Written evidence from Dr Katherine Brickell, Royal Holloway, University of London (HUM0003)

Executive Summary

-          This submission reports on the outcomes of an educational intervention project supported by the FCO Bilateral Programme Fund and granted by the British Embassy, Phnom Penh, Cambodia (2013-2014, £4,953).

-          The FCO-funded project was entitled ‘Client Consultation Workshop and Competition: Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of the Victims’ and was led by Dr Katherine Brickell in collaboration with Pannasastra University of Cambodia.

-          The report evidences what the funding achieved in practice, namely: capacity building with Cambodia’s next generation of lawmakers; maximising the impact of a publically-funded international development research project; raising the profile of the British Embassy and its prioritisation of ‘democratic values and the rule of law’; and providing valuable insights for FCO and DFID advisors who work on women’s rights and violence against women and girls.

Introduction

While in the past twenty years, unprecedented progress has been made in respect to the number and scope of laws designed to prevent domestic violence in the developing world, daily violations of women's human rights remain a pervasive problem. The hiatus between legal reform and transformative change for women is particularly pronounced in Cambodia which ratified the 'Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of Victims' in 2005. Dr Katherine Brickell is Reader in Human Geography in the Department of Geography, Royal Holloway University of London, and led a study funded by the Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) and Department for International Development (DFID) on the efficacy of its implementation (2012-2015).[1] There are few opportunities in existing curricula for law and social science students in Cambodia to learn about domestic violence law. In this context, the FCO funded an educational intervention led by Dr Katherine Brickell which sought to raise awareness and practice-based expertise on this important yet understudied law among 100+ undergraduate students studying at Pannasastra University of Cambodia. This included a two-day training workshop on domestic violence law followed by a two-day ‘client consultation competition’ which simulates a law office consultation by asking students to work in pairs to respond to a client’s problem (domestic violence). It is the first time that Cambodia’s domestic violence law has been tested in this way. Evaluation data was collected in two forms, via pre and post-training questionnaires and through two focus groups which were held after the competition finale.

Even modestly funded FCO-supported projects have the ability to further British interests overseas by supporting the promotion and protection of human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The project in Cambodia achieved the following:

1. The educational intervention was a capacity builder among a cohort of Cambodia’s next generation of lawmakers. Evaluation data evidences important changes to their understandings of what constituted domestic violence. Prior to the training intervention, domestic violence was primarily considered to constitute physical abuse. But after the training, many of them were able to explain the myriad types of violence in considerable depth. Participants also had stronger understandings of domestic violence law and some of the practical constraints on women being able to use domestic violence law to access justice.
2. The FCO-grant maximised the impact of a publically-funded international development research project. The ESRC-DFID funded research findings formed the basis of training that students from Pannasastra University of Cambodia received from Dr Katherine Brickell. The cases used in the training and client consultation competition were also based on those of domestic violence victims interviewed as part of the ESRC-DFID study. The project attracted interest from a range of broadcast and print media including Radio Free Asia, Radio France International, Cambodia Daily and the Phnom Penh Post. The FCO-sponsored project thereby showcased UK research excellence and facilitated new educational ties between the UK and Cambodia.
3. The project raised the profile of the British Embassy and its prioritisation of ‘democratic values and the rule of law’ in a country which has a particularly poor human rights record. The Ministry of Women’s Affairs provided training to the students and its Secretary of State, H.E. Sy Delfine, acted as keynote speaker at the final award ceremony. Deputy Head of Mission from the British Embassy, Dr Bryony Mathew, also attended the competition and delivered a speech. In it she detailed how ‘The British Embassy is committed to supporting skills training for young Cambodian people…And one of our key priorities is legal and judicial reform and the rule of law. The Embassy's sponsorship of the Domestic Violence Law course and final contest has therefore been an especially rewarding example of cooperation with Cambodian institutions’.
4. Women’s rights are a key issue for the FCO and are likely to continue as so in the post-2015 development framework. They are also relevant to Violence Against Women and Girls’ (VAWG) advisers and programme managers in DFID. Education, with its ability to challenge and change norms is widely considered a key means through which VAWG can be prevented. Published project outcomes of this project are therefore of significance across HMG.[2]

January 2016