By Ziad Samman Project Manager November

Overview Acid Violence in Cambodia – Nature & Scope – Acid as a Weapon CASC: Scope of Services Surgical & Medical Treatment Pressure Garments Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Prevention & Awareness Raising Legal Assistance & Advocacy Development of the ‘Acid Law’ – Sentencing of Perpetrators – Government Role Challenges

Acid Violence in Cambodia ‘Revenge attack for a perceived wrong doing’ 386 Survivors on CASC Register (Oct 2012) as a result of 312 incidents (approximately 20% of all incidents are recorded as ‘Accidental’) 52% of all survivors Female, 48% Male Approximately 15% of all survivors were burnt under the age of 13 years. National Issue: Incidents recorded in 21 out of the 24 provinces Incident rates: In 2010 CASC recorded a total 26 incidence, resulting in 43 survivors. In 2011, 17 incidents and 25 survivors were registered. In 2012 only 6 attacks have been recorded so far

Acid As a Weapon Cheap (Approximately $1 USD per liter) Accessible (most street corners, rubber industry, etc) Currently Unregulated Recognition that the use of acid is an effective means to cause physical and psychological harm

Scope of Services The four petals in the CASC logo reflect the charity’s main areas of focus: 1. Surgical, medical, and psychological treatment 2. Vocational training and social reintegration projects 3. Legal assistance and advocacy for legal reform 4. Awareness raising, research, education and advocacy to eliminate acid violence Since 1999 CSC and CASC have provided acute burn surgery, treatment and supportive services to a total of 386 acid burn survivors on the CASC register.

Surgical & Medical Treatment Acid burns can cause major disfigurement and disability as it will destroy skin, muscle, and even bone. The Medical Unit at CASC works in conjunction with the Children’s Surgical Centre ( ) In 2011, The medical unit performed a total of… 145 medical consultations & 53 operations 20 Physiotherapy consultations and 2,428 PT treatment sessions. 43 splints were also administered.

Pressure Garments In 2011 The CASC Pressure Garment Workshop produced 263 garments for 87 survivors, and refitted 115 garments for 36 survivors in follow up sessions. With the assistance of INTERPLAST Australia CASC has established quite possibly the first Pressure Garment workshop in Cambodia. We hope to make this service AVAILABLE to not only acid burn survivors, but the people of Cambodia.

Psycho-Social Rehabilitation Counseling Home Visits Vocational Training Work placements Acid Burn Survivor Support Group Meetings Peer counselors and acid burn survivor advocates play an important role in the rehabilitation process for survivors and also the raising of awareness in local communities. In 2011, CASC social workers have provided… 42 acid burn survivors with a total of 486 counseling sessions in-house. 57 home visits to survivors

Prevention and Awareness Raising Outreach Mission – Communities – Professional Service Providers – Local leaders – Establishing Notification and referral networks – Initial First Aid Methodology – 24 Hour Emergency Hotline Above: Community meeting in Koh Kong Province

Legal Assistance & Advocacy Access to justice and service providers Coordinating legal cases Legal Case tracking/monitoring Engaging the local media Dialogue with relevant government ministries Success in the courts: In June 2012 the perpetrator of an attack was convicted of ‘Intentional Violence using acid leading to disability’. He received a sentence of 10 years in Prison and has been ordered to pay 5K USD in Compensation

Development of the Acid Law Tat Marina Case (1999) Chea Ratha Case (2008) February 2010: Acid Committee established May 2010: ‘Breaking the Silence: Addressing Acid Attacks in Cambodia’ Report November 2011: – Council of Ministers approves of a Law on Management of Strong Acid (‘the Acid Law’) and the law is debated before the National Assembly. – The new Acid Law for Cambodia is passed. December 2011: the new Acid Law is promulgated by the King. January 11 th 2012: the new Acid Law enters into force.

Under the ‘Acid Law’ Sentencing of Perpetrators: Ø Intentional violence (Premeditated): That causes injury: 2 to 5 years in prison (Article 20) That causes permanent disability: 5 to 10 years in prison (Article 20) Intentional Killing: 15 to 30 years in prison (Article 16) Life Sentence if use of torture is found Unintentional Killing: 10 to 20 years in Prison (Article 20) Ø Intentional Violence (with use of torture and cruel acts): Punishable from 10 to 20 years in prison (Article 19) If cause permanent disability: 15 to 25 years in prison (Article 19) If cause death: 20 to 30 years in prison (Article 19) Ø Unintentional Burning of others (through careless action): 1month – 5 years depending on details of the case

Governments Role: Ø Ministry of Health is to cover medical bills at state owned hospitals and state owned institutions free of charge (Article 11) – However, it is not clear if this is exclusively referring the initial medical treatment needs, or the ongoing needs caused by the acid burn. Ø Ministry of Health to identify level of disability caused by the acid burns (Article 11) – Currently there is a fee for this ‘Medical Expertise service’… There is no mention that this fee will be wavered under the law. Ø Protection, rehabilitation treatment, and reintegration services are to be provided by the Ministry of Social Affairs, Veteran’s and Youth Rehabilitation (Article 12) – It does not state whether these support services are to be provided free of charge or not Ø The government shall provide legal support to victims of concentrated acid (Article 11). – It does not state whether this support will be provided free of charge or not

Challenges General: Corruption (courts, law enforcement etc) Public Perception of acid survivors and acid violence – Media’s representation Lack of formal recording and reporting systems Legislation – Sub decree defining ‘Regulatory Aspects’ – Implementation of legislation CASC: Ensuring statistics accurately reflect scope and geographical distribution of ABV in Cambodia Productive dialogue with Government and relevant ministries Raising Funds to support existing services