45 Cents a Day: Cambodia’s Prison Children Caught Between Care and Crisis

[geovalin]

GDP

A May statement from a Cambodian human rights NGO has drawn national attention to the plight of children living with their mothers in prisons — claims the General Department of Prisons (GDP) swiftly rejected.

 

The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (Lichado) released its concerns on International Children’s Day, saying children under three raised behind bars are denied proper nutrition, education, and play. The group pointed to the unchanged daily budget of 1,750 riel (about 45 cents) per child since 2018 and cited a former inmate, Leakhena, who described raising her son in cramped and playless conditions.

 

But prison officials pushed back. GDP spokesman Kheang Sonadin said, “We never consider these children as inmates,” stressing efforts to prioritize health and early education for the 120 children currently in custody with their mothers.

 

Sonadin acknowledged that prisons “are not kindergartens” but said officials work with NGOs to create safe areas for toddlers. He also emphasized that children are relocated at age three, ideally to family or, if unavailable, to orphanages.

 

The controversy has revived calls for improved prison conditions, especially as Cambodia continues to balance incarceration policies with the rights of its youngest and most vulnerable residents.

 

-2025-06-04