SKO Full Report

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“They took my land, they took my life”
A Report on the Psychosocial Impacts of Land
Evictions on Women in Cambodia

Strey Khmer Organization
Full Report
February 2013

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Table of Contents
1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY..................................................................................................... 5
2 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................... 6
3 LITERATURE REVIEW....................................................................................................... 7
3.1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................................... 7
3.2 THE IMPORTANCE OF LAND ................................................................................................. 9
3.2.1 Importance of Land within Cambodia ....................................................................... 10
3.2.2 Importance of Land to women.................................................................................... 10
3.2.3 International Bodies Take a Dim View of Land Grabbing ........................................ 11
3.3 LAND GRAB TACTICS IN CAMBODIA.................................................................................. 12
3.3.1 Skirting the Law ......................................................................................................... 13
3.3.2 Intimidation................................................................................................................ 14
3.4 PSYCHO-SOCIAL IMPACTS ON VICTIMS OF FORCED EVICTION THROUGH LAND GRABS.... 14
3.4.1 Psychological implications of forced eviction ........................................................... 15
3.4.2 Impacts on women victims.......................................................................................... 16
3.5 MENTAL HEALTH AND VICTIMS OF FORCED EVICTION ..................................................... 17
3.5.1 Mental Health in Cambodia....................................................................................... 17
3.5.2 A Picture Emerges...................................................................................................... 17
3.5.3 Pressure Women Feel................................................................................................. 18
3.5.4 Coping Through Concealment ................................................................................... 18
3.6 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................... 19
4 SAMPLE................................................................................................................................ 19
5 INSTRUMENT...................................................................................................................... 20
5.1 SECTION 1: EVICTION STATUS........................................................................................... 20
5.2 SECTION 2: DEMOGRAPHICS.............................................................................................. 22
5.3 SECTION 3: PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL IMPACTS .................................................. 23
5.4 SECTION 4: ECONOMIC IMPACT ......................................................................................... 23
5.5 SECTION 5: SUPPORT AVAILABLE...................................................................................... 24
5.6 INDIVIDUAL INTERVIEWS................................................................................................... 24
5.7 FOCUS GROUPS.................................................................................................................. 25
6 RESULTS .............................................................................................................................. 25
6.1 RESULTS OF TOTAL SAMPLE.............................................................................................. 25
6.1.1 Economic Impacts ...................................................................................................... 27
6.1.2 Support services ......................................................................................................... 29
6.2.............................................................................................................................................. 30
6.3 RESULTS BY PROVINCES / COMMUNES .............................................................................. 30
6.4 BOEUNG KAK LAKE AND BOREI KEILA COMMUNE, PHNOM PENH.................................... 30

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6.4.1 Overview..................................................................................................................... 30
6.4.2 Background ................................................................................................................ 30
6.4.3 Phnom Penh Commune #1: Boeung Kak Lake .......................................................... 31
6.4.4 Phnom Penh Commune #2: Borei Keila .................................................................... 31
6.4.5 Eviction Status............................................................................................................ 31
6.4.6 Economic Impact........................................................................................................ 32
6.4.7 Traumatic Experiences During Events Related to Land Evictions............................ 32
6.4.8 Protests....................................................................................................................... 33
6.4.9 Psychological and Emotional Impacts....................................................................... 33
6.4.10 Support and Services................................................................................................ 36
6.5 KAMPONG SPEU................................................................................................................. 37
6.5.1 Overview..................................................................................................................... 37
6.5.2 Background ................................................................................................................ 37
6.5.3 Eviction Status............................................................................................................ 38
6.5.4 Economic Impact........................................................................................................ 38
6.5.5 Traumatic Experiences............................................................................................... 39
6.5.6 Protest Participation.................................................................................................. 40
6.5.8 Support and Services.................................................................................................. 42
6.6 BATTAMBANG ................................................................................................................... 43
6.6.1 Overview..................................................................................................................... 43
6.6.2 Background ................................................................................................................ 43
6.6.3 Economic Impacts ...................................................................................................... 44
6.7 KAMPONG THOM ............................................................................................................... 52
6.7.1 Overview..................................................................................................................... 52
6.7.2 Background ................................................................................................................ 52
6.7.3 Provincial Demographics .......................................................................................... 53
6.7.4 Eviction Status............................................................................................................ 53
6.7.5 Economic Impact........................................................................................................ 53
6.7.6 Traumatic Experience ................................................................................................ 55
6.7.7 Emotional and Psychological Impacts....................................................................... 55
6.7.9 Support Suggestions................................................................................................... 60
7 LIMITATIONS ..................................................................................................................... 60
7.1 MENTAL HEALTH INDICATORS .......................................................................................... 60
7.2 SELF-REPORTED DATA ...................................................................................................... 61
7.3 CULTURALLY SENSITIVE TERMINOLOGY........................................................................... 61
7.4 PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY ...................................................................................... 61

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7.5 TRANSLATIONS.................................................................................................................. 62
7.6 MEDICATION USE IN THE CAMBODIAN CONTEXT .............................................................. 63
8 DISCUSSION ........................................................................................................................ 63
8.1 ECONOMIC IMPACTS .......................................................................................................... 64
8.1.1 Commune Specific...................................................................................................... 64
8.1.2 General....................................................................................................................... 65
8.2 PSYCHOLOGICAL AND EMOTIONAL IMPACTS..................................................................... 65
8.2.2 General....................................................................................................................... 66
8.2.3 Symptoms of Psychological Disorders....................................................................... 67
8.3 SUPPORT SERVICES............................................................................................................ 70
8.3.2 General....................................................................................................................... 71
9 RECOMMENDATIONS...................................................................................................... 71
9.1 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR NGOS ....................................................................................... 71
9.2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUNDERS AND INTERNATIONAL AID AGENCIES ........................ 72
9.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR POLICY MAKERS ....................................................................... 73
9.4 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ................................................................... 74
10 CONCLUSION.................................................................................................................... 74
11 APPENDICES ..................................................................................................................... 76
11.1 APPENDIX A. GRASSROOTS PARTNERSHIP COLLABORATIONS......................................... 76
11.1.1 Phnom Penh ............................................................................................................. 76
11.1.2 Kampong Speu.......................................................................................................... 76
11.1.3 Battambang .............................................................................................................. 76
11.1.4 Kampong Thom ........................................................................................................ 76
11.2 APPENDIX B. INTERVIEW PROTOCOL............................................................................... 77
11.3 APPENDIX C. FOCUS GROUP PROTOCOL .......................................................................... 84
11.3.1 Phnom Penh, Focus Group ...................................................................................... 84
11.3.2 Battambang Focus Group ........................................................................................ 84
11.3.3 Kampong Speu Focus Group ................................................................................... 85
11.3.4 Kampong Thom Focus Group .................................................................................. 85
11.4 DSM-IV DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA ..................................................................................... 85
11.4.1 Adapted DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for Generalized Anxiety Disorder ............... 85
11.4.2 Adapted DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder ............ 86
11.4.3 Adapted DSM-IV Diagnostic Criteria for Major Depressive Disorder................... 87
11.5 A NOTE FROM THE RESEARCHERS ................................................................................... 88
11.6 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................... 89
11.7 REFERENCE LIST........................................................................................................ 90

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1 Executive Summary
The situation of land grabs in Cambodia has gotten significantly worse over the past few years.
As the primary caretakers of the household, women are facing the brunt of the escalating number
of land concessions. According to recent reports completed by numerous Cambodian non-
governmental organizations and advocacy groups, it is estimated that a quarter of a million
Cambodians have already been displaced by forced land evictions, while 150,000 more remain at
risk of being evicted.
While vast physical and economic losses are the most apparent impacts of evictions, it has
become increasingly evident that mental health problems are a detrimental consequence
experienced by those who are at risk of losing, or who have already lost their land.
Forced land evictions often occur without abiding by the 2001 Cambodian Law on Land.
Additionally there is a lack of organizational support due to the reach of the evictions,
insufficient compensation, and the ongoing presence of state violence and public arrests at
protests. These realities place high levels of stress on those impacted. Even when displaced
women received financial and in-kind support from local organizations, we found that these
women still suffered from worry, anxiety, loss of appetite, difficulties sleeping, and recurring
bad memories and dreams about the evictions.
In mid-2012, thirteen women land rights activists from the Boeung Kak community in Phnom
Penh were violently arrested during a peaceful protest. Media portrayed the harmful emotional
effects these arrests had on the women and in particular, their children, who were pictured crying
while demonstrating. During interviews with some of these women, the Strey Khmer
Organization (SKO) found that they still experience disturbing flashbacks and recurring dreams
about the protests and violent arrests.
This research study focused on the psychosocial impacts of land evictions on women. SKO
interviewed a total of 40 women in four Cambodian provinces. SKO investigated the prevalence
of multiple symptoms of anxiety, post-traumatic Stress disorder (PTSD), and depression. At the
extreme, several women interviewed self-reported struggling with suicidal thoughts. 100% of the

