Report on White Ribbon Campaign 2002

1.0      Background

The white ribbon has become the symbol of the annual 16-Day Campaign to End Violence Against Women which is held internationally from 25 November to 10 December.  This period includes other important events which signify women's rights to physical security such as International AIDS Day and International Human Rights Day.

Cambodia held its first White Ribbon Campaign in 2000. November 25 that year was the day when the Cambodian Men's Network was officially launched.  Throughout the previous year, the training manager for Gender and Development for Cambodia (GAD/C) had worked hard and travelled the length of the country to mobilize men who were active in the field of human rights and community development at the grassroots level of Cambodian society in order to form the first Men's Network whose aim is to:

• encourage men to be responsible parents and loving partners within the family;
• act as effective role models for children and instil in them values which contribute to peace and harmony within the society;
• reduce some destructive aspects of male behaviour such as gambling, drinking and extra-marital sex;
• raise awareness among men of the benefits of monogamy and fidelity and of the health risks involved in promiscuous sexual behaviour;
• be leaders in creating a Cambodian society which values good behaviour, trust in each other, loyalty, honesty, and giving service to others;
• educate all Cambodian men to reject all forms of violence against women including physical abuse, psychological abuse, discrimination, harassment, and abuse language;
• be active in lobbying for the elimination of the trafficking for sexual exploitation of women and young girls.

The Cambodian Men's Network (CMN) has active membership in ten of Cambodia's twenty-four provinces and in two more municipalities.  Activities, including capacity building and advocacy, are organized within five regions.  Annual strategies are worked out during the annual consultative meeting   of members each January.  The White Ribbon Campaign is by far the largest event organized by the CMN during the year.

Violence against women is a feature of all societies, but its prevalence is marked by its intensity in those societies which are recovering from protracted periods of war, revolution and other episodes of rapid social change.  Cambodia has barely recovered from its past thirty years of massive aerial bombardment, social upheaval, civil war, revolution and its aftermath, and foreign intervention to make order out of the resultant chaos.  The last battlefield will always be the home where the scars of war are too often revenged on the weakest members, i.e. the wives and children of men who have also suffered the abuse of power.  Domestic violence is a serious problem in Cambodia where official statistics suggest that one in four women who have ever married suffer abuse, and fifty percent of  injuries resulting from spousal battery are to the head.  Rape, and most worryingly, gang rape sometimes involving as many as thirty men, is a growing problem.  In a recent GAD/C 2002 study of youth behaviour and attitudes conducted among 580 young men and women of Phnom Penh, only 13 percent recognized gang rape as "rape" and as something which was "wrong".  Sex trafficking and forced prostitution are among the most serious violations of human rights in Cambodia where an unspecified number, but somewhere between 400 and 800 women and children are trafficked to various other countries each month; 30 percent of the 80,000-100,000 commercial sex workers in the country are under eighteen years of age. Sexual harassment and gender-based discrimination are also commonplace.

The Cambodian Men's Network recognises that violence against women is a men's problem which men themselves must address.  It is a highly sensitive and usually a secret issue which men find difficult to confront.  Given the power imbalance within the society, it is virtually impossible for women to talk to men about the problem.  As has been the experience in previous campaigns, men will talk to other men about problems they have created in their intimate relationships and they are relieved to do so.     The annual White Ribbon Campaign is an event which people are happy to be involved in.         The message is non-threatening, positive and constructive:  violence against women is something which people themselves can prevent and must prevent in order to restore peace to the society.

The 2002 campaign took on special significance because the domestic violence bill was tabled for debate by the current sitting of the national legislature just after the end of the campaign.  Throughout the sixteen days, therefore, activists called for the smooth passage of the law through both houses of parliament and for its speedy enactment and proper implementation.  When approved, the law will allow authorities to intervene to prevent or stop violence in the home without having to wait for a warrant to be issued.

The White Ribbon Campaign for 2002 was bigger than the previous two years; it involved the participation of hundreds of youth volunteers, community groups and local NGOs throughout Phnom Penh and one-third of the country's rural provinces.  The spectacular vigil and concert presided by the Minister for Women's and Veterans' Affairs attracted the attention of thousands of guests and bystanders and was televised nationally.  The small white ribbon is  recognized by many Cambodians and it is playing an important role in raising  awareness of the social cost of violence against women, of the meaning and value of women's rights as human rights, and in persuading men to take responsibility for their own behaviour in their relationships with women.

