Human Rights

The Cambodian people have seen massive shifts of the pendulum when it comes to their art, architecture and music. 

Creating safe spaces for queer people is critical in the fight for equality and for them to have a voice. It took a police crackdown at the Stonewall Inn — one of the few bars in New York’s Greenwich Village that welcomed the queer community — for members of the community to stand against the violence they faced, demand an end to discrimination and spark the global Pride movement.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Kamsort Khoeun, a poet, visited children and families living around the Stung Meanchey dump site in Phnom Penh. Interacting with the community gave him a better understanding of the challenges faced by families who relied on picking waste from the dump site. 

It is not an unusual sight to see narrow beams of light scanning the streets around markets every evening in Phnom Penh. The beams of light move from one pile of trash to another, occasionally stopping to see if there is any plastic, aluminum or recyclable waste.

Art plays a central role in raising awareness of social inequalities and injustices and can be used to advocate for disenfranchised people and communities where power structures suppress dissent or activism.

Cambodians from the LGBTQIA+ community face stigmatization and discrimination, and do not have access to the legal protections they are entitled to under universal human rights which are endorsed by the Cambodian government.

Talking about sex, pregnancy, abortions or menstrual health is rarely handled well in our homes or society and is often dealt with as an uncomfortable or stigmatized experience that everyone would rather ignore than deal with. In Cambodia, some of these moral and societal norms come from traditional diktats like chbap srey which sets out a code of conduct for women and explicitly shames their sexual activity. 

Cheng Sambath sits to the left of Hun Heim and Lim Borin, who is hosting the radio show. The Kampong Cham resident is talking to them about coming out as gay to their parents. He talks about how the experience nearly ended his parent’s marriage and ruptured his relationship with his family.