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woman interviewed stated that they experienced constant sadness and increased levels of worry.
More than 95% of the women reported more difficulty sleeping, difficulties concentrating and
remembering, and had less energy during the day. None of the women sought counseling or
therapeutic services.
2 Introduction
This study is the first of its kind in Cambodia to qualitatively examine the psychosocial
implications of land evictions on women. The main objective of this study was to gain a holistic
understanding of the impacts of land evictions on women by examining their economic,
psychological, and emotional wellbeing as a result of the eviction process.
According to the recently released 2012 Cambodian Mental Health Survey the general rates of
anxiety, PTSD, and depression in Cambodia are well above world averages (Royal University of
Phnom Penh (RUPP), 2012). With these rates already elevated amongst the general population,
we anticipated that within land loss communities where there is frequent exposure to state
violence, economic hardships, and traumatic events, the prevalence of symptoms of these
disorders would be even higher. Furthermore, in the seminal report by RUPP, women tended to
report higher frequencies of mental health problems than men. Considering that land evictions
are estimated to have affected over a quarter of a million people countrywide, this makes women
in Cambodia especially vulnerable to mental health problems (Lichado, 2009).
In general, there are very few mental health services in Cambodia, as knowledge about these
fields is still limited. However, as the frequency of land evictions rapidly increases, it is critical
that we consider the importance of offering services that not only address the physical and
economic needs of women impacted by these events, but the psychological and emotional needs
that are required to rebuild a sustainable life after facing extreme losses.
The data collected in this study was all self-reported and therefore subject to the interviewees’
individual perceptions of the land loss experience. Our team of researchers is unable to formally
diagnose the interviewees based on these interview results. Instead, the purpose of this study was

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to highlight symptoms experienced by women affected by land evictions. Further interviews by
professionals in the fields of mental health must be conducted in order to formally diagnose the
symptoms.
Through acknowledging the preexisting data regarding the implications of evictions, we have
designed our 6-month research project to help further understand the psychological implications
of evictions, with a focus on the suffering of women. By designing our study to help identify and
better understand the context and severity of these psychological and emotional consequences
mentioned in existing research, we hope to provide a current and relevant insight into the issue.
Objectives
1. Gain a holistic insight into the impacts of land evictions on women by examining the
economic, psychological, and emotional impacts of land evictions and land grabs on
women in four provinces in Cambodia (Phnom Penh, Kampong Thom, Battambang, and
Kampong Speu).
2. Explore services available to affected women from government, NGOs, and within
communities.
3. Use the research findings to develop recommendations for NGOs, international aid
agencies, international aid organisations, policy makers, and future research.
3 Literature Review
3.1 Introduction
Advances in transportation, telecommunications and economic trade are providing new
opportunities for developing countries to participate on a global economic stage that heretofore
had been off limits. The integration of world trade and financial markets over the last 40 years
has pushed per-capita income in some developing countries quickly toward industrial-levels. On
their face, opportunities created through globalization have provided immense opportunities for
developing countries to be re-labeled as newly industrialized economies. (International Monetary
Fund, 2000).
In many developing countries an attractive strategy for securing investment of capital and
enhancing international trade is by providing attractive opportunities for powerful transnational

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and national economic actors to purchase large tracts of land for commercial exploitation. For
instance, “corporations to national governments and private equity funds have searched for
‘empty’ land often in distant countries that can serve as sites for fuel and food production”
(Borras, Hall, Scoones, & White, 2011, p. 209). However, it is often the case that the land is not
‘empty.’ Rather, citizens whose livelihood depends on the land populate it.
Acquisition in such a manner is referred to as land grabbing, or the unjustified acquisition of
land belonging to people [by authority figures] often granted to companies for agricultural and
rural development and often resulting in increased revenue for the state (Stop African Land
Grab, n.d. para. 1). Land grabbing often results in forced evictions, or the displacement either
temporarily or permanently, of residents from their dwelling or land without proper
compensation, access to legal advice or protection.
Forced evictions are categorized as a type of displacement and commonly include the following
identifying factors:
1. A relation to specific decisions, legislation, or policies of States or the failure of
States to intervene to halt evictions by non-state actors;
2. An element of force or coercion; and
3. Are often planned, formulated, and announced prior to being carried out. (World
Conference on Human Rights, 1993, pp. 3-4)
These evictions can occur with resettlement (assisted) or without provided resettlement
(unassisted) (Center on Housing Rights and Evictions, 2009; World Conference on Human
Rights, 1993). Governments that are parties to land grabbing schemes which result in forced
evictions do not generally use such terminology to describe their actions. Rather, the term
economic land concession is preferred, referring to policy tools available to governments to grant
state private land for agricultural and industrial-agricultural exploitation in the name of
enhancing rural employment, the diversification of livelihood opportunities, and the generation
of state revenues (United Nations, Cambodia Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights, 2007).

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The Cambodian Government stands behind the importance of such economic land concessions as
a process through which it can better the country and increase production; in actuality this is
often not the case (Carving Up Cambodia, 2011). Such transactions can have detrimental effects
on the people who reside on the land, thereby undermining the benefits of the transaction by
contributing to land insecurity, citizen displacement, unemployment and negative impacts on the
environment (Lorenzo, Vermeulen, Leonard, Keeley, 2009; Deininger & Byerlee, 2010).
In Cambodia, land grabs and their resultant forced evictions have been occurring since 1979,
following displacement from the Khmer Rouge Regime. These have been monitored from 1996
onward due to their increasing severity. Companies purchasing land throughout Cambodia have
displaced over a quarter of a million Khmer people (Lichado, 2009). Many studies have been
conducted examining the economic impact on the citizens displaced by these land transactions.
However, little is known about the psychological impacts inflicted upon those forcibly evicted
through land grabs, particularly women.
3.2 The Importance of Land
Land is undeniably one of the most valuable sources of wealth across the globe. With the ability
to produce capital by means of development, land also provides a place to build a home and
sustain agricultural livelihood (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2010).
Access to land can be compromised by many factors; geographic, social, and political barriers
can severely impact the value of, and access to land, as well as the process in which land can be
obtained. The barriers to access and maintaining possession of land are often most difficult for
people who are most in need (Amnesty International, 2008). Thus, while land rights serve as one
of the most fundamental of all human rights, it also stands to be one of the most grossly abused
rights in societies (Roman, 2006).
The right to own land provides a sense of security and ownership of land allows security for
one’s family. However, legislation regarding titling is often flawed in many countries, adding
significant barriers to obtaining official ownership. As ownership can often be based on a system
of wealth, poorer members of society often lack the resources needed to obtain land titles,

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leaving them at higher risk of suffering from displacement and inability to sustain a living
(Lastarria-Cornhiel, 2008).
3.2.1 Importance of Land within Cambodia
Land is important in Cambodia, where roughly 70% of the population works in agriculture as a
means of livelihood (Supreme National Economic Council, 2007). For those who rely on
agriculture for their livelihood, land provides a means of producing crops to sustain a living. For
most rural families, access to farmland is there only viable means for survival (Supreme National
Economic Council, 2007). The importance of land is most crucial to rural poor, and with a
majority of the Cambodian population living in rural poverty their land is their livelihood
(Lastarria-Cornhiel, 2008). With 20-30% of the country’s landowners controlling over 70% of
the land, there is limited availability for farm-reliant poor to access land (Lichado, 2009). Along
with providing a means for income land also provides housing security for many Cambodians.
Culturally, the meaning of land holds an even more importance in Cambodia, where land serves
as an “open book which makes it possible to understand the history of the Cambodian Culture,
disruptions are seen as erasing their history and disturbing social organization” (Lichado, 2005,
p. 3). These cultural and economic theories attached with land in the country highlights the
importance of land ownership for the people. However there are gendered differences that occur
between men and women in regards to the importance of land ownership in terms of survival.
3.2.2 Importance of Land to women
Land ownership is important to both men and women in developing countries, however the value
that land ownership holds for each gender differs somewhat. For instance, where men may view
the ownership of land as a source of wealth and power, women may view land ownership as a
means for fostering protection and creating shelter (Theil, 2010). Gender discrimination
regarding outright ownership of land creates additional barriers for women. With a majority of
property laws favoring men, access to land rights can provide women a sense of security when,
for instance, faced with death or abandonment of their partner. (Lastarria-Cornhiel, 2008).
Having useable land gives women a better chance of become active members of society.
Obtaining land rights is believed to make women more engaged and active within their

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communities leading to greater overall benefits for women’s participation in society (Lastarria-
Cornhiel, 2008). Furthermore, the International Labor Organization found that women tend to
make up a large portion of the work force in Asian countries (as cited in, UN Department of
Economic and Social Affairs, 2009). And with a heavy reliance on agriculture employments as a
means of survival, land ownership is crucial to ensure the survival of women and women headed
households. Land ownership is also most critical for marginalized populations. With a majority
of marginalized populations consisting of women and children, women often directly face more
severe hardships in comparison to men (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2009).
Unfortunately, women are often forced into subordinate roles within most arenas of their lives
(Center on Housing Rights and Evictions, 2011). Both within the household and in society
women often face gendered barriers. This includes having limited access to resources and
information regarding their rights and thorough understanding of existing legislation, which, in
turn, leaves them less likely to assert these rights due to social pressure and fear of powerful
developers and authority figures (Runger, 2006). This unequal level of accessibility to resources
creates limitations on the capacity of women, which can impact agricultural productivity,
security, and is often “linked to poverty, migration, urbanization, and increased risk of violence”
(Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2009, p. viii).
Land holds an incredible importance to both men and women, and the loss of land is proven to
have severely negative impacts on both the health and livelihood of those impacted by forced
evictions (UNICEF, 1998). These impacts include psychological, emotional, and economic
repercussions that can vary in severity. In the following section this paper will work to provide
context of how people can be affected by evictions
3.2.3 International Bodies Take a Dim View of Land Grabbing
Given the importance of land as means for livelihood, shelter, security, and health, the practice
of land grabbing is dimly viewed by international bodies. The act of evicting and relocating
families often forces more families further into poverty, rather than promoting personal
economic growth for the impoverished. The United Nations Commission on Human Rights,
Resolution 1993/77, 67th
meeting, 10 March 1993, ruled that forced evictions are a gross
violation of international rights, mainly the right to adequate housing (UN-HABITAT, 2011).

