Nary, a commune resident in Banan district, Battambang province, explained that married men usually hit their wives when he is drunk because he lost control of his mind and said that this is very common in the commune. When the husband is not drunk it is unlikely that he will beat his wife. Speaking in front of 48 people gathered around in the commune for a community debate organized by CCIM, she claimed that alcohol causes domestic violence.
However, the other group of debaters argued that it is not alcohol that makes husband resort to violence against their wives, but it is the attitudes and characteristics of the husbands who lack respect and care to their wives and families and used their power as the head of the family to inflict violence against their family members. A good husband, whether or not drunk, always show respect and care to their family, they said.
The community debate was filled with emotions and attentiveness as six debaters of each group expressed their observations and experience on domestic violence happening in their communes and offed recommendations on how to address this common phenomenon in the rural communities.
The audience, with 36 women who are mostly victims of domestic violence, were also given opportunities to ask questions and share their experiences.
The debate was also participated by local authorities who also expressed their weakness in responding to situation when a domestic violence occurs in the commune as they do not provide their contact numbers so that people can call for assistance. But, they also explained the reasons for lack of action on time due to their other tasks in the commune.
The community debate was organized by CCIM under its project “Voices for Gender Equality” supported by the European Union and DanChurchAid. In collaboration with Amara, a local organization, the debate was held on 29th April 2019 at Banan Pagoda, Banan District, Battambang Province participated by a total of 48 participants, also participated by local authorities.
The objective of the community debate is to enhance and increase access to knowledge of the community members, relevant authorities, and partner organizations on the topic of domestic violence and encourage the commune members to heal each other in preventing the occurrence of domestic violence.
