By Kanitha Veu | Program Coordinator
Between December 2025 and March 2026, your generosity helped This Life Without Bars reach more children in conflict with the law across Cambodia, and keep more of them out of prison. During this period, the programme expanded from two provinces into five, now operating in Siem Reap, Banteay Meanchey, Ratanakiri, Preah Vihear, and Kandal. In total, 170 children received active support through case management, legal advocacy, and family services. Among them, 15 children were released on bail and returned home to their families - six received community-based alternative measures instead of custodial sentences, and two completed diversion plans. These are not just numbers: each one represents a child who will not grow up behind bars.
Your support is making a profound difference in the lives of young people who have very little. Sixty-six children and families received legal advice to help them understand their rights and navigate the justice system. Fifty-nine children accessed mental health and psychosocial support, and 59 vulnerable families received emergency assistance during critical moments. Crucially, 63 families were helped to maintain contact with their children in prison through transport support, food allowances, and facilitated visits. Keeping those family bonds intact is one of the most powerful things we can do to support a child's safe return home.
One of the young people your donations helped is Vattana (name changed for privacy), a 19-year-old from a rural village near Siem Reap. After losing his father at a young age and dropping out of school in Grade 6 to support his family, Vattana was arrested in 2023 following an unknowing purchase of a stolen motorbike. Facing prison, he told our team: "I was very stressed and didn't know what to do. All I could think about was who would support my mother and my younger sister if I went to prison." Thanks to the programme you fund, the court chose a six-month community diversion plan instead of detention. With the support of This Life Without Bars, social workers and local authorities, Vattana completed his plan, kept his job, and is now looking to the future. "Without This Life, I don't think I would have had a chance. My life would have been very different." He hopes one day to become a social worker himself, so he can help other young people in situations like his.
Beyond individual cases, your support is helping to drive lasting change in Cambodia's justice system. Earlier this year, This Life convened the first national Child Justice Network coordination meeting, bringing together civil society organisations and human rights bodies to strengthen collaborative advocacy for child-friendly justice. This sits alongside a major national assessment completed in late 2025, which found that over 83% of children in conflict with the law were in pre-trial detention — many held beyond legal limits — with nearly 63% eligible for diversion measures that were not being applied. This evidence is now directly informing our advocacy and coordination with national authorities. With your continued partnership, we are not just supporting individual children: we are helping to change the system that puts them at risk in the first place.
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