2.0      The White Ribbon Campaign

The plan was to distribute a total of 52,000 ribbons and leaflets by personally pinning on the ribbon and handing out the leaflet at the same time while explaining the significance of the campaign during public rallies in Phnom Penh and selected cities and districts as follows:

The remaining ribbons and leaflets were distributed to participants and entertainers at the vigil and concert which will be discussed later in this report.  All the ribbons were made by women currently housed in shelters for women victims of violence in Phnom Penh.  The poster which read "Men Speak Out – Stop Violence Against Women" was sponsored by Oxfam/GB.  It consisted of a large red circle in the style of the traffic stop sign with a photo from the previous year's campaign in Svay Rieng province in the middle showing police and students marching with blue banners and posters and wearing the white ribbon. Special t-shirts worn by activists and community leaders during the rallies, the concert, etc. were supported by GAD/C, Oxfam, PSI, and Khana (AIDS Alliance).  The front of the t-shirt carried the white ribbon logo while the back showed a large STOP sign with the slogan, "Men Speak Out – STOP – Rape".

Each provincial/district level campaign involved a lot of planning and preparation.  CMN members working with local NGOs in the selected provinces made preliminary visits to Phnom Penh to discuss details of the rally and to decide on a plan of activities.   The district rallies followed similar formats with a procession by youth and activists with banners, posters, microphones, and sometimes traditional musicians to a rallying point where community leaders addressed the rally and called for support to stop violence against women in their district.  The young activists then dispersed in pairs through the market area to distribute ribbons and pamphlets.  At least one GAD/C staff member attended each rally. 

2.1     Phnom Penh:  24 November

This year, the White Ribbon Day, 25 November was a Monday.  To take advantage of the crowds of people who go to the riverside on Sunday afternoon, it was decided to commence the campaign on the evening of 24 November with a large rally of CMN members, GAD Net members and youth volunteers starting out from the GAD/C office and dividing into three teams to cover three very busy areas near the riverfront over a distance of approximately ten kilometres and then converging in front of the Royal Palace where the Minister for Women's and Veterans' Affairs held an open-air press conference.

This colourful rally with banners, posters, balloons and t-shirts received a generous response from the Sunday afternoon crowds.  At least 5,000 people accepted the ribbon, including police, soldiers, officials, students, NGO staff, and the general public.  Some people asked for extra ribbons to take home and distribute themselves to family members and neighbours.

2.2     Chhlorng District: 25 November

A small and active local NGO, Community Economic Development (CED), in cooperation with the Department of Women's and Veterans' Affairs organized the rally with support from CMN.  Around 200 activists, including CMN members, students and teachers, district education officials, the district governor, and commune chiefs took part.  In his address, Mr Mom Chun, chief of the District Education Office said that domestic violence is not a private matter.  Rather it is a problem for the whole society and every incident of domestic violence is an obstacle to nation building.  Ms Som Saku, deputy head of the Department of Women's and Veterans' Affairs called on the National Assembly to approve the Domestic Violence Bill quickly. 

Following the meeting, the activists walked through the market pinning ribbons, explaining the purpose of the campaign and handing out leaflets.   Altogether 2,800 ribbons were handed out.  Three hundred of the remaining 700 ribbons were taken by CED for distribution in remote villages where the organization works; a further three hundred along with the posters used in the campaign, were carried north along the Mekong to Stung Treng province where another rally was to be organized; and the remaining one hundred were given to a small organization in Kratie town for another ceremony 

2.3     Prey Veng District:  26 November

The organization PNKS (Light of Hope) cooperated with GAD/C and CMN, along with teachers and students to hold a rally in this district of Prey Veng province.  The meeting was attended by the district governor, other district, commune and village officials, soldiers and security police, community members, as well as staff of the school grounds which provided the meeting place.  Following the meeting, the procession covered a distance of about two kilometres through the market, around the market and past people's homes, restaurants, shops, etc.  Altogether 3,300 ribbons and 2,400 leaflets were distributed.

The district governor called on teachers and students to spread the message of the campaign to their families, relatives and people in the community generally to prevent and eliminate domestic violence, rape and discrimination against women and children.  

