Kan Samin, 41, supports women facing domestic violence Battambang’s Boeung Pring village.
A view from Kan Samin’s new home, where she now lives with her husband.Kan Samin’s extended family at home in Battambang, Cambodia. Sameat holds Samin’s newborn son alongside her daughter, niece, and great-niece. Kan Sami sits with her son and husband in Battambang, Cambodia. Her husband beat her after she took out a loan for a neighbour, but the violence stopped after her sister Samin, a village assistant, intervened.Nana holds photographs documenting injuries inflicted by her former husband on her and her children. The images were used as evidence in court.Chhek Srey’s bedroom, in her home, which she once also shared with her ex-husband.Chhek Srey, 54, moves through her home in a wheelchair. A survivor of domestic abuse, she now lives with two of her children, who help care for her. Bopha, 19, stands beside the small fire pit where she burned the clothes she wore on the night she was sexually assaulted by her uncle while asleep.A flip chart at Banteay Srei, a women’s shelter in Siem Reap, illustrates the work and participation of rural women in Cambodia.A statue of a mother nursing her child stands outside a public hospital in Siem Reap.Inside the Banteay Srei NGO safehouse, where survivors of gender-based violence and their children can find temporary refuge and support. Children’s swings at a small courtyard playground at Banteay Srei NGO's Battambang branch.Chheun Saran, Safe House Program Officer at Banteay Srei NGO, has dedicated over a decade to supporting women escaping violence. She began as a volunteer and, drawing from her own experience, committed herself to helping others find safety and rebuild their lives.
Hardstories - Feature Article, 2026
Written by Sreyrath Kong
Photography by Ponita Keo
In rural Cambodia, domestic violence often stays hidden behind traditional codes about family privacy. Women like Kan Samin are creating informal networks that offer abused neighbours a path between silence and formal justice.
→ Read the full article