A stepfather (left) is held for using violence on his eight-year-old stepson in Kampot province in August. POLICE
The Cambodian National Council for Children (CNCC) on September 29 held a launch event for the 10-year implementation of the national policy plan on child protection system aimed at protecting children from abuse and exploitation and raising public awareness of the issue.
The event was held in collaboration with NGOs working in the field of children protection such as Plan International Cambodia, Action Pour Les Enfants, Child Fund Cambodia, Child Protection Unit and other partners.
According to the press statement, the child protection policy was signed by Prime Minister Hun Sen, who also serves as the CNCC honorary president, on May 29 last year.
It is a strategic expression of a concrete commitment by the government to create a systematic means of establishing and enforcing child protection practices in Cambodia based on the three pillars of prevention and protection, intervention and provision of responsive services.
The CNCC said it had prepared a plan to implement the policy on the protection system and encouraged all relevant ministries and institutions at the national and sub-national levels to join them in implementing it effectively.
“Despite the attention of the government – which has established various mechanisms to manage and provide services to child victims – there are still some children living in difficult situations who need support and intervention,” said Minister of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation Vong Sauth, who is also the CNCC chairman.
Sauth said interventions for child victims are currently isolated in nature and carried out with no clear framework or management system in place. As such, this national policy on child protection systems is very important in helping to solve these problems in a way that is both consistent and reliable.
Minister of National Assembly-Senate Relations and Inspection Men Sam An said promoting children’s rights and protecting children requires everyone to work together with a multi-sector effort that is interconnected by this child protection policy.
She noted that Cambodia is moving forward to take on the responsibility of actively protecting all children in society, saying the establishment of a child protection system was long overdue.
According to the press statement, the child protection system will be focused on investments in human resource capacity by training more officials as social workers at the sub-national level and promoting effective, efficient, consistent and timely child protection services for all children and families in the entire nation.
The policy planning also requires that children have access to legal services and social equity through the provision of a minimum package of social services for children and families in poverty as well as provision of aid to families affected by natural disasters.
Gwynneth Wong, Plan International Cambodia country director, said this was another great milestone to further promote the best interests of all of children in Cambodia.
“This is a concrete commitment by the Royal Government of Cambodia for strengthening the systematic child protection practices here. This systematic approach on child protection practices requires each and every one of us to work together and ensure children’s interest and make sure their voices, especially the girls’, are heard and remain at the heart of our work,” she said.
A survey by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs back in 2014 indicated that as many as six in 10 females and males across every age group had experienced at least one form of violence categorised as physical, emotional or sexual during their childhood.
The research findings said nearly one-quarter of girls and boys aged 13 to 17 reported to have experienced more than one of these forms of violence. The research also indicated that 20 per cent of girls and 25 per cent of boys reported emotional abuse by parents or adults prior to the age of 18.