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The practice of land grabbing goes against international protocols of which the Kingdom of
Cambodia is responsible for upholding. Additionally, forced evictions go directly against the
Cambodian Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty by 2015 (Supreme Economic
Council, 2007). In order to effectively ensure justice, the Government must be responsible to
control that land disputes are handled fairly, that the rule of law is upheld and that land titling
continues to reduce the number of disputes. (Supreme Economic Council, 2007). Land conflicts
have far deeper consequences than disregard of legal doctrines and international standards but
also have the ability to uproot and essentially destroy a person’s wellbeing due to the importance
land has on the wellbeing of people.
3.3 Land Grab Tactics in Cambodia
Because land is an important economic resource for a developing country, governments, like
Cambodia’s, are tempted to invest in foreign development projects with the goal of increasing
state revenue through economic land concessions (Supreme National Economic Council, 2007).
On their face, such deals are touted as providing positive impact on the overall economic
development and livelihood of a country by stimulating growth, even though this is often not the
case. Many times the citizens directly impacted by the loss of their land do not reap the benefits
of these projects (Carving Up Cambodia, 2011).
Since 1990 the number of forced evictions in Cambodia has been rapidly increasing. As of 2009,
over 10% of the population has fallen victim to forced eviction (COHRE, 2009). Projects falling
under the categories of development and beautification have caused the most devastating
displacements in Cambodia, and the rate of economic land concessions continues to grow
(Lichado, 2009).The exact number of displaced families in Cambodia is not known (Supreme
National Economic Council, 2007). However existing data shows forced evictions have impacted
over a quarter of a million Cambodians nationwide and as of 2009 leave over 150,000 more
people at risk for being evicted. (Amnesty International, 2008; Lichado, 2009). Within Phnom
Penh, over 10% of the population has been forcibly evicted over the past ten years as the area has
become more desirable for development (Woods, 2013). Land grab tactics in Cambodia range
from governmental skirting, or flat-out ignoring of existing laws and regulations related to land
ownership, to the outright intimidation of land owners.

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3.3.1 Skirting the Law
Four decades of government instability accompanied with regime rule led to an assorted series of
laws regarding land, its ownership, and potential for concession in Cambodia. During the Khmer
Rouge Regime all private land was taken as collective state land and then, following a
redistribution process in 1989, the enactment the law referred to as Sub-Decree 52 was allowed
for private ownership of land to people who had resided on a parcel of land for at least one year
(Supreme National Economic Council, 2007, p. 7).
In 2001, The Land Law of 2001 was enacted thus serving as the doctrine for land ownership,
entitlement, and management in Cambodia today. Articles 51-62 of the Cambodian Land Law
spell out the conditions under which land concessions could occur. Within these sections there
are guidelines describing the process by which economic land concessions could occur and the
development requirements that must be in place to trigger concessions. The Cambodian
Government continues to stand behind these regulations, and claims that land grabbing is not an
issue within the country. However, all economic land concessions occurring before 2009 failed
to follow the statutes of the Cambodian Land Law (Lichado, 2009).
While victims of forced evacuation in Cambodia are, by statute, allowed to seek relief from the
legal system, many cases do not reach the courts due to the inability of poor families to pay the
legal fees and limited knowledge of individual rights (Supreme National Economic Council,
2007). The absence of possession of official land titles leaves many families at risk for land
grabbing. This is often due to lack of financial resources to apply and obtain a land title and
limited knowledge of legal requirements regarding the process (Supreme National Economic
Council, 2007).
Nevertheless, most evictions occur without following the procedures accompanying the land law.
Families often receive no compensation and lack access to assistance programs and are left
without the means to advocate for themselves. In the rare case that a company offers
compensation, the payment is rarely received in full. Resettlement locations are often located far
away, on unusable land and not located near schools and hospitals (Lichado, 2005). This makes

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it incredibly difficult for families to have any sense of normalcy in their lives as they are forced
away from their homes.
3.3.2 Intimidation
The use of force and intimidation are applied by authorities and private organizations that
operate with the government’s blessing, in order to grab land from citizens in Cambodia
(Lichado, 2009). In spite of constitutional guarantees to citizens regarding the right to peacefully
protest, the Cambodian government has urged victims of eviction to “avoid fighting back to the
government when it comes to land grabbing and evictions” (Phorn, 2012). Those who try to
speak out about the loss of their land are often met with resistance from police and military
authorities, violence and imprisonment, such as the case of the Boeung Kak 13, when 13 women
and some of their children were detained in a correctional facility for men after attending a
peaceful demonstrations without formal charges being pressed (Khouth &Worrell, 2012).
Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen also issued a statement in 2012 that no communities who
received assistance from civil society or opposition parties would have their land disputes settled
(Thittara & Di Certo, 2012).
Despite outstanding legislation and claims that the government does not support forced evictions,
there is evidence that evictions continue to occur in violation to these existing policies. Victims
of forced evictions within the Kingdom tend to be subjected to the following three tactics:
1. Disregard of applicable Cambodian legislation (in particular the 2001 Land Law)
2. Unlawful use of security forces to threaten and evict people with legitimate claims to
land;
3. Abuse of judicial processes to wrongfully rule on ownership and harass those who
protest. (Lichado 2009, p. 9).
3.4 Psycho-Social Impacts on Victims of Forced Eviction Through Land
Grabs
In this section we examine the impact of forced eviction on its victims, with a special emphasis
on women in Cambodia.

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3.4.1 Psychological implications of forced eviction
Forced evictions have the ability to completely destroy critical aspects of a person’s life, such as
their livelihood, wellbeing, culture and dwelling. The loss of one’s home or land has the ability
to severely impact overall wellbeing and one’s ability to support and provide for their family
(World Conference on Human Rights, 1993). However, the psychological impacts of forced
evictions are often overlooked in many studies given that the majority of research on this topic
focuses on physical and economic impacts. We are able to draw inferences, however, from
reports on the trauma experiences by victims of other forms of displacement. There are
similarities in the forms of trauma suffered by those who have faced forced evictions and
refugees who suffered from displacement due to natural disasters (Leitner Report on Mental
Health and Human Rights, 2012). For example, victims of internal displacement require access
to medical services, education, shelter, and opportunities to social opportunities, yet many of
these services are non-existent or minimal for affected populations (Unicef, 1998).
Victims of eviction, like refugees and other displaced populations, face disappearance of their
homes, possessions, social ties to community and culture, and access to employment and public
services such as schools. Coupled with these losses there is an increased incidence of mental and
physical health issues that appear. (World Conference on Human Rights, 1993).
And, as terrible as the impacts are from being evicted, the mere specter of eviction can have
deleterious effects on individuals. The constant state of fear faced by those who are at risk is
enough to begin to introduce psychological stressors on the communities. (World Conference on
Human Rights, 1993). ‘[The act of being] persistently threatened or actually victimized by the
act of forced eviction from one’s home or land is surely one of the most supreme injustices any
individual, family, household or community can face’ (UN Fact Sheet 25, 1993, p. 2).
For example, Southeast Asian refugees have also been found to experience “depression,
somatization and physical disorders, adjustment disorders, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress
disorder (PTSD)” (Hsu, Davies, & Hansen, 2004, p. 201). Follow-up surveys conducted within
the 2006 Thailand Post-Tsunami Mental Health Study Group study on displaced persons
following the 2004 typhoon in southern Thailand shows that symptoms of PTSD increased after
displacement occurred when compared to the initial survey. This suggested that the ongoing

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aftermath of displacement can have progressive and lasting impacts on victims (van Griensven,
Chakkraband, Thienkrua., et al., 2006).
There is no set time within the eviction process in which psychological issues can arise, the
behaviors, symptoms, and mental fatigue associated with displacement, especially from a
traumatic event can occur at any time. Displaced persons can experience psychological trauma
before, during, or after displacement (Thomas and Thomas, 2004). These symptoms can include
anxiety, depression, and symptoms of PTSD (van Griensven, Chakkraband, Thienkrua., et al.,
2006).
3.4.2 Impacts on women victims
As a rule, women and children make up 80% of refugees and Internally Displaced Peoples (IDP)
globally, and thus represent a group that has a higher need for physical and mental health
services (Thomas and Thomas, 2004). Given the high proportion of refugees comprised of
women and children, the available data on the gender of victims of forced evictions is less clear
(Supreme National Economic Council, 2007). Minimal access to legal information and lack of
protection against injustice has increased the “vulnerability of marginalized people” (Amnesty
International, 2008, p, 7). This is especially true amongst marginalized women who are unable to
gain equal access to information regarding eviction policies and legislation.
What is known is that the independence and security of women relies heavily on housing. “Lack
of housing undermines women’s potential to secure health, education and employment and
increases the risk of violence” (Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2009, p, viiii).
Giovarelli (2006) noted, “generally spoken, land rights that are taken for granted by men often
do not exist for women. Hence, women are vulnerable to lose land use and property rights or not
gain land rights as a result of: (i) cultural or legal inability to acquire land rights through markets,
inheritance, transfer or gift; (ii) barriers to rights created by marriage, divorce, bride price,
dowry, or polygamy; (iii) privatization or individualization of land, or (iv) failure to formalize
women’s rights in titling programs” (in Theil, 2010, p. 7).
Women, as a result of their traditional family duties in the house, experience unique impacts as a
result of forced land evictions (COHRE 2011). Traditional gender roles place the responsibility

