AKP Phnom Penh, January 29, 2021 --

Save the Children and its partners, including World Vision and Plan International, organised here on Jan. 29 an official ceremony to launch the "Ending Violence Against Children in and around Schools in Cambodia" (ENDVAC) project to help children in two provinces. 

This project was funded through the End Violence Fund and its associated donors, according to a press release AKP received this morning. 

The "Ending Violence Against Children in and around Schools in Cambodia" project will support nearly 13,000 children, including non-binary children and children with disabilities, in the provinces of Siem Reap and Preah Vihear.

The project will aim to reduce violence against children in and through schools using evidence-based tools and approaches. Save the Children will lead overall project implementation, ensure quality results, and national collaboration. At the same time, World Vision will implement the project in Preah Vihear, and Plan International will implement it in Siem Reap.

Experiencing violence has long-lasting negative consequences on children's development. 

Mrs. Elizabeth Pearce, Country Director of Save the Children in Cambodia, explained that violence against children, especially gender-based violence and bullying, contributes significantly to school dropout among children with disabilities.

Mrs. Pearce also noted that children face different vulnerabilities based on their gender. Girls are more likely to experience psychological bullying, cyber bullying, sexual violence and harassment, while boys are more likely to experience physical violence and corporal punishment. Child protection practices need to respond appropriately based on these patterns.

"Through this project, Save the Children and partners will strengthen the Cambodian Child Protection Policy Framework through the development, endorsement and dissemination of Implementation Guidelines for the Child Protection in Schools Policy (IGCPSP)," said Mrs. Pearce. "We will also support the Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports in the piloting of the IGCPSP in target primary schools, by establishing a functioning school based child protection mechanism and ensuring its coordination with community-based child protection mechanisms."

Ms. Gwynneth Wong. Country Director of Plan International said that the project will also support target schools in developing systems to monitor data related to violence against children and enforcing codes of conduct. "These systems will help schools track violence against children and enable timely response to prevent children from dropping out of school," explained Ms. Gwynneth.

                                                                                (Photo: Phen Rattanak)

By Heng Panha