Corruption and illegal cash deals hamper efforts to tackle rape in Cambodia

By Beh Lih Yi KUALA LUMPUR (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – The conviction rate for rape cases in Cambodia is “disturbingly low”, as corrupt officials mediate illegal settlements and pocket kickbacks, deterring women from coming forward and hampering efforts to tackle the crime, activists said. Campaigners have long said sexual violence is not taken seriously in the Southeast Asian country of 15 million people, and there is widespread impunity. Of 282 rape and attempted rape cases investigated by Phnom Penh-based Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (Licadho) in 2015, only 53 ended with a conviction and an appropriate sentence, the rights group said in a report released this week.
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