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of providing food, water, and other basic essentials on women (Fernandes, 2007). And Despite
facing displacement, women are still expected to perform these traditional responsibilities
(Ganguly-Scrase, 2005). Land ownership helps to ensure that women are able to adequately
perform these roles, which are crucial for the overall wellbeing of the family.
3.5 Mental Health and Victims of Forced Eviction
3.5.1 Mental Health in Cambodia
Understanding the history of the Cambodian people is necessary to acknowledge their
predisposition to experience certain psychological maladies and the coping mechanisms
employed to mediate those issues.
Khmer people are viewed as the most traumatized of Southeast Asian populations based on the
psychosocial stressor severity (Frye & D’Avanzo, 1994). During the rule of the Khmer Rouge
people witnessed: abuse, ridicule, murder, punishment, exhaustion, starvation and unremitting
insecurity and uncertainty (Frye & D’Avanzo, 1994). This also resulted in the death of over a
quarter of the population, comprised mainly of those who had obtained an advanced education,
thus resulting in the loss of many of those qualified to manage and maintain Cambodian
healthcare systems and critical public health services (RUPP, 2012). The suffering incurred
during the Khmer Rouge Regime’s rule has greatly impacted the overall wellbeing of the
population and left the Khmer people at higher level of risk of psychological problems (Frye &
D’Avanzo, 1994).
3.5.2 A Picture Emerges
As noted in an earlier section, there is a gap in the literature with regard the psychological and
emotional impacts forced evictions can have on victims. While psychological trauma associated
with forced evictions is recognized within affected populations in Cambodia (Amnesty
International, 2008; Amnesty International, 2011; Center on Housing Rights and Evictions,
2011; Housing Rights Task Force, 2011; Leitner Report on Cambodia, 2012; United Nations,
2011).), these studies only introduce the idea of psychological suffering and do not begin to
explain the types of symptoms experienced. This gap was partially addressed at the 2010 World

18
Health Organization Conference, leading to the creation of a national survey of mental health by
the Royal University of Phnom Penh (RUPP, 2012).
The overall state of mental health in Cambodia is poor, with 27.4% of the population facing
acute anxiety and 16.7% facing depression (Mech & Dene-Hern, 2012). These alarmingly high
rates are the product of a general study on the mental health of the Khmer people, leaving
victims of forced evictions to face even more stressors. With limited mental health resources in
the country, and cultural norms of not discussing emotional distress, there are few places for
those who need assistance to turn towards. Of the survey participants, 97.2% wished that there
were more services for psychological treatment (Mech & Dene-Hern, 2012).
As of 2010, mental health services were available in only 9 of the 24 provinces and only two in-
patient psychiatric centers (RUPP, 2012). The 2012 Royal University of Phnom Penh’s study on
mental health showed that 87.9% of surveyed participants had faced a traumatic event in their
lives that caused them stress. Somatization, clinical depression, post-traumatic stress syndrome,
suicide, and sudden unexpected death syndrome are common symptoms among Cambodian
refugees (Mollica et al., 1987; Nicassio& Pate, 1984; Nolan, Elarth, & Barr, 1988). More
alarming is the suicide rate of 42.35 suicides for every 100,000 people (compared to the global
average of 16 suicides per every 100,000 people) (RUPP, 2012).
3.5.3 Pressure Women Feel
Findings from the 1994 study on Stress in Cambodian Refugee Families showed that Khmer
female refugees felt personally responsible for maintain the ‘emotional equilibrium’ of their
households, despite not having a full understanding of the emotions experienced by their families
(D’Avanzo, Erickson, Frye & Froman, 1994). The weight of feeling responsible for the families’
overall well being is a tremendous load to bear. Women respondents have to endure the
psychological and emotional burden not only of earning a living to contribute to the family
income in order to make ends meet, but also ensuring the welfare of the whole family while
physical violence is inflicted on them at the same time (COHRE, 2011).
3.5.4 Coping Through Concealment

19
To understand the psychological implications of Cambodians who are facing, or have undergone,
eviction, it is essential to examine the cultural context of psychological issues. Direct expression
of emotions is not common amongst people of Southeast Asia (Blair, 2000). Specifically in
Cambodia, Buddhist beliefs lead to the acceptance of fatalism, which implies that misfortune is
inevitable (Hsu, Davies, & Hansen. 2004). Combined with trauma from past internal conflict has
left a majority of the population facing undiagnosed and untreated mental health conditions
following the rule of the Khmer Rouge Regime. The idea of mental illness is often seen as
shameful and families will try to conceal these illnesses (RUPP, 2012).
3.6 Conclusion
Victims of land grabbing face vast injustices when coping with the loss of their land and
livelihood. Within Cambodia, there has been limited research conducted on the impacts of
evictions, especially on the psychological impacts. But existing research does highlight that
psychological trauma is prevalent among victims of forced evictions.
Understanding the importance of land to the human condition helps to understand why the loss
of it can have a tremendous impact on the lives of forced evictees. Limited resources to cope
with loss and relocation often leave people to fend for themselves. Within Cambodia, where land
is essential for the livelihood for a majority of the population, and citizens are predisposed to
suffer from mental health issues, it is important to better understand the plight of victims of
forced evictions brought on by land grabbing. As light is shed on the importance women ascribe
to having secure access to land, it has become extremely important to better understand the
psychosocial impacts they face in light of becoming victims of forced eviction.
4 Sample
Sampling for the current study was done using a mixture of convenience sampling based on
previous relationships and snowball sampling based on SKO’s extensive network of grassroots
organizations. Snowball sampling was instrumental for this study in finding appropriate
respondents as it is often used to find and recruit “hidden populations,” that is, groups not easily
accessible to researchers through other sampling strategies (FHI360, 2012). A description of
SKOs relationships with the applicable grassroots organizations is described in Appendix A. As

20
detailed in Table 1, the researchers interviewed 10 women in each of the four locations achieving
a total of 40 interviews and 4 focus groups (one focus group per location with the 10 women).
Table
1.
Sample
of
Women
by
Commune
and
Province

Commune Province Sample
Borei Keila Phnom Penh 5
Boeung Kak Lake Phnom Penh 5
Omleang Kampong Speu 10
Treng Battambang 10
Sacream Kampong Thom 10
5 Instrument
A five-section, 37 question protocol was developed for this study. The five sections were:
eviction status, demographics, psychological/emotional impact, economic impact, and support
available. A copy of the instrument is provided in Appendix B (Section 11.2). All questions were
asked as part of the interview in order to cope with the high illiteracy rate. The questions were
developed by the team of multi-disciplined professionals from Strey Khmer Organization, all
with experience of working with women victims of trauma, in conjunction with two Ph.D.
research professors from the University of Kentucky.
All questions were first written in English and then translated into Khmer. The interview
protocol was piloted with 6 women in Phnom Penh. After the pilot, the team created a more
structured interview protocol to allow the field researchers to better capture the rich data from
the women. The question set remained roughly the same but the SKO team added more direct
questions rather than using open ended questions because it was found that the respondents had
difficulty responding to unstructured, open ended questions. The language of the questions was
further adjusted to address cultural meanings and contexts.
5.1 Section 1: Eviction Status

21
For the purposes of this report, the evictions were broken down into 4 stages, which apply both
to individuals with possession of official land certificates, and those who have not yet received a
land certificate but have legal claims to their land in accordance with the 2001 Cambodian Land
Law. These stages are as follows:
1. Pre-eviction: Individual was informally notified of the impending eviction, which is to
occur at an undisclosed future date. The individual still maintains full use of all of their
claimed land.
2. Eviction: Individual has been issued a formal notice of eviction with a set eviction time
frame. They still occupy their land and have not yet experienced physical loss of land.
3. Post eviction: Individual has experienced land loss (inclusive of residential, forest, or
farmland). Ownership of land has passed from the original owner to the signatory of the
Land Concession through thumb printing land documents, or by force.
4. Vulnerable: Individual lives in a community close to other Economic Land Concession
sites. While the value of their land is increasing, they have not yet received notice of
pending evictions on their land.
These stages were categorized by SKO researchers who have extensive experience working with
women who have experienced or who are experiencing Economic Land Concessions in
Battambang and Phnom Penh provinces. Table 2 below details the categorization of types of land
lost by the women in the study. 30 of the women interviewed had lost farmland, 5 had lost
residential land, and 5 were classified as vulnerable. Three of those vulnerable had a land
certificate but feared their land or house would be seized whereas two of the vulnerable had their
valuables destroyed when workers flooded their houses with sand.
Table
2.
Categorization
of
Types
of
Land
Lost
for
All
40
Women

