Background
The Office of the Council of Ministers convened a plenary session chaired by Prime Minister Hun Manet that approved the draft National Action Plan on Preventing Violence Against Women 2025–2030, with 377 participants from ministries, institutions, and technical teams.
The draft plan includes provisions for a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) framework, key performance indicators (KPIs), and strengthened data management systems related to violence against women, and it assigns the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to lead dissemination and coordinate implementation across stakeholders.
Scope of Application
The approved action plan applies at the national level to government ministries, public institutions, development partners, and civil society organisations engaged in prevention, protection, and response services for survivors of violence against women. The Plan covers legal review, inter-ministerial coordination, law enforcement practices, victim support services, public-awareness and education measures, and data systems for monitoring implementation.
Key Provisions or Decisions
- The Council of Ministers plenary approved the draft National Action Plan on Preventing Violence Against Women 2025–2030 and instructed the Ministry of Women’s Affairs to disseminate the document to all relevant stakeholders.
- The Office of the Council of Ministers, through the Legal Reform Steering Committee, was directed to cooperate with relevant ministries to review and amend legal instruments where necessary to align domestic law with international standards and current social realities.
- The Ministry of Women’s Affairs flagged existing legal shortcomings, including discriminatory or restrictive Civil Code provisions on remarriage, the lack of a clear definition of sexual harassment in the Criminal Code, and enforcement challenges for the Code of Ethics for journalists, and recommended reviewing the 2005 Law on the Prevention of Domestic Violence and the Protection of Victims.
- Member ministries — notably Interior and Justice — were urged to strengthen law-enforcement responses and apply penalties consistently for violence against women, including conduct occurring via digital platforms, while maintaining no exemptions or reductions in penalties for civil servants and armed forces personnel.
- Operational measures recommended in the plan include strengthening mental health services for survivors, expanding safe shelters and 24/7 emergency hotlines, and broadening public-awareness campaigns and gender-equality education across school curricula.
Implications for Compliance and Public Institutions
Public agencies and institutions named in the plan will be expected to participate in the plan’s M&E framework and to report against the plan’s KPIs, requiring adjustments to data-collection and reporting processes where necessary. The plan also directs state bodies to eliminate workplace harassment and inappropriate language toward women, signalling that public-sector codes of conduct and internal disciplinary arrangements may be reviewed or reinforced to align with the plan’s objectives.
Official Source
Official announcement: Facebook post from the Ministry of Women’s Affairs summarising the Council of Ministers plenary approval and related instructions (published 27 June 2026). Source: https://www.facebook.com/mowa.gov.kh/posts/pfbid02gMJLPQsQxNWXTD1ptZCWJ74ueYv12EFydvqK59QgLCLWqAVNQcvRrjx2PCWHNresl
