The number of women and girls in Cambodian prisons continues to soar at an alarming rate.

By mid-December 2012 there were 1,270 female inmates in the Cambodian prison system, an increase of 39% since December 2010. Women and girls represent 8% of prisoners in Cambodia but their incarceration rate has been growing four times faster than the male prison population.

This disturbing trend is almost certainly due to a continued increase in drug-related arrests. At the end of 2012 there were 67 women living with their children in prison and 14 pregnant women, more than one third of the total still awaiting trial. 61 of them had been arrested on drug trafficking offences.

“The sad truth is that women tend to work at the lowest level, but the sharpest end of the drug trade,” said LICADHO President Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek. “As drug transporters and sellers – and often consumers – they are easy targets for government drug crackdowns whilst the high level drug traffickers go unpunished.”

To mark International Women’s Day this year, LICADHO is calling on Cambodian judicial authorities to reconsider the over use of imprisonment of women and girls for petty non-violent offences such as drug crimes and theft. At sentencing judges should take into consideration the family impact, particularly the mother-child relationship and the impact on the development of any children inside or outside prison. Pregnant women and women with infants should only be imprisoned in exceptional circumstances.

On 8 March, LICADHO and NGO partners will deliver food and supplies to female prisoners in 15 prisons and hold special events, including speeches, games and traditional dancing. LICADHO and partners will also distribute toys to children living with their mothers in eight prisons.

“In a prison system already massively overburdened, the growth rate of female prisoners is simply unsustainable,” said LICADHO’s Prison Supervisor Nget Sokun. “Prisons lack the space and prison staff lack the training and resources to deal with the special needs of incarcerated women and children.”

LICADHO is also concerned at the overuse of pre-trial detention, especially for pregnant women. Of the 14 pregnant women imprisoned at the end of 2012, none had yet been tried and convicted. As it is, pre-trial detention should be a measure of last resort. For pregnant women there should be no question over the urgency to seek alternative measures, except in exceptional circumstances.

Women are often the most vulnerable and isolated of prisoners and their imprisonment can have a devastating impact on their families. Those convicted of drug trafficking are often held far from their families and are unlikely to be granted bail. On International Women’s Day LICADHO seeks to raise awareness of their plight and to campaign for positive changes in policy and practice.

For more information, please contact:
▪ Dr. Pung Chhiv Kek, President of LICADHO Tel: (+855) 012-802-506 [English, French, Khmer]
▪ Ms. Nget Sokun, Prison Supervisor Tel: (+855) 016-797-305 [Khmer]

PDF: Download full statement in English - Download full statement in Khmer
MP3: Listen to audio version in Khmer