2.4     Pursat Province: 3 December

The rally was held early in the morning in the grounds of the provincial technical training school, presided over by the deputy governor of Sampouv Meas district, Mr. Hor Saroeun, and later proceeded to Pursat market about three kilometres away and then through three villages to arrive finally at Pursat high school.  Along the way, the 89 activists pinned ribbons and handed out leaflets to police, soldiers, officials, teachers, members of the public, students, etc.  In all, 4,000 ribbons and 3,000 leaflets were distributed.

The rally was facilitated by the local organization BDASE and involved the participation of six other local non-government organizations active in Pursat province, the local department of MoWVA, the Dept. Education and the local high school, as well as village development committees and village chiefs. 

2.5     Poipet: 6 December

Poipet is commonly dubbed Cambodia's "boom town".  Located on the road bridge between Cambodia and Thailand, it is host to several large new casinos which attract gamblers, traffickers, drug dealers, and brothel owners.  Violence against women is almost synonymous with Poipet.  The Cambodian Women's Crisis Centre (CWCC) cooperated with CMN, along with local authorities, government officials, teachers and students to stage a rally for the white ribbon campaign. 

The procession wound its way along National route 5 from the CWCC office to the border crossing point and back via a circular route of about five kilometres.  Passengers wound down their car windows to call out their support for the campaign; police, MPs and soldiers accepted the ribbon happily and expressed their support; many citizens came and asked for extra ribbons and leaflets so they could distribute them to their staff, colleagues and neighbours.  A total of 4,500 ribbons and 3,500 leaflets were distributed.

2.6     Pailin: 6 December

Pailin municipality is the last piece of the jigsaw which civil war made of the map of Cambodia to rejoin the national body.  This border town is barely coping with the rapid transition from tight authoritarian control to free marketplace.  All forms of violence against women seem to be part of that change.  This was the first year that Pailin had taken part in the campaign.  It was organized in cooperation with the CBCDO, the municipality authorities, the Pailin Women's Association, and GAD/C.

The rally began in front of the municipal office presided over by the second and third deputy governors, H.E. Kaet Sothea and H.E. Ba Hoen.  Representatives of other NGOs in Pailin as well as police, government officials, teachers and students took part.  During the distribution procession, 3,000 ribbons and 2,000 leaflets were distributed to soldiers, border police, students and the general public.  The people of Pailin were delighted to be included in this national campaign and asked to be included on an annual basis.  Some people came forward to ask how they could serve to help the victims of violence against women and children.

2.7     Prek Phneu District, Kandal Province: 7 December

The Kandal provincial department of MoWVA cooperated with GAD/C to organize a very successful campaign at Prek Phneu, some 15 kilometres north of Phnom Penh, on this Saturday morning.  The rally commenced in the grounds of a lower secondary school attended by students, teachers, village, commune and district chiefs, and the under-secretary of state for MoWVA,. H.E. San Arun.  Following the meeting, students of Grade 9 at the school – totalling 57 activists – carried banners and posters, and pinned ribbons and explained the message to the people in this marketplace along a 3 kilometre route.  A total of 4,500 ribbons were distributed and eagerly received.

It was here that a small monitoring exercise was conducted.  We retraced the route of the distribution to count the number of ribbons and leaflets which had been rejected.  We found just four ribbons and one leaflet on the ground.

2.8     Battambang Province: 8 December

Licadho and CMN cooperated with many youth groups (e.g. from the National Institute of Management, the Dhammayietra Movement for peace, etc), Adhoc, MoWVA and officials of Battambang district to organize a very successful rally and procession over four kilometres.  The public, police, soldiers, government officials, teachers and students took part.

During the procession, people took the chance to ask about protection from violence, to express their support for the campaign, and, like one policeman, to request more ribbons and leaflets to pass on to work colleagues and encourage them to intervene in cases of violence, especially violence in the family.

A total of 6,000 ribbons were pinned and 4,000 leaflets distributed.  The suggestion was that 2003 be even bigger because more and more youth were requesting to take part.