Type of Land Loss Percent (n)
Vulnerable*
Vulnerable but experienced loss of valuables
7.5% (n=3)
5% (n=2)
Loss of Farmland 75% (n=30)
Loss of Residential Land** 10% (n=5)

22
*Hold a land certificate but still at risk of forced eviction
**One woman was forcefully relocated
5.2 Section 2: Demographics
The demographic portion of the survey questions focused on basic information which classified
the women based on their age, occupations, marital status, husband’s occupation and the number
of dependents in their household. These questions were determined by the team of researchers
from SKO based on their previous experience of both participating in, and undertaking research.
As detailed in Table 3, these categories included: age; marital status; occupation and husband’s
occupation; and dependents.
Table
3.
Demographics
of
Women
in
the
Study

Age Percent (n)*
18 – 25 7.5% (n=3)
26-40 32.5% (n=13)
41-55 47.5% (n=19)
56 + 12.5% (5)
Marital Status
Married 77.5% (n=31)
Widowed 17.5% (n=7)
Divorced 5% (n=2)
Occupation
Housewife 42.5% (n=17)
Vendor 2.5% (n=1)
Farmer 50% (n=20)

23
Other 5% (n=2)
Number of Dependents
1 – 2 40% (n=16)
3 – 4 47.5% (n=19)
5 – 6 12.5% (n=5)
7+ 0% (n=0)
*N = 40
5.3 Section 3: Psychological and Emotional Impacts
Questions for this portion of the instrument were based on psychological and emotional
symptoms described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV)
(Derogatis, Lipman, Rickels, Uhlenhuth & Covie, 1974) as well as other indicators noted in the
Hopkins-25 Checklist for assessing anxiety and depression (Derogatis et al., 1974). The research
team selected questions from these resources that best informed the research questions.
Questions were reworded to be sensitive to the cultural ambiguities around the language of
expressing distress in Cambodia. Determining which questions to include was done
collaboratively and iteratively by the research team at SKO inclusive of field researchers who
have extensive experience of working with women affected by land evictions in the provinces of
Battambang and Phnom Penh. Item selection was also done in collaboration with our academic
researcher partners who have expertise in research methodology. Selection of the questions was
additionally informed by issues that were frequently mentioned by women’s networks.
5.4 Section 4: Economic Impact
Multiple studies have been conducted regarding economic impacts of land evictions in
Cambodia. As a result, SKO chose not to repeat such studies. Rather, in this study SKO chose to
focus on the psychological and emotional impacts of the land evictions. We were aware that
economic impacts can powerfully affect the psychological and emotional reactions to situations,
therefore included questions to determine whether or not land loss impacted standards of living.

24
These questions focused on: occupations and livelihood; catalogue of lost/destroyed possessions;
access to basic services; access to basic necessities; and the impact of protests on income.
5.5 Section 5: Support Available
Questions regarding available support for women were used to determine the services existing
for women facing land evictions, specifically counseling and mental health services; as well as to
note suggestions given by the women regarding services they believed had been helpful or were
lacking in their communities. Questions included: NGO presence in the community; government
and public services provisions; religious practices; health care and medications; and family and
community support.
5.6 Individual Interviews
The duration of the interviews ranged from 30-60 minutes. The interviews started with
demographic questions, which were followed up by questions about the women’s experiences of
losing land. The interviews were conducted in private residences in the local communes.
The respondents were informed that their participation was voluntary and information they
provided would be confidential. Due to the high rate of illiteracy, verbal consent was accepted by
the participants rather than collecting a written consent form. SKO researchers informed the
participants that the team would make the best effort to protect statements and answers so that no
one would be able to connect statements to a particular respondent. Each individual respondent
was assigned a number and a pseudonym. Interviewees were offered no incentives for speaking
with the research team, but were reimbursed for their travel expenses to the interview and focus
group locations.
One-on-one interviews were conducted in the women’s first language of Khmer by three Strey
Khmer Organization interviewers who are also fluent in Khmer. At least two interviewers
attended each of the 40 interviews. One interviewer facilitated the interview while the other
made an audio recording, took notes, and conducted preliminary coding. The interview protocol
can be found in Appendix B.

25
5.7 Focus Groups
Focus group interviews were used as a means to explore topics uncovered in the one-on-one
interviews. After the last one-on-one interview was completed in each commune, all the
respondents were invited to participate in a group interview. A total of five focus group sessions
were held.
Based on the responses given in the one-to-one questions, the interviewers asked questions to
clarify location specific experiences and issues identified by the women in that commune. The
main questions asked were based on identified physical and psychological stressors identified by
the majority of the group - such as the use of medications, alcohol, headaches, thinking too
much, extreme worry, and relationship problems.
The focus groups lasted approximately 20-60 minutes. In these focus groups some of the women
chose not to speak whereas others were very talkative. As the focus group questions were
intended to follow up on the interview responses, some women did not answer because of
redundancy and acknowledged that they had already fully responded to similar questions in their
interviews.
6 Results
We will describe the overall findings of the study with the 40 women. We then describe the
results of the study by commune to determine if there were location-specific results and issues.
In each instance, we discuss the major themes. Since the protocol was semi-structured, not all the
communes discussed all the indicators. Women from the communes addressed the problems
most prominent to their situation; therefore, the indicators listed vary between individual
communes.
6.1 Results of Total Sample
Table 4 below details the themes that arose from the study around issues of psychological and
emotional stress. The most prevalent psychological and emotional symptoms were sadness
(n=40), worrying (n=40), difficulty sleeping (n=39), difficulty concentrating (n=38), lethargy

26
(n=38), emotional outbursts (n=36), frequent negative thoughts and memories (n=34), and a
preoccupation with the safety of the family (n=34).
Other behaviors were asked about but were less frequently discussed. For example, while the use
of illegal substances was deemed taboo by many of the respondents, there were open discussions
in all of the focus groups about the use of self-prescribed medication (n=13). Self-prescribed
medication was most frequently used to treat headaches (n=5) and nerve problems (n=5).
However, use of illicit drugs by women or other members of their families was not mentioned.
Some women described taking medication to “reduce bad feelings”, cure “stomach aches”,
lessen the suffering from a “hot head”, and taking energy pills due to lack of energy. Two
women reported having experienced abuse from their partners post eviction, and 6 interviewees
struggled with suicidal thoughts.
Table
4.
Results
of
Psychological
and
Emotional
Symptoms
Experienced
by
the
Women
across
each
of
the

Communes

Phnom
Penh
Kampong
Speu
Battambang Kampong
Thom
Total
Frequent sadness 10 10 10 10 40
Frequent worrying 10 10 10 10 40
Trouble sleeping 10 10 9 10 39
Difficulties
concentrating and
remembering
10 9 10 9 38
Less energy 9 9 10 10 38
Irritable / emotional
outbursts
10 10 9 7 36
Frequent distressing
thoughts and
memories
10 10 10 4 34
Worry about family
safety
9 8 9 8 34
Recurring or
distressing dreams
9 9 6 5 29

27
Roughly handled by
police or security
forces
9 5 10 5 29
Loss of self-worth 8 5 5 9 27
Bad characteristics
(e.g., cursing, etc)
6 4 5 8 23
Less able to feel
emotions
8 5 9 1 23
Increased use of
alcohol by family
member
3 3 5 6 17
Lonely 5 2 8 1 16
Increased use of
alcohol
0 3 3 6 12
Avoids activities or
people associated with
the event
0 3 3 3 9
Arrested 6 0 1 0 7
Suicidal thoughts 4 2 0 0 6
Abuse from partner 0 1 0 1 2
Drug abuse 0 0 0 0 0
Drug abuse in family 0 0 0 0 0
6.1.1 Economic Impacts
From the results we can classify five (5) distinct categories of economic impacts that events
related to land evictions had on women:
1. No loss: The individual has not yet experienced any substantial losses as a result of the
land eviction. However, they have property in an area vulnerable to future land evictions.
2. Immediate material loss: This is a one-time material loss that is tied to income
generation. The individual does not require these materials for survival (e.g., kitchen
supplies, furniture).

