in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand or Vietnam.

The meeting was particularly timely for Cambodia, which is in the final stage of passing a law on domestic violence. Among other things, this law will make marital rape illegal, allows survivors of domestic violence to seek a protective order, and enables local authorities to remove a perpetrator from the marital home. If the law passes the National Assembly in February, as expected, it will be the first of its kind in the Mekong region.

Workshop objectives

The workshop aimed to enable participants to draft gender-based domestic violence legislation that is comprehensive, integrated and provides women with effective protection. Participants worked to:

• build a common understanding on the issue of domestic violence in the Mekong sub-region,
• share strategies from NGOs that have passed domestic violence legislation in their countries,
• provide a framework for national legislation on domestic violence for the four Mekong countries, and
• establish networks on domestic violence legislation among national parliamentarians, attorneys general, lawyers and NGOs.

Some points of interest

• Dagmar Oberlies, a German lawyer and GTZ consultant noted the value of data on VAW and the effectiveness of specific measures in lobbying policy makers. She reported that Austrian data showed that removing perpetrators from the home was quite effective in preventing further violence provided that it occurred on the first or an early occurrence of violence in a relationship. However, it was ineffective for repeat offenders and women in such relationships preferred the protection of a shelter because if they remained at home the violent partner would know where to find them.
• One participant also reported that removing the man from the house could have unexpected negative impacts of women: since the house is typically registered in the name of the man, some men who had been removed then sold their houses - leaving the women and children without accommodation!
• Dagmar also noted that the approach in most of the countries seemed to be to protect and support survivors of domestic violence. She argued that what was really needed was to build up a social system or social services that would empower women.
• The Minister for Women's and Veteran's Affairs in Cambodia found the emotional impact of stories of particularly harrowing cases of domestic violence could be effective in gaining support from men, who otherwise tend to think of domestic violence in terms of relatively mild blows.
• Women's NGOs in Thailand felt that women's groups should be responsible for initial drafting of legislation because they were very familiar with the situation and needs of survivors of domestic violence. They had found that legislation drafted by men or legal experts who had not worked with survivors did not cover many of their needs.
• Malaysia suggested that women should have a right to access to support services without having to first report to the police to prove that they have been subject to violence.

Outcomes

The Vietnamese delegation is organizing a meeting to brief parliamentarians and members of the Vietnam Women's Union on the outcomes of the Cambodian workshop and another workshop that some attended on domestic violence in New Zealand. At the request of the Vietnamese delegation, UNIFEM has brokered support for this meeting with CIDA Canada in Hanoi. The meeting will be held in Hanoi 4-5 March. They also plan to involve the Women's Union and parliamentarians in formulating a proposal to draft domestic violence legislation for Vietnam.

Lao PDR also reported to the government upon their return to Vientiane. During 2002, the government will cooperate with the Lao Women's Union (LWU) and others to collect data on violence against women in Lao PDR. The LWU now plans to set up a shelter for survivors of domestic violence as a first step towards addressing the issue.

In Thailand, the Women's Parliamentarian Club, which attended the meeting, has joined with the National Human Rights Commission to organize a first meeting to draft a Domestic Violence Bill in February with support from UNIFEM. The Thai delegates aim to have a draft bill ready to be presented to Parliament in August 2002. The Thai NGO participants have already met in January 2002 to start this process.

In Cambodia, the Cambodian Association of Parliamentarians for Peace and Development (CAPPD) is organizing a parliamentarian's workshop in January to sensitize parliamentarians in about domestic violence. This workshop will also be used to lobby for support from men.

"We will take the law to the people in the simple language of the people. We will translate the laws into their languages. We have committed ourselves to engender the judicial system to make every woman, every member of our families become peace builders."
Mu Sochua in her closing statement

 

Dated: 10 Feb 2002