By Raksmey Var | Country Representative
CW: Sexual Assault
Thida* is 16 years old. She lives with her mother, sister, and brother. Her mother is a farmer who raises frogs for a living. In late 2021, her father was sentenced to prison for smuggling migrants across the Khmer-Thai border. Since he has been in prison, her mother has had to work very hard to earn money to support the whole family, including school fees for her three children and taking care of their grandmother who is sick. Even through these challenges, their mother is dedicated to keeping her kids in school.
In March of this year, Thida was riding on a motorbike from her rural home to school in town. Thida recounts that the bike suddenly stopped running. She was quite far from home or a mechanic and didn’t know what to do. She said an old man saw her and told her to walk the motorbike to the mechanic shop. He pointed her in the direction of a short cut. Thida began walking and before long another man approached her offering to help. He told Thida that they could pull her motorbike behind his with a rope and said he could take her into town to get a rope. Thida got on the bike but instead of heading to town, he drove them to a secluded area where he proceeded to rape her. He told her to keep quiet or he would kill her.
After this, he brought her back to the village, warning her not to speak out to anyone. He added, “If you tell your mother or report to the police, I will kill you”. When Thida arrived home, she immediately told her mother about the man abusing her. The mother took her to the village chief and they contacted the village police.
Her case was referred to CTC for legal counseling. The legal staff worked with the police post to file an official complaint to the Provincial Police Commissariat. Thida was accompanied by staff for a forensic exam and the police began the search for the perpetrator. The legal staff will continue to work with the police and with Thida and her family to reach justice.
Additionally, reintegration staff visited her family in order to offer some support and counseling. The staff found her family to be in a very challenging financial situation and began providing basic needs. The project staff continues to visit Thida at home in the hopes that she has the support to continue in her studies.
Thida is now in grade 11. She said, “My mother wants me to be a policewoman in the future, so I won't give up. Thank you for helping my family and encouraging me to keep moving forward.”
Stories like Thida’s are heartbreaking. We hope that through offering support we can work to slowly change the societal structures that allow such injustices to be perpetrated. Thank you for supporting LO.
*Thida is a name given by the writer. Her real name is hidden to protect her privacy in accordance with the child protection policy of CWCC.
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