Cambodian women turn to tech in hope apps can turn tide of gender violence

[Jonathan Fairfield]

Cambodian women turn to tech in hope apps can turn tide of gender violence

In Phnom Penh’s bustling cafes, hip-looking young people hunch over their mobile devices. According to Dany Sun, a women’s rights activist likewise armed with a smartphone, this relatively new trend is representative of modern Cambodia.

But the technological progress, Sun observes, has not been accompanied by advances on gender equality. Traditional attitudes and cultural norms, which portray women as subservient and inferior to men, continue to underlie the country’s harrowing statistics on violence against women.

“Since the day we are born, we are less valued than men. We are also still expected to follow cultural norms like those included in the outdated Chbap Srey [women’s code of conduct], which reinforces male dominance and stipulates that women have to be quiet and submissive,” says Sun, 23.

“At the same time, many people don’t realise that what they are doing is wrong because they are uneducated, and often both men and women think domestic violence is normal.”

Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/sep/21/cambodia-womens-rights-gender-violence-apps-safe-agent-008-7-plus-krousar-koumrou