28
3. Land loss (property): This is a one-time property loss that is not tied to income
generation. The individual requires the lost items for survival (e.g., shelter, house,
residential land).
4. Land loss (livelihood): This is a loss of land that is tied to the individual’s primary form
of income generation. This loss affects current and future income generation potential.
(e.g., farmland, forest land, storefront)
5. Income loss: This is a loss of income as a result of the events surrounding the land
evictions. These income losses are most frequently tied to protest activities and include:
utilizing income for expenses related to protests, and losing potential income due to time
attending protests in lieu of going to work.
Table
5.
Categorization
of
Types
of
Land
Lost
for
All
40
Women

Type
of
Land
Loss
Total
Population
N=40

No
Loss*
n=3

Immediate
material
loss
n=2

Land
Loss
(residential)
n=5

Land
Loss
(livelihood)
n=30

Income
Loss
n=31

*Holds
a
land
certificate
but
still
at
risk
of
forced
eviction

Table 5 below details the economic impacts discussed by the women in each of the four
communes. By far, the most general theme found is that women had difficulty accessing basic
services (n=35). When asked to specify which services they had difficulty accessing, the women
discussed services such as education and employment opportunities. 82.5% of these women
participated in protests regarding land evictions and 77.5% of the women discussed economic
hardships as a result of their participation in the protests.
Table
6.
Economic
Impacts
of
Land
Grabs

Phnom
Penh
Kampong
Speu
Battambang Kampong
Thom Total
Difficulty accessing basic services 9 9 9 8 35
Difficulty accessing the following

29
services:
Education 4 7 5 3 19
Health care 2 1 0 4 7
Water supply 1 0 0 0 1
Sanitation (garbage
disposal/toilets) 5 0 0 0 5
Employment 9 2 9 10 30
Legal assistance 0 3 0 3 6
Other 0 2 0 0 2
Valuables lost as a result of the
evictions:
Clothes 6 0 0 0 6
Electronic devices 3 0 0 0 3
Furniture 7 0 0 0 7
Kitchen supplies 6 0 0 0 6
Animals* 2 0 0 0 2
Photos / Memorabilia 4 4 1 0 4
Forestland 0 6 0 0 6
Farmland 0 9 10 10 19
Involved in protests against land
evictions 10 10 10 3 33
Protests affect income 10 10 9 2 31
*Forced to sell animal(s) due to lack of land/income for maintenance.
6.1.2 Support services
Table 6 below details the type of support sought and used by the 40 women in the study. 87.5%
(n=35) of the women discussed seeking legal support as a result of the eviction processes. 67.5%
(n=27) of the women sought the support of NGOs, and 52.5% (n=21) reported seeking help from
informal support groups. Only one woman discussed seeking the assistance of a formal medical

30
doctor as a result of a head injury incurred in a protest. Of the NGOs and groups mentioned,
none of the women mentioned receiving support from an organization providing professional
counseling or therapeutic services.
Table
7.
Support
Utilized
by
Women
Affected
by
Land
Evictions

Types of Support Used by the
Women
Phnom
Penh
Kampong
Speu
Battambang Kampong
Thom Total
Legal support 10 9 9 7 35
Professional support groups
(NGOs) 10 10 5 9 27
Informal support groups 10 4 0 7 21
Self-medication (pharmacy) 2 0 4 7 13
Financial support / crisis funds 3 7 0 0 10
Religion 1 2 2 3 8
Prescribed medication* 1 0 0 0 1
*Victim experienced blunt force trauma to her head by the authorities. She was treated by a
doctor and given medicine to treat her injuries.
6.2 Results by Provinces / Communes
6.3 Boeung Kak Lake and Borei Keila Commune, Phnom Penh
6.3.1 Overview
● Interview Dates: October 22, 2012 - October 25, 2012
● Communities: Boeung Kak and Borei Keila
● Compensation for Land Loss: Varied from $8000 per parcel, $500 per parcel, rice, fish
sauce, land in relocation villages, scooters, to no compensation at all.
6.3.2 Background
Between 1998 and 2003, the Phnom Penh municipality forcibly evicted 11,000 families, most
from poor communities in the center of the capital. Since 2003, an additional 30,000 individuals
have been displaced by forced evictions in Phnom Penh.

31
6.3.3 Phnom Penh Commune #1: Boeung Kak Lake
Over 4,000 families have lived in the Boeung Kak Lake community since the early 1980s. They
are legally entitled to the land according to Cambodia’s 2001 Land Law. However, in 2007, the
residents were collectively denied their land rights when the government signed a 99-year
agreement with Shukaku Inc. to fill in the lake to create buildable land. Over 133 hectares of
land were signed over to the company owned by a prominent CPP Senator, Lao Meng Kim. In
August 2008, families were pressured to start leaving their homes as the developers began to fill
in the lake with sand. By May 2011, over 3,000 families were displaced. In September 2010,
Shukaku Inc. began pumping sand in the direction of homes still occupied by residents who had
not yet left. Their homes and possessions were flooded with sand and destroyed. Many of the
families received unsuitable notice of the eviction and minimal compensation. 28 families were
denied compensation altogether.
6.3.4 Phnom Penh Commune #2: Borei Keila
In 2012, a private company, Phan Imex, entered into what was referred to as a land sharing
agreement with the Cambodian government. Under this scheme, Phan Imex would be allowed to
develop 2.6 hectares of the Borei Keila area of Phnom Penh for commercial purposes on the
condition that they also construct ten apartment blocks to house the displaced residents.
Ultimately, Phan Imex stopped construction after having built only eight apartment blocks,
creating a home shortage for 300 families. Nonetheless, on January 3rd
, 2012, Phan Imex
destroyed all the remaining homes in Borei Keila. The company was still granted the land by the
government despite their failure to comply with the agreement. Phan Imex argues that they
provided housing for legal residents. Families without official land titles were forcibly evicted
from Borei Keila and sent to live in underdeveloped areas such as Toul Sambo (25 km outside of
Phnom Penh) and Phnom Bat (50 km outside of Phnom Penh). While Toul Sambo is beginning
to slowly develop as of 2012, in Phnom Bat, most residents are still living in tents. As a result,
many women have returned to Phnom Penh to protest at the Borei Keila site, renting space in the
houses of others or living in makeshift shelters close to the eviction site.
6.3.5 Eviction Status
● In Phnom Penh, 6 of the women had had their houses destroyed or pulled down.

32
● Of the 5 interviewed women from Boeung Kak Lake, 3 have successfully received land
certificates after protesting but continue to protest in solidarity with those still awaiting
land certificates.
● 2 women’s houses were not destroyed but were covered by sand and flooded - all their
property was destroyed. These women have since cleared the sand from the home and
continue to live there. One woman watched as her house was torn down.
● In the Borei Keila Commune, four of the interviewed women’s houses were destroyed.
These women currently reside in the same area, either renting land or living in tents on
company land. One family is living under the stairwell of one of the new apartment
blocks that was built to specifically house the evictees.
6.3.6 Economic Impact
● The most prevalent economic problems faced by the women were loss of income due to
participation in protests (n=10) and loss of possessions (n=10).
● Two women were prevented from generating income as a result of the evictions. One
woman, a widower, was a vendor before the evictions, but has since lost that income and
occupation as a result of the land eviction since the authorities now prevent her from
selling her wares in her regular location. Another woman who previously rented rooms in
her home has lost that income since the house was flooded with sand and water.
● Multiple women from Phnom Penh lost belongings and valuable items. Examples
include:
○ One woman’s family had lost the leather they used to make shoes.
○ One woman described how she has only been left with a mosquito net and a mat
to sleep on.
○ One woman described how her television, bed, stove and sewing machine were all
destroyed during the evictions. She now lives in a shared accommodation, which
is more expensive than her previous housing.
● The majority of the women said that they had experienced problems accessing services
(e.g., healthcare and education) since the evictions. Many attributed this to their reduced
income. They lacked money to pay for services or transportation.
6.3.7 Traumatic Experiences During Events Related to Land Evictions

33
● All of the women witnessed and experienced physical violence from the authorities,
ranging from minor scuffles to the extreme.
● In the presence of many witnesses, one woman experienced a terrible blow to her head.
She described losing a lot of blood and being taken to the doctor by an NGO worker who
helped her receive treatments for her injuries.
● Six of the interviewed women had been arrested and had been roughly handled by the
police/security forces.
● One woman had her toenail kicked off during a scuffle as police arrested her.
● Two of the women were among the 13 women from both communities who had been
sentenced to prison for 2.5 years. However, these women were released after appealing
the sentence as a result of extensive protests from the local and international
communities.
● One woman’s 15-year-old nephew was hit on the head and arrested during a protest.
After being detained by the authorities for 4 hours, he was suddenly released when they
discovered he was only a minor.
6.3.8 Protests
● The women are all very active in protests and vocal about their situations. Since the
evictions, all of the interviewed women participated in protests.
○ Others witnessed a pregnant woman get kicked in the stomach by authorities, and
as a result of the trauma, miscarried her baby.
6.3.9 Psychological and Emotional Impacts
6.3.9.1 Sadness
● All of the women frequently felt sadness during the day as a result of their losses. One
woman described ‘keeping the sadness in her mind’ and constantly replays the events of
the eviction.
● Two women explained that their lives had become “worthless” as a result of the land loss.
One woman believed that she had failed in her duty as a mother and a wife to take care of
her family. She had spent one month and three days in Prey Sar prison for her protests.

