Domestic violence, a particularly Cambodian violence ?

Anchor Moy · Post by **Anchor Moy** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:12 pm

The author here blames Khmer culture and the Chbab Srey in particular for the prevalence of domestic violence in Cambodia. Does Khmer culture encourage violence against women ?

Phnom Penh – There is a proverb in Cambodia, “Men are gold and women are fabric.” Women who lose their virginity before meeting their husband are considered used fabric, smudged and broken. In contrast, men – irrespective of their chastity, and whether they are single or married – remain gold. It is a belief that is inculcated in women from childhood through Chbab Srey, a rhythmic poem that acts as an unofficial law of silence for them.

Kraen, 43, endured daily beatings from an alcoholic husband. She never reported them, even when left with wounds to her head. It was her 20-year-old daughter, who also suffered abuse, who finally ran away from their humble house of metal sheets in Kampong Cham province, and told a community leader what was happening.

Kraen’s passive attitude is part of the legacy of Chbab Srey, which until 2007 was part of the school curriculum: Be respectful to your husband. Help yourself well and keep alive the flame of the relationship, otherwise it will burn. Do not bring outside problems indoors. Do not take internal problems away from home.

The consequence is an unequal relationship in which men can visit brothels without losing social status, while women are responsible for family affairs under the tutelage of men. While men continue to dominate the public sphere, the submission of women continues. The perfect wife remains the one that, when verbally harassed or beaten, keeps silent as Kraen did...

http://thediplomat.com/2016/04/domestic ... -cambodia/

Domestic violence exists in all cultures to some extent, but why is the level of domestic violence in Cambodia so important?

This article slams the teachings of Chbab Srey; I may be wrong,but I think that they are overestimating its importance and relevance for young women today.
I don't dispute that the Khmer cultural attitude toward women has a responsibility for acts of domestic violence, however, I would also take into account that violence is very much ingrained into Khmer society as a whole, and that violence against women is "just" a part of violence in society here. Khmer society is structured on hierarchy and inequality, which goes much further than gender inequality. People who feel disempowered often strike out at those who have even less than themselves. IMO, impunity, lack of social justice and poverty have more to do with the culture of violence in Cambodia than the traditional teachings of Chbab Srey and Pros.
So, without denying that Cambodia has a domestic violence problem of some proportion, I would place it into the larger context of the prevalence of violence in Khmer society in general.

Related stories on CEO that you may find interesting:
Underage Trafficked Girl Rescued from Fishbowl Brothel in Cambodia (as told by Exodus Road NGO)
The virginity culture and business in Cambodia
Cambodia's Virginity Trade Is On The Rise

juansweetpotato · Post by **juansweetpotato** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:18 pm

No, I don't think it is. Cambodia's gone through very bad times, and is still going through very bad times in a sense. Lot of PTSD about.

Chandler reckoned Cambodians have a greater disposition for violence going back through history though.

TheGrinchSR · Post by **TheGrinchSR** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 2:53 pm

I did a bunch of research on domestic violence a while back; the piece I published was picked up from my (now defunct) blog and run by several international women's groups.

Asia in general, not just Cambodia, has insanely high rates of domestic violence. The two worst offenders are also the countries where the female suicide rate is higher than the male suicide rate - South Korea and China. In China, women escape domestic violence not by flinging themselves from a building (nasty but quick) but by drinking weedkiller (nasty and very, very slow). Asia's domestic violence rates are in general higher than those in Africa (where education is far worse) and South America (where machismo culture leads to more domestic violence than in say North America). It's traditional and has been going on forever. In many cases a woman in Asian societies (well documented in Thai society particularly where a lot of research money has ended up) may view a man who doesn't beat her as "less than a man" because of the patterns of abuse she has already witnessed (it's not just dad bashing mum but also brothers, uncles, etc. bashing all female family members).

Tackling domestic violence in Asia will require decades of cultural reprogramming; for which there is no political appetite and no money to deliver.

Bitte_Kein_Lexus · Post by **Bitte_Kein_Lexus** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:07 pm

Sounds like total bullshit. Domestic violence was rampant in many western societies until fairly recently.

juansweetpotato · Post by **juansweetpotato** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:13 pm

Bitte_Kein_Lexus wrote:Sounds like total bullshit. Domestic violence was rampant in many western societies until fairly recently.

Yep, poverty and alcohol are everywhere. Lets also not forget the battered husbands out there.

Post by **Username Taken** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:34 pm

Two posts moved to the Trash. Settle down chaps.

bolueeleh · Post by **bolueeleh** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:39 pm

like my favourite band's mantra "smack my bitch up"

juansweetpotato · Post by **juansweetpotato** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:52 pm

bolueeleh wrote:like my favourite band's mantra "smack my bitch up"

The point of that song was that it was a woman doing it to another woman wasn't it?

bolueeleh · Post by **bolueeleh** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 3:59 pm

juansweetpotato wrote:
bolueeleh wrote:like my favourite band's mantra "smack my bitch up"
The point of that song was that it was a woman doing it to another woman wasn't it?

no idea but the twist in the video was that the main character, ended up being a girl

Kuroneko · Post by **Kuroneko** » Sun Apr 17, 2016 4:20 pm

Certainly prevalent in Medieval England: Domestic Violence—Medieval and Modern Am J Public Health. 2002 December; 92(12): 1908.

This problem is not a novelty of the modern world; its roots go back to the very foundations of so-called civil society,although the expression and extent of violence
varies across periods and cultures. In medieval Europe, for example, husbands had the right to “chastise”—that is, physically discipline—their wives, servants, and apprentices. http://ajph.aphapublications.org/doi/pd ... 92.12.1908

Who report on violence and health 2002 http://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/1066 ... 15_eng.pdf

Colonel Roosevelt's view on wife beating

Domestic violence, a particularly Cambodian violence ?

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