Speeches
Remarks by Ambassador Joseph A. Mussomeli, PADV Workshop on Domestic Violence, featuring Professor Robin Haarr
June 28, 2007
World Vision Cambodia
Distinguished guests, government officials, leaders of the NGO community, Ladies and Gentlemen:
It is my pleasure to be here with you this morning for the opening of this workshop dedicated to reducing family violence in Cambodia and to understanding the relationship between trafficking in persons and domestic violence. We at the U.S. Embassy are honored to help sponsor this workshop in conjunction with Project Against Domestic Violence and to secure Dr. Robin Haarr, a noted American expert on domestic violence and trafficking in persons, to facilitate the workshop.
Dr. Haarr joins us at an opportune time. The 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report just came out with Cambodia remaining on the Tier 2 Watchlist for the second year in a row. The placement, while not a surprise, is a disappointment. It highlights the need for Cambodia to pass and enact comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation and to make greater efforts to prosecute and convict public officials, especially within the judiciary and particularly in places like Sihanoukville, who profit from or are involved in trafficking in order to make Cambodia a safer place for children, young adults, women and men vulnerable to trafficking. Domestic violence, like trafficking, is directed primarily against our most vulnerable citizens, children and women. I am always reminded of Gandhi’s observation that a society should be judged by how well it treats its weakest members.” By that standard, all our societies, regardless our advances in technology, knowledge, and infrastructure, remain woefully uncivilized.
The political theorist Hannah Arendt once remarked that “the more dubious … an instrument violence has become in international relations, the more it has gained in reputation and appeal in domestic affairs.” This certainly has been the case in Cambodia. While Cambodians have closed a brutal chapter in their history and are searching for ways to resolve their external conflicts constructively, violent behavior amongst families and individuals remains. Every morning, the front pages of Cambodia’s newspapers are filled with stories of gruesome brutality.
Domestic violence is not just a private, family problem, it is a societal problem. Domestic violence in Cambodia, as in our own society, needs to be tackled by the authorities and by each and every one of us. Cambodia’s Domestic Violence Law, passed in 2005, recognizes violent behavior among families and individuals as a societal problem as it obliges the authorities to intervene in domestic violence situations. Local authorities and all of us have a responsibility to use the 2005 law as a tool to stop the cruelty of domestic violence.
In a society soaked in violence for more than thirty years, and with a lack of trust in the judicial system, Cambodians, and men in particular, believe that aggression is an appropriate tool to control and dominate others. There is no compunction against being violent to women, children, and one another. Furthermore, children who witness family violence are at greater risk for perpetuating this cycle of family violence in their adult lives. We must make known the connection between watching father batter mother and the child deducing a link between violence and masculinity.
I applaud and commend the dedication of each and every one of you who are committed to eliminating family violence and trafficking in persons in Cambodia. Developing a culture that seeks to resolve differences peacefully, after decades of war and genocide, is especially difficult and courageous work. But this work is essential in creating a more peaceful, equitable and accountable society. Violence and corruption in Cambodia will not be eliminated until its root causes are resolved among individuals and families, brothers and sisters, husbands and wives, parents and their children, and friends and neighbors.
Thank you all for your hard work and continued effort as we work together toward a prosperous and peaceful future for all Cambodians.