34
When she was released, she learned that her daughter had intended on committing suicide
in front of city hall as a demonstration against her mother’s imprisonment.
● Many of the women felt like they had let their children down because they could not hold
on to their children’s inheritance.
● In 2011, two members of the Boeung Kak community (1 male, 1 female) jumped into the
water to commit suicide (both died). Many of the community members were deeply
saddened by this loss.
6.3.9.2 Fear and Anxiety
● All of the women talked about having more difficulty concentrating and remembering
things.
● All of the women affirmed that they worried more after the event.
● Nine of the women had less energy during the day.
● Eight of the women felt that their lives had no worth since the evictions.
● They all suffer from sadness and all expressed problems with thinking too much
(koucharang). The women repeatedly used the words koucharang and bii bak jet
(difficult heart).
● Nine of the women expressed fearing for the safety of their families and they all spoke
worried for the future of their families. They all maintain real fears about the authorities
and what they still might do.
● All the women expressed anxiety about their children in terms. The two issues they raised
were of either current unhygienic living conditions or their separation from their families.
● One woman said that she had so much fear that the authorities would be violent towards
her husband that she pretended that she was a widow.
● Four of the women have thought about committing suicide.
6.3.9.3 Sleep
● All of the women expressed having more trouble sleeping since the evictions. One
woman described how she gets up at least twice a night since cannot sleep due to
constantly worrying about her and her family’s future.
● The majority of the women had distressing, recurring dreams (n=9). One woman has
recurring vivid dreams that the police are chasing her. These nightmares wake her in the

35
middle of the night. Another woman who had been injured by the police said that she
dreams about the violence all of the time, to the extent where the dreams become so vivid
that she hits her husband while she sleeps.
6.3.9.4 Irritability and Aggressiveness
● All of the women said that they were more irritable and had more outbursts than before
the evictions.
● Six of the women said that their behavior had changed since the evictions and felt that
they had developed bad characteristics including cursing more, being angrier, and not
being able to control their emotions.
● Two of the women described their anger as a “constant fury”.
● One woman said that she spends a lot of the time feeling furious and often takes this out
on the children.
● One woman talked about how she finds it very difficult to tolerate her husband and
children and this adds to her sense of unhappiness.
6.3.9.5 Relationships
● Another common response was the increased sense of loneliness due to the separation of
communities. Five of the women expressed feeling lonelier since the events happened
and at least two of the women are now completely separated from their husbands and
children as a result of the relocations.
● The majority of the women (n=8) said that they are experiencing difficulties feeling
emotions such as love. Many of them expressed real sorrow about how the evictions have
impacted all areas of their relationships.
● Many of the women expressed how their relationships with their husbands and families
had deteriorated since the evictions. Everyone in the family is experiencing increased
stress and this reflects on all of the relationships.
6.3.9.6 Alcohol and Substance Abuse
● None of the women admitted to using alcohol to address their emotional problems. Half
of the women (n=5) described how their husbands were consuming more alcohol than
before. Some of the women explained that their husbands drank more in response to
feeling bii bak jet being stress, anxiety, or depression.

36
● One woman takes medicine to calm down, however she was unable to identify the type of
medicine as it was purchased at a local pharmacy.
6.3.10 Support and Services
6.3.10.1 Informal Support Networks
● The women in both communities have formed strong networks and consistently support
each other as much as they can both emotionally and practically. The women have all
been part of a longstanding campaign to protest the threatened and actual evictions and
have formed strong friendships and bonds through their shared suffering. Some women
have taken responsibility for childcare and cooking whilst other women have been out
protesting, marching and meeting with representatives.
● Women from the Boeung Kak community shared the experiences and knowledge that
they had gained through their eviction process with the women from the Borei Keila
community -- they were able to inform them of their practices and which support
agencies could provide specific resources and information. The mutual support that
women gave each other, and the opportunities to share their own personal experiences,
fears and concerns was very important to all of the women interviewed.
6.3.10.2 Formal Support Networks
● All of the women have been assisted by a range of organizations including: Cambodian
League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), Cambodian
Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC), Bridges Against Borders
Cambodia (BABC), Community Legal Education Center (CLEC), Cambodian Center for
Human Rights (CCHR), Housing Rights Task Force (HRTF) and Strey Khmer
Organization. Some women did receive legal support but one woman expressed that she
would have appreciated more help with securing land titles.
● Other forms of support included a crisis fund to assist with communication,
transportation, food, and water. Some women received tents and tarpaulins to provide
temporary accommodation.
● One woman received assistance from an NGO to obtain medical treatment after being
injured during a protest.

37
● Women have also received a lot of press and media attention from the Cambodian and
the international communities. Hillary Clinton was petitioned by the two communities in
mid-2012 to make a statement about releasing the 13 women and 2 activists who had
been arrested from the Boeung Kak community for their participation in a peaceful
protest. They received international support for the release of these women who were
eventually released on appeal after serving 3 months of a two-and-a-half year sentence.
6.4 Kampong Speu
6.4.1 Overview
● Interview Dates: November 5, 2012 - November 8, 2012
● Commune: Omleang Commune
● Compensation for Land Loss: $0
6.4.2 Background
In 2009, an ex-commune chief of Omleang Commune took the original land certificates from
villagers living there. A high-ranking government official who was also a prominent TV
journalist then came to the commune to get the thumbprints of the landholders. He told the
landholders that he was helping them to register their land titles. Instead, he was using their
thumbprints to sign over their land to a private company. Many villagers are uneducated and
believed the man at his word due to his high position. He swore to them “If I don’t get your land
back, let God kill me.” The two companies now occupying the area are the Kampong Speu Sugar
Company and the Ly Yong Phat Sugar.
After the land grab, the villagers protested for almost one and a half months. They lost a lot of
money protesting, as they were unable to work and had to pay for transportation to get to the
protest site. While the company gave some people jobs in the field, their workers are only paid
$3 per day. The work, and therefore the salary, is irregular. While the villagers remarked that the
company is growing sugar cane very well, their standard of living is getting worse by the day.
Children have stopped attending school in order to work (either to help the family in the field or
at home or to get a job to contribute to the dwindling household income), and many families
have completely lost their incomes due the loss of valuable land once used for farming and

38
animal husbandry purposes. Additionally, the women are unable to continue protest efforts as a
result of their lack of income. Factory wages are more regular than the fieldwork, but jobs in the
factory are more difficult to obtain and there has been active discrimination in the recruitment of
factory workers with the women reporting that jobs were given to strong men, usually with
relatives in the company.
6.4.3 Eviction Status
● The recurring theme among the interviewees from Kampong Speu was the loss of forest
and farmland. Each of the women wanted their land back and believed that no amount of
monetary compensation could replace their farmland.
● One woman in Kampong Speu had 20 hectares taken by both of the companies and she
was given back just one hectare to farm.
● Another woman lost nearly five hectares of farmland and five hectares of forestland.
● One family was given two hectares of land in exchange for their farmland, but the land
they were given was not farmable.
● Another woman lost five hectares of land and was given back 8 x 70 meters of arable
land.
● One woman lost 25 hectares of both farmland and forestland. This woman reported
watching her land being distributed amongst other villagers to compensate for her land
losses.
6.4.4 Economic Impact
● All of the women in Kampong Speu were farmers, with one reporting she was also a
vendor. Women noted that without their land they had no occupation, thus no job, and
thus no life.
● Women repeatedly discussed a lack of financial security. It was noted that not everyone
was offered a job in the new sugar cane companies that now occupies their land. In fact
there was clear discrimination in the recruitment into this company including instances
where the prettiest women got the best jobs in addition to instances of nepotism.
● When women lost their land, many were forced to sell their cattle due to lack of income
to support the animal and a lack of land to maintain it. These losses have left the women
poverty stricken.

39
● One interviewee stated that “Forest land is like my rice pot, when they took away my
land, they took away my rice pot.” While her farmland was used for subsistence farming,
the forestland was used to graze her cattle, collect wood and wild plants, and support her
food production.
● The women also noted that their circumstances were getting progressively worse.
● Some children of the women could no longer attend school because of the family’s
worsening economic situation.
● These women also noted that they and their family members were malnourished. Some of
these women even discussed starvation. The lack of food was a recurring and pervasive
theme in this commune.
● Protests around the land evictions in this commune lasted for 1.5 months. Some of the
women had to borrow money to survive and subside through the protests.
● Three of the women had problems accessing legal services because of a lack of funds.
● The women discussed that the lack of land would impact future generations of Khmer
children since there would be little to nothing to share with their children. Thus there is a
loss of both inheritance and legacy.
6.4.5 Traumatic Experiences
● Five women had been roughly handled by the police and security personnel while the
others had witnessed this type of violence being perpetrated on others.
● Two women spoke about a pregnant woman being slapped and hit by the authorities
when she brought food to the protesters who had been arrested. The police, in turn, threw
the food away.
● Some women discussed witnessing the authorities using electric batons.
● Most of the women had seen family members and friends arrested and some of them had
been imprisoned for various periods of time.
● The women in this commune reported hearing that some of the protesters had been shot
at.
● The women expressed concerns and fears about their husbands being involved in the
protests because the police and security personnel use violence more against men than
women. Men also face a greater threat of imprisonment than their female counterparts.

40
6.4.6 Protest Participation
● All of the women interviewed had been involved in the protests and lost income as a
result of their participation in the protests.
● Seven of the women stated that they had borrowed money from local moneylenders to
pay for transportation to be involved in protests.
● Most of the women participated in the protests even though they had enormous fears
about the consequences.
● Most of the women talked about their willingness to join further protests, regardless of
how effective they might be.
● One woman still has nightmares about the violence she had witnessed in the protests.
● The women in this commune reported that they never lost the desire to get their land back
and will continue to do everything they can to achieve this goal.
● The women reported to have a sense of fear that if they did not protest, they would lose
their land permanently.
● Only one woman admitted to occasionally avoiding protests out of fear. However, despite
this, she still attends them.
● As was noted by women in other provinces, women in Kampong Speu used phrases like
bii bak jet and koucharang to describe their emotions. Many women reported having
problems with feeling and expressing emotions such as love.
● The women in Kampong Speu did not cry during the interviews unlike the women in
Phnom Penh. There was less visible agitation when they spoke. This may be related to
the fact that the evictions happened three years ago thus the women have become
resigned to their plight. Nevertheless, there was a massive sense of despondency and
hopelessness.
● Five women reported feeling that their life had no worth since this happened. At least two
of the women in Kampong Speu discussed how they felt they had let their families and
children down by not being able to fight the land grab successfully.
● Two women thought about committing suicide, with one of them saying that concerns for
her children that prevented her from doing so.