2.9     Phnom Penh Urban Poor Communities:  8 December

On Sunday morning, 8 December, a procession of buses decorated with campaign posters and banners slowly wound its way around the business centre of Phnom Penh then divided up to go to two squatter relocation sites (Samaki and anlong Kngan) and two major slum areas of Phnom Penh (Borei Geila and stung Meanchey).  The main cooperating agency was Urban Sector Group (USG) and, as usual, the workers were the youth volunteers.  There were no meetings or rallies, just processions with banners, posters, ribbons and leaflets.  As everywhere else, the ribbon was received with smiles and relief.  Children were particularly intrigued, especially by the posters depicting violence (which reduced them to unusual silence).

This was a very moving experience for all participants and drove home the point again that Cambodian people genuinely want to rid their neighbourhoods of violence which disturbs and impoverishes them  and their children.  

2.10  Chhouk District, Kampot Province: 10 December

The 2002 campaign ended in Meanchey commune, Chhouk district in the seaside province of Kampot.  This district was controlled by the Khmer Rouge until late 1996.  The rally was organized by CADFP and KCAD which have close links with the Men's Network.  Three remorks (motorbike trailers) carried 60 activists a distance of 35 kilometres through at least 7 villages to spread the message, the ribbon and the leaflet.  Three commune chiefs and six representatives from village/commune development committees also took part.

The Chhouk rally was popularly received and the people urged the campaign organizers to return again the following year. 

3.0      Vigil and Concert – Men Speakout

During the 2001 campaign, the CMN in conjunction with the GAD Net, Cambodia's largest and oldest women's advocacy group, organized a spectacular public concert in one of Phnom Penh's parks in the style of a Women's Speakout to stop violence against women and children.  This concert was prepared and televised by the national channel TV3.  It attracted an audience of thousands to the park and an unknown number of viewers when televised.  It also won the praise of the television company programme manager and would-be television sponsors.

For the current campaign, it was decided to hold a concert once again – and for the final time – to give the opportunity for men to speak out on the theme of violence against women.  This concert was generously funded by Unifem, Oxfam/Hong Kong, and Forum Syd.

The concert schedule was similar to that of the previous year.  The master of ceremonies (MC) explained the significance of the event and the Minister for Women's and Veterans' Affairs made the opening speech.  Then the lights were turned off as 100 Buddhist nuns commenced prayers for peace, lit by the small flames of 1,000 candles held by guests and bystanders. 

A representative of the governor of Phnom Penh gave a short address expressing support for the event and then the concert proper began.  Four of Cambodia's top popular singers provided the entertainment.  The MC carefully wove together the songs and the testimonies offered by the men.  Altogether five young men spoke out against violence on women.

As the concert took place on the eve of International AIDS Day, the first testimony was given by an AIDS victim who had passed the virus to his wife.  The second speaker spoke from behind the stage to protect his anonymity.  The reaction from the audience when it was announced that a former youth gang member would speak was a combination of shock, anger and fear.  The third speaker was a rice farmer from the province surrounding Phnom Penh.  His theme was domestic violence.  The fourth speaker was a rape lawyer from a well-known local NGO and the final speaker, closing the event, was a young university teacher and youth leader.

Fortunately the rain held off until the end of the programme and there were no interruptions, mishaps or incidents to mar the event which proceeded even more smoothly than the previous year.  The entire concert lasted three hours.  It was edited into a one and a half hour format for prime time viewing on Friday evening, 6 December.

4.0      Evaluation of 2002 Campaign

The 16-Day Campaign, including the vigil and concert, for 2002 was bigger and better than previous years.  The Cambodian Men's Network and GAD/C which facilitated the campaign built on the experience gained over the past two years and the campaign was without incident and extremely well received by everyone, both participants and recipients. 

This campaign always attracts a lot of interest from the general public.  Domestic violence is never very far from most people's neighbourhoods or even their own families, and during 2002 the media have carried many stories of violence against women, particularly rape stories, which have alarmed and concerned the people.  Consequently, the white ribbon does not need much explanation and virtually no one has to be persuaded to wear it.  During the distribution rallies,  very, very few men refused to accept the ribbon while many others asked to be given a few extra so they could take them back to their home village or give them to their sons, workmates or employees.

