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Not Every “Joke” Is Funny: Addressing Verbal Abuse in Cambodia’s Domestic Violence Law
- communicationinter3
- Jan 4
- 5 min read
Updated: 15 hours ago
By Mynea Yi
IPF
Future Forum's junior research fellow Mynea Yi was published in Kiripost on January 4th, 2026. Check out the original article HERE, and read it below!
In Cambodian families, remarks from elders about girls' and boys’ appearances, marriageability, or behaviour are often disguised as funny “jokes,” and not recognised as a form of harassment. We were taught not to talk back to elders, no matter how rude or hurtful the comments are. Girls who stand up for themselves are labelled “disrespectful,” while boys are called “dramatic.” This enforced silence gradually turns into trauma.
One in five, or 21 percent of women in Cambodia report having experienced emotional abuse, according to data from UNFPA in 2023. These figures show that many cases start inside the home, which highlights how emotional abuse often goes unrecognised and untreated. Another study by UNICEF Cambodia reveals that abuse starts at a young age – with one in four children suffering from emotional abuse.
Jokes aren’t always harmless. Constant and direct teasing that is intended to mock, demean, or degrade is a form of harassment and emotional abuse. Over time, these repeated “jokes” lower self-esteem, isolate the victim, and in severe cases, may lead to self-harm. For example, analysis from the University of Manchester and University of South Wales revealed that people who were emotionally abused or neglected as a child are nearly three times more likely to attempt suicide later on in their lives.
If we look closely, we can see that Cambodian culture and law do not fully recognise emotional safety as an essential foundation of the home. Cambodia’s domestic violence law should be amended to clearly define and categorise emotional abuse, including verbal harassment, and outline punishments for offenders. This law is not just about punishment, but also to show that Cambodian law and society value emotional safety and respect in family relationships, laying a foundation for wider cultural, social, and political changes.
A Legal Gap: Article 6’s Vague Definition of Harassment
In Cambodia’s domestic violence law, Article 6 describes "harassment causing mental, psychological, emotional, or intellectual harm" as a form of domestic violence. On paper, this seems comprehensive, but the law is actually still vague. The law does not specifically mention that verbal harassment is a form of emotional abuse, so it often goes unnoticed. Without a clear definition of verbal harassment, the victims find it hard to describe what happened to them, and authorities often dismiss these cases as mere family issues that should be resolved within the home. To avoid misunderstanding, we should first clearly distinguish between harassment and abuse. Harassment is repeated unwanted behaviour, including verbal acts such as mocking or belittling, while abuse refers to the broader pattern of harm and control that such acts create.
Defining the Boundary and Set the Penalties
So where should the law draw the line? It is obvious that we should focus on patterns, intent, and the severity of impact, because not every sharp word enforces enough harm to actually be considered abuse. Repeated insults, humiliation, or manipulation intended to degrade should clearly be categorised as verbal and emotional abuse.
Cambodia need not reinvent the wheel, since there are two countries in ASEAN that already have stronger legal models that we should not overlook. Singapore's courts have long recognise the negative consequences of emotional and psychological abuse. In Singaporean divorce law, emotional abuse that includes verbal acts is considered to be a form of unreasonable behavior and grounds for divorce. In addition, in the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of the Philippines, harassment such as emotional manipulation and repeated insults are counted as punishable acts of violence.
The first step is for Cambodia to clearly define the offence with pattern and intent. The law should show a clear definition that focuses on patterns of harassment, the severity of impact on the victim, and intention, whether it is to humiliate or degrade. The law should make it clear that ordinary disagreements or single rude remarks do not automatically constitute an offence. However, repeated offences or even a single act could meet the threshold if they are severe or intended to cause significant psychological harm to the victim. Additionally, the law and rules of evidence should accept non-traditional evidence in order to provide proof of pattern and intent. Non-traditional evidence includes signs of psychological trauma such as anxiety, restlessness, unusually quiet or confused, unusual financial activities, and unusual work behavior. This mirrors how courts in Singapore treat “unreasonable behaviour” in family law, and how the victim can report these crimes.
Meanwhile, in the Philippines, if a person were to be charged with committing an act of psychological violence that causes mental or emotional suffering to the victim, they will face penalties by the arrest mayor in their district. According to that same law, the perpetrator shall pay a fine in the amount of no less than $1,750 as in pesos and undergo mandatory psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment and shall report compliance to the court.
However, if we look at Cambodia’s current civil code of domestic violence law, intentional acts of violence are broadly grouped under one penalty, with the perpetrator sentenced to 1-3 years in prison based on Article 217. This law should be updated to consider the pattern, frequency, and intent of the emotional and verbal abuse, based on different contexts. Cambodia should implement a new law that recognises emotional and verbal abuse as a punishable offence, and implement a level-based approach to classifying the severity of verbal abuse and corresponding punishment, as shown below.
Proposed Framework for Verbal Abuse Classification
The level-based approach here is similar to approaches seen in the Philippines’ Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act (VAWC) and Singapore’s Protection from Harassment Act (POHA). For example, in order to understand what moderate abuse might look like, we can think of a hypothetical scenario in which someone consistently targeted a family member with demeaning language such as “You’re ugly and useless, no one would ever want you” on a daily basis, with the intention to humiliate but without accompanying threats. In Singapore, such an act could fall under “intentional harassment” and trigger protection orders rather than imprisonment. Additionally, if the abuse were on a more serious level, the perpetrators would get long term-punishments and fines. In 2024, a Philippine court ruled that threats that constituted psychological violence are also forms of abuse, and sentenced the perpetrator when there was evidence that he was continuously harassing the victims via calls and messages after separation.
Drawing on examples from Singapore and the Philippines, and as outlined in this table above, minor incidents could carry fines or counselling, while constant emotional and verbal abuse would trigger penalties and protective measures.
By updating our laws to include such forms of abuse, Cambodia would become the third ASEAN country to recognise emotional and verbal abuse as legal offenses and set an example to other countries that invisible harms are as important as visible ones.
Why This Reform Matters, Even if Enforcement Is Hard
Some people may ask: “Who will report verbal abuse? Will the police even intervene? Will cases reach the court system?” While these concerns are valid, they miss the bigger point. Legal reform is not only about enforcing punishment, but also about showing what a society values. Cultural change may be slow, but laws will lay the foundation. Over time, what people once saw as normal behaviour within the family, like mean jokes or constant cruel comments, will no longer be accepted.
In ASEAN, two countries have already recognised verbal abuse as an offence that can be punished. By recognising and defining verbal abuse in domestic violence law, Cambodia will protect its people and make a declaration that emotional safety matters in the home, serving as a regional example.
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