Groups insist on equal rights
Seila, a tall, heavily made-up woman with orange-blonde hair, said she was in a park in Siem Reap last year when policemen approached her, put a gun to her head and told her if she ran, they would shoot. …
Legally, the Kingdom’s Constitution protects the equal rights of its citizens regardless of gender identity or sexual orientation. But at an International Human Rights Day discussion yesterday, NGOs and activists say increasing anecdotal evidence shows that incidents of bigotry, harassment and abuse are commonplace. …
In interviews with the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR), LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transexual and queer) individuals allege being targeted and exploited by police, subject to verbal harassment, beatings and gang rape. …
Reliable statistics and documentation of police discrimination or gender-based brutality are scarce, especially since, fearing further abuse and stigma, LGBTQ individuals rarely report the instances. …
Laignee Barron
http://www.phnompenhpost.com/national/groups-insist-equal-rights
