Citation

Womens World 1999; (34): 24-26.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1999, Isis-WICCE)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12179106

Abstract

Refugees and internally displaced people are an unfortunate and inevitable consequence of war. Among these, women refugees are most vulnerable to sexual violence as they go through various stages of displacement. During the war in Cambodia, women refugees experienced sexual violence in the form of rape, gang rape, sexual exploitation, and forced prostitution. This report presents a summary of a testimony by Yi Leang Eng, a Cambodian woman refugee, on her experiences during the war. According to her, violations of rape happened inside and outside the refugee camps everyday, relegating the violence as a normal occurrence. In this regard, nongovernmental organizations and governments are urged to cooperate and insist that perpetrators of such crimes must be punished and such practices must be immediately stopped. In addition, the issue of supporting women survivors and ensuring that they are given justice should also be discussed. Moreover, for the women survivors themselves, the welfare of their families should be top priority.

Language: en