Among the strong points:

• The whole event, the white ribbon campaign and the vigil/concert, was well-organized and proceeded very smoothly;
• Funds were raised and secured in advance of the campaign and donors were helpful and encouraging;
• The poster and t-shirt were specific to the rally and very effective;
• The campaign touched at least 52,000 people in parts of the country as far apart as Pailin and Kratie down to district level;
• Many more people were genuinely interested, the general public and especially youth;
• There was very strong support in the countryside, in the districts where the rural campaign was organized;
• In the districts, there was excellent cooperation with local NGOs, local officials, administrators, teachers, etc., even the district governors;
• The minister for the Ministry of Women's and Veterans' Affairs gave her sincere endorsement and participated actively in the launch rally and in the concert;
• The governor of Phnom Penh provided the concert location free of charge and appointed a representative to speak at the event;
• The concert was so popular in 2001 that this year many commercial sponsors wanted to take advantage of the TV broadcast (offers not taken up);
• The Buddhist nuns as usual volunteered their time and offered their prayers with deep sincerity which produced a strong effect on those attending the vigil;
• The National Assembly session commenced on the first day of the campaign and rumours that the Domestic Violence Bill would be debated during the campaign period gave the campaign this year extra urgency and focus.

Among the weak points:

• There was not a lot of media coverage (apart from the concert broadcast on TV3).  The national TVK gave a short slot to the minister's press conference address, and Women's Media Centre showed an interview with GAD/C's advocacy officer and also relayed a radio interview with her on FM102.  Rendezvous, as previously, will present the event for French TV.  The English language daily covered a procession by the allied lobby group, CAMBOW, for the DV law and the fortnightly Phnom Penh Post carried a story on the concert and the work of the CMN.  Cambodian journalists will not print stories unless they are paid to do so, no matter what the national or public interest might be.  At the grassroots level, people have little access to print media but we realize that it is important to get the campaign message to those in the capital who are legislators, policy-makers, etc.
• Solidarity from other women's groups was disappointingly weak.  Apart from the CAMBOW rally, not many women's groups participated in other events during the sixteen days.  Perhaps there were too many other demands like preparation for AIDS Day (1 Dec.) or International Day of the Disabled (3 Dec.).  Perhaps it is due to the gender factor that women working for NGOs do not have spare time to participate in extra-mural activities, that they still have a lot of home duties to do.  Whatever the reason, the campaign highlighted again how strong the Men's Network is and how divided the women's movement remains.

Lessons learnt:

The 16-Day campaign in 2002 took a huge toll on a small organization like GAD/C.  The fund-raising efforts, the organization of rural campaigns, the printing and production work, the big Phnom Penh rallies, and the vigil and concert, not to mention the actual hands-on effort of going out to the sometimes remote districts to pin ribbons and observe events sometimes threatened to overwhelm GAD/C which had barely had time to recover from coordinating and staging the national conference on gender and development in September.  The staff worked long days and without breaks for weekends.  There were almost no complaints, however, and there was a lot of satisfaction in the success of their efforts.  At the same time, the thought of repeating the same effort on perhaps an even larger scale in 2003 is intimidating.

At each district rally, the local organizers and the local officials urged us strongly to take the campaign to the villages where there is a lot of violence within and between families.  This is the first lesson which has to be heeded.

Secondly, young people, especially students, were so enthusiastic, reliable and generous with their time and efforts again this year that it seems almost natural to hand much of the campaign to them in the future.  After all, the message is really for them and for their peers to understand and to incorporate in their lives.

Solidarity with the event is coming from the rural areas and from some very good small NGOs who have valuable local knowledge.

In 2003, it might well be the case that GAD/C will facilitate rather than operate the campaign which should reach the village with the help of energy of young people who are committed to creating a safer society for women and children.

5.0      Conclusion

On behalf of the Cambodian Men's Network and the GAD Net which it helps to facilitate, GAD/C would like to thank the donors – Unifem, Oxfam/Hong Kong, Oxfam/GB, Forum Syd, Khana, and PSI - for their generous support for this important campaign.  We sincerely believe that the small white ribbon is opening up public space to talk about something which is generally assumed to be an intimately private issue.  Laws are, of course, important as is public education, but in the final analysis, people have to decide themselves whether or not to change their behaviour in regard to violence against others.  The flames of the vigil, the prayers of the nuns, the silent affirmation of the crowds of ordinary young men at the concert, and acceptance of the white ribbon might all signal hope that Cambodia is becoming again a country at peace with itself.

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