Background
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs is the lead national agency for coordinating gender-based violence (GBV) policy, multisectoral planning, and service linkages across provincial and district administrations. One-Stop Service Units (OSSUs) integrate health, legal, psychosocial and protection services to provide coordinated case management for gender-based violence survivors. Multi-sectoral coordination working groups define referral pathways and coordinate agency roles across provincial and district levels for GBV response.
The consultative meeting held on 30 June 2026 in Phnom Penh brought provincial representatives together to align understanding of the rationale and process for forming GBV working groups and OSSUs. The session sought stakeholder feedback to inform the planned establishment and functioning of these coordination mechanisms in target provinces supported by development partners.
Key Developments
On 30 June 2026 the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, with financial support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) through UNFPA, organized a consultative meeting at the Cambodiana Hotel in Phnom Penh. H.E. Hou Samith, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs, presided over the meeting. Participants numbered 60, including 45 women, and included representatives from five ADB target provinces and 14 districts: Kampong Thom, Banteay Meanchey, Battambang, Kampot and Oddar Meanchey.
Institutional Role
The Ministry of Women’s Affairs convened the workshop to lead national coordination and to collect provincial-level input on multi-sector arrangements. ADB provided financial support via UNFPA to facilitate stakeholder consultation and technical assistance. Provincial authorities attending the meeting are expected to contribute local perspectives on service availability, referral needs, and implementation constraints as part of the planning process.
Operational Implications
The meeting aimed to ensure target provincial teams understand the background, rationale and procedural steps for creating GBV working groups and OSSUs. Outcomes will include stakeholder recommendations and consensus-building inputs to guide the formal setup of working groups and one-stop services in the selected provinces. Documentation and feedback collected during the consultative process will inform next steps for coordination, referral arrangements and resource planning at provincial level.
