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Op-Ed: New Space, Same Problem: Strengthening Community Awareness to Prevent Online Gender-Based Violence in Cambodia
- Apr 9
- 5 min read
By Keomuda Vanly
Junior Research Fellow
Future Forum's junior research fellow Keomuda Vanly was published in CambojaNews on April 9th, 2026. Check out the original article HERE, and read it below!
“Teacher arrested for ‘revenge porn’ attack on 16-year-old girlfriend”: This headline by Khmer Times on 18 November 2024 showcases how technology has been weaponised to facilitate intimate partner violence, and signifies a growing concern over the issue of online gender-based violence (OGBV). As technology evolves and the use of the internet and social media platforms accelerates, the online space has become an expansion of a space where women are victimised, harassed, intimidated and silenced. In 2021, the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) found that nearly 2 out of every 5 women globally personally experience online violence, while a study by Plan International in 31 countries found that nearly 3 out of every 5 young women and girls experienced online harassment.
What is OGBV?
To date, there is still no universally accepted definition of OGBV, nor a uniform terminology. Different institutions tend to use different terminology, like OGBV, technology-facilitated gender based violence (TFGBV), online violence against women and girls, or gender-based online violence, to refer to the same acts of violence that are “perpetrated, assisted, aggravated, and amplified in part of fully by the use of information and communication technologies or digital media, against a person on the basis of their gender” or “affect women disproportionately.”
This generally understood definition shows that OGBV is not a new form of violence that exists as a result of the expansion of the digital space. Instead, the digital space is a continuum of the power dynamics in the existing patriarchal societal structure. In OGBV, digital technologies reinforce traditional norms and expectations about gender roles and identity, and ultimately embolden and enable acts of violence.
The Status of OGBV in Cambodia
As Cambodia has become more integrated online, with 60.7 percent of the population having access to the internet and 72.4 percent using social media as of March 2025, the country has also seen rising cases of OGBV. A study by LICADHO in 2021 found that 37 percent of women respondents reported having experienced online harassment, and 86 percent of the respondents had seen a woman experience online harassment. Women’s experience with online harassment tends to be related to sexual harassment and violence, such as receiving threats of sexual violence, being sent unsolicited sexual content, and having the online sexual harassment cross over to the physical space. Digital technology has also been used to spread misogyny through cyberbullying and hate speech, and spread harmful gender norms around the accepted sexual behaviour of men and women.
The unique features of technology, such as proliferation and perpetuity of harm, anonymity and distance, and automation and accessibility, make the online space more conducive to violence and a ground to facilitate offline forms of violence.
Despite the growing cases, OGBV remains understudied, with limited public awareness and understanding of the phenomenon. A study by the Klahaan organisation, surveying 129 people, found that only 24 percent of the respondents know very clearly about OGBV. Similarly, a survey by Mango Tango, conducted among 100 women entrepreneurs and business owners, showed that only 8.77 percent of the respondents were well-versed with the concept of online abuse. This lack of awareness and knowledge of OGBV allows the acts of violence to go unnoticed, while hindering any effective prevention efforts to combat OGBV in Cambodia.
Preventing OGBV through Community Sensitisation and Awareness-Raising
Addressing OGBV requires a multi-pronged approach and the involvement of all key stakeholders. The first step should focus on integrating OGBV into the existing prevention efforts of GBV by identifying OGBV as a priority issue in the National Action Plan to Prevent Violence Against Women (NAPVAW). Serving as the national framework to guide Cambodia to prevent VAW, the latest NAPVAW 2019-2023 identifies only three issues as the priority areas: (1) Domestic violence/intimate partner violence, (2) Rape and sexual violence, and (3) violence against women in/or vulnerable groups. This has caused OGBV to fall under the radar for actions, including being integrated into the existing prevention mechanisms to raise awareness and educate the community at large about the issue.
After adding OGBV as a fourth priority area, the action plan for prevention should start with community sensitisation through comprehensive awareness campaigns and education to promote changes in social attitudes and social behaviours, which is led by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA) and supported by women’s rights organisations.
1. Community sensitisation of OGBV through comprehensive awareness campaigns
A nationwide campaign is the first step to emphasise the seriousness of OGBV as a form of violence in Cambodia. The awareness-raising campaigns should educate the general public on the misuse of technology to harm women and the current status of OGBV in Cambodia. The MoWA should work with local civil society to co-develop an overall primary prevention message and communication strategy on OGBV. This should include developing a national definition, with localised examples, of OGBV, data on the status of OGBV in Cambodia, and messaging on non-violence and positive digital usage. The campaign could leverage key dates such as International Women’s Day and/or the 16-day campaign to end violence against women to amplify the messages and put a spotlight on the issue of OGBV in Cambodia.
Rather than a one-off campaign, the awareness-raising efforts should be continued long-term, in order to challenge social norms that normalise GBV, promote positive and ethical digital usage, and promote positive bystander behaviours that can both help prevent OGBV and support the victims and survivors of the violence. These long-term awareness-raising efforts could be developed and implemented by local civil society organisations and tailored for diverse audiences at the grassroots levels, including women, women with disabilities, Indigenous communities, families, and community members at large. With the support of MoWA, the existing GBV working group members at both national and sub-national levels could also be trained on OGBV and how to prevent the violence in order to support the implementation of the awareness-raising efforts developed by the local civil societies.
2. Shifting attitudes and promoting positive digital usage through education
Effective prevention of OGBV also requires long-term changes to the harmful beliefs and behaviours that contribute to the issue. This can be achieved through education reform to shift the attitudes and behaviours of youth and adolescents in their formative years.
The current NAPVAW 2019-2023 highlights the expanding implementation of the Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) toolkit as an opportunity to positively influence youth and adolescent behaviours related to GBV. While CSE has the potential to increase gender equality and prevent and reduce GBV, the current CSE curriculum does not include online violence and lacks reflections about gender norms and stereotypes in Cambodia. Therefore, to ensure long-term behavioural change, the topic of OGBV should be integrated into the CSE material. This inclusion should not only focus on the definition, forms, and effects, but should also critically discuss and examine harmful gender norms, power dynamics, and stereotypes that are the root causes of GBV in Cambodia. By integrating OGBV into CSE, students can challenge perceptions of the digital space as “gender neutral” and learn what GBV can look like online.
Lastly, the existing digital literacy education in Cambodia should also integrate a gender perspective by not only focusing on technical skills, but also on ethical awareness, digital security, and digital culture. This includes equipping youth with the ability to reflect on social issues, including how to identify GBV, knowledge of acceptable and ethical online behaviours, and the ability to protect personal data and security. The integration of OGBV in CSE and digital literacy education could be done in collaboration with women’s rights organisations and digital rights experts to develop an inclusive, intersectional, and gender transformative curriculum.
The digital space does not exist in silos, but is rather a continuation of the patriarchy and gendered power imbalance in society; therefore, accepting and increasing understanding of the harm of the misuse of digital technology is the first step to fostering a more inclusive and safer digital space for women.
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