41
● One woman reported being more confused than before, explaining that she suffers from
memory loss since the eviction.
6.4.7.1 Fear and Anxiety
● All of the interviewed women in Kampong Speu said that they worried more since the
eviction. The women talked how they now live in constant fear because the commune
chief had seized their residential certificates, which means that they continue to live
under the constant threat of losing their homes.
● The women reported having fears of continued mistreatment by the company and the
authorities.
● Eight out of the ten women were concerned about their family’s safety. Many tended to
have grave concerns about their children are not getting enough to eat.
● Many women discussed how they felt like they have let their children down and how they
constantly worry about the children not getting an education and missing out on
socialization experiences at school.
6.4.7.2 Sleep and Distressing Dreams
● All of the women said that they were sad during the day and had more difficulties
sleeping at night.
● Majority of the women answered positively to having less energy throughout the day and
having more problems concentrating (n=9).
● The nine women also talked about having recurrent distressing dreams, many of which
included the violence they had experienced or witnessed during the protests.
6.4.7.3 Alcohol and Substance Abuse
● Three women in Kampong Speu reported drinking more alcohol as a result of the land
loss.
● Three of the women reported that their husbands were also drinking more since the land
loss.
6.4.7.4 Irritability and Aggressiveness

42
● All of the women in Kampong Speu expressed that they, and other adult members of their
families including husbands and parents who live with them, are generally more irritable
since the loss of their land.
● One woman’s husband, since these events, is constantly threatens to hit the children and
is always shouting at them.
● One woman expressed how she wants to hit her grandchildren all the time.
● Four women said that they had developed bad characteristics as a result of their feelings
of anger towards the authorities and their sense of helplessness.
6.4.8 Support and Services
6.4.8.1 Informal Support Networks
● The women from Kampong Speu talked with each other and their neighbors to relieve the
stress brought on by the land loss.
● Some women reported going for walks and talking with friends.
● One woman talked about how when she’s down, she talks to other women in similar
situations thus developing an informal support network.
● Religion in the form of support from monks, meditation, and chanting were mentioned as
ways of calming down. Younger women explained that this technique was used mainly
by older women in the community.
6.4.8.2 Formal Support Networks
● All of the women in Kampong Speu had received support in the form of legal support
from ADHOC, Bridge Across Borders of Cambodia, and / or Licadho. These
organizations helped the women challenge the land certificates and the appropriation of
their land.
● Counseling, advocacy, and other formal support were also provided by the three NGOs.
Many of the women also received material support including tents, food, clothing, and a
video camera to record the events.
● It was reported that an opposition official provided some practical support and
contributed some food during the protests.
● The women talked about wanting continued support to help get their land back but after
the failure of the previous endeavors. They could not see however, how this might occur.

43
● Opposition officials were supportive of the protests and occasionally joined the women.
The opposition officials suggested campaigning more widely (and globally) about the
issue of ‘blood sugar’ to encourage people to stop buying these products. In discussions
with these women, political figures recommended that further funds need to be sought to
continue the protests. These funds could also be used to provide transportation to protest
sites.
6.5 Battambang
6.5.1 Overview
● Interview Dates: November 19, 2012 to November 22, 2012
● Commune: Traing Commune
● Compensation for Land Loss: $200 per hectare
6.5.2 Background
In April 2012, 43 families from Traing commune had their land seized by Mr. Hun Sareth and
Mr. Gao Saran, the commune chief and the village chief respectively. All the families had
plantations on their land since 1982 and grew crops such as corn, cassava, and beans. In May
2011, the villagers were informed that the land they farmed belonged to Mr. Gao Saran and Mr.
Hun Sareth (commune chief and village chief). They were told to stop farming the land and the
individuals subsequently turned over their farmland. The villagers protested for four months.
Four leaders of the protest were arrested and put into jail for five months. They were released in
May 2012 after paying a fine of $700USD each. Under threat of further arrests, the commune
chief forced the villagers to thumbprint documents officially signing over their land to the two
chiefs. This is despite the fact that some of the villagers formerly received land titles from the
commune chief. However, when they brought the issue to court, the commune chief stated he
had been mistaken when he issued the villagers the land titles. The families even presented
family certificates proving their residence in the Traing Commune dating back to 1982. The prior
village chief also stood in defense of the villagers, testifying to their residence in the village
since the early 1980s. The court ultimately sided with the commune chief and the villagers lost
their land. The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights
(LICADHO) and the Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)

44
provided support to these families but both have withdrawn their services since the thumbprints
were given to the courts.
6.5.3 Economic Impacts
● All of the women who were interviewed in Battambang lost their land, cash, and income,
and their livelihoods as a result of the land grabbing and subsequent protesting. All the
women however, retained their housing.
● Many of the women reported that they had owned their land for a long time. Most of the
women interviewed in Battambang had been on the land since as early as 1982. For many
women it had been passed onto them by their parents either through inheritance or as a
marriage gift.
● Nine of the women interviewed identified themselves as farmers. Six of these same
women also referred to themselves as housewives. This likely reflects the women’s
multiple roles and responsibilities in households in rural communities in Cambodia as
both managers of households and in assisting with farming activities.
● Their economic losses came largely from their lost land, livestock (mainly cows),
demolished crops, and the loss of current and future income that could have been
generated from growing crops on that land. Some of the women reported having lost
harvestable crops during the land grab process. One woman, who recently inherited the
land after her father’s death, reported that all of the crops were dug up after the land had
been taken by the commune chief and the village chief.
● The women reported no longer having sufficiently sized plots to farm and generate
enough income to support themselves and their families. As a result of no longer being
self-sufficient, and difficulties accessing stable employment opportunities, they now
work on other people’s land as hired farm hands. All of the women interviewed in
Battambang have been hired by owners of plantations where they now pick chilies and
corn. Many of their husbands have had to resort to becoming employed as hired hands as
well. The work is irregular and dependent on the seasons.
● Some women were no longer able to send their children to school because they cannot
afford to send them or they need them at home contributing to either the additional work
or home keeping.

45
● Due to the close proximity to Thailand an option for women and families in Battambang
is to migrate across the border to find employment. Through the interviews, we found
that one woman’s husband and 20-year-old son, and another woman’s 18 year-old son
had travelled to Thailand to find employment.
6.5.3.1 Debt
● Due to additional expenses from protesting and a lower income from the loss of income
generating land, many families have been propelled into debt.
● Another woman who lost two hectares of land in the land grab reported borrowing money
to pay for transport to the protests in Phnom Penh and continues to borrow money for
such activities and another women had to sell her cow so that she could pay the costs of
attending protests against land evictions between May 2011 and April 2012.
● Seven out of the ten women interviewed in Battambang reported having to borrow money
to cover everyday costs such as food, medicine, and school fees.
● One woman borrowed money to grow crops on land that was subsequently seized, and
now the debt remains outstanding.
6.5.3.2 Protests
● Women in Battambang who were involved in protesting activities reported losing money.
Losses came as a result of the costs of attending protests, loss in income from time
diverted to protesting, and payment of fines for people who were arrested for protesting.
● One woman reported that not only did she have to borrow money to attend protests, but
she also had to pay a $500 fine to get her husband out of prison. As a result her children
have to supplement the family income by picking corn when they are not at school.
● Two women spent $700 to assist their brothers who had been arrested and imprisoned
during the protests and one woman spent two months in jail as a result of her protesting.
● The police also threatened family members of people attending the protests.
● The women described witnessing violence during the protests and one woman reported
being hit by police when they went to court to protest.

46
● All of the women interviewed in Battambang reported more frequent bouts of sadness,
worrying, and holding on to distressing thoughts and memories.
● Nine out of the ten women indicated that, as a result of the eviction event, they had
greater difficulty concentrating and remembering; trouble sleeping; greater irritability
with emotional outbursts and were less able to feel any emotions. This prevalence is
largely consistent with what was reported in other locations and the population as a whole
within this study.
6.5.4.1 Traumatic Experiences
All of the women in Battambang had experienced being roughly handled by the police (the
highest number of instances of any location in the study) and one woman had been arrested (this
was the lowest arrest figure in any of the locations).
● The women and their families have also faced threats from the commune chief and the
village chief, that if they did not stop farming on their land they would be arrested.
● All ten of the women interviewed in Battambang had frequent distressing thoughts, and
memories and more than half of them reported disturbed sleep with bad dreams after the
eviction, with one woman reporting that she’s always picturing the events of the eviction
and protests in her mind.
6.5.4.2 Worry, Fear and Anxiety
● Worry was a very common theme for the women in Battambang. All of the women
interviewed said that they worry more since the land eviction.
● In Battambang the women discussed how stress from evictions had affected their lives,
particularly family relationships (this will be discussed in sections below). There were a
few key stressors linked to the effects of evictions and protesting that were raised during
the interviews and focus groups. These included concerns regarding lost land and income
and stress resulting from new working conditions.
● In the focus groups the women said that it was almost impossible for them to survive
without their land and they feel like there is nothing they can do now to improve their
situation.

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