LGBT rights in Cambodia

Private, adult, non-commercial and consensual homosexuality is legal in Cambodia, and was never criminalised in the history of the country.[4] The age of consent is 15, regardless of gender and sexual orientation. A few aspects of the Criminal Code may impact the rights of LGBT people living in Cambodia: it is illegal in Cambodia to be a prostitute or live in the same residence as prostitutes. This becomes an issue when LGBT people live on the streets and do not have access to education. Article 298 of the Criminal Code prohibits soliciting for sex in public, even if the sexual activity will take place in private, with fines.

The Civil Code and the Law on the Marriage and Family explicitly ban same-sex marriage and do not recognise civil partnerships in Cambodia. However, there has been greater public awareness about same-sex couples since the 1990s.

Since September 1993, the Constitution of Cambodia has defined marriage as a union between one man and one woman. The provision in the Constitution related to marriage was modified in 2011 but still defines marriage as between "one husband and one wife".[5] Although, cases of same-sex marriage could still be officiated over in religious ceremonies. In one case of partnership recognition, Khav Sokha and Pum Eth were married on 12 March 1995, in the village of Kro Bao Ach Kok, in Kandal Province, where they are from. Sokha said in an interview to the Phnom Penh Post, "The authorities thought it was strange, but they agreed to tolerate it because I have three children already (from a previous marriage). They said that if we were both single (and childless), we would not be allowed to get married because we could not produce children." Thus, it was a fully acknowledged marriage, with official approval, and there was not really any reaction to it. It was a popular event, with 250 people coming to the ceremony and partying, including Buddhist monks and high officials from the province.[6]

In February 2004, the issue of LGBT rights in Cambodia was discussed by then King Norodom Sihanouk. King Sihanouk wrote on his website that he was impressed by marriage of same-sex partners in San Francisco,[7] and that if his people wished for same-sex marriage to be legalized in Cambodia, he would do so. King Sihanouk also stated that he believed that God views homosexuals, as well as transvestites, as equal because "[God loves] wide range of tastes". Current King Norodom Sihamoni also supports the legalisation of same-sex marriage.

In 2015, Council of Ministers spokesman Phay Siphan expressed support for same-sex marriage in Cambodia, by saying that current law already protects LGBT people from discrimination. The Cambodian Center for Human Rights disputed this statement and called on the Government to pass legislation in order to ensure LGBT equality.[8]

The Rainbow Community Kampuchea (Khmer: សហគមន៍ឥន្ទធនូកម្ពុជា; RoCK), with the help of local authorities, has created a formal relationship registry program, called the "Declaration of Family Relationship". According to RoCK, "the Declaration of Family Relationship is a civil contract between two people who are willing to be together and share responsibility taking care of the family, children and distribute the joint asset, as legal spouses do". By May 2018, the civil contract had been introduced to 50 communes in 15 provinces, and 21 couples had signed the forms.[9][10]

In July 2019, the Cambodian Government accepted recommendations to legalise same-sex marriage from Iceland, the Netherlands and Canada during the country's third Universal Periodic Review, which is held by the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC).[11]

By law, only married couples may adopt in Cambodia. However, local authorities tend to be quite lax, and many same-sex couples have been able to adopt children.[12]

LGBT individuals are allowed to adopt.[12]

Cambodian law does not allow for legal gender changes, nor for sex reassignment surgery.[13]

The Constitution does not expressly protect LGBT people from discrimination, but it does guarantee equal rights for all citizens, irrespective of sex or "other status". Similarly, while sex discrimination is prohibited in civil rights laws, discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity is not expressly prohibited in such areas as employment, education, health care, housing, banking or public accommodations.[4]

In 2007, Prime Minister of Cambodia Hun Sen publicly stated that he was disowning and disinheriting his adopted daughter because she is a lesbian and had married another woman.[14] However, in the same statement, Hun Sen stated that he did not want other parents to mistreat their gay children.

In 2010, the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR) established the Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Project to empower LGBT people throughout Cambodia to advocate for their rights and to improve respect for LGBT people throughout Cambodia.[15][16][17] In December 2010, the CCHR published a ground-breaking report on the situation of LGBT people in Cambodia.[18]

In January 2019, Cambodia received recommendations from Iceland, Mexico, Sweden and Uruguay to outlaw discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, and establish educational programmes and campaigns to raise awareness of LGBT people and discrimination. While Cambodia did not directly confirm whether it would enact such legislation, it did state that "the Government values and respects LGBT rights".[19]

In June 2017, the Khmer Government announced new life skill courses about sex education. The courses cover topics such as sexual health, gender-based violence, gender identity and combating discrimination against the LGBT population. They became part of the curriculum in all of Cambodia's schools in 2018.[21] Previously, LGBT activists along with the Ministry of Education were active in training more than 3,000 teachers in 20 schools across nine Cambodian provinces in ways to include LGBT issues in their classes.

Although Cambodia is considered tolerant toward the LGBT community, there are widespread reports that discrimination is still present. A July 2019 survey conducted by Rainbow Community Kampuchea, titled "Family Violence towards Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender (LBT) people in Cambodia" in which 61 LBT women (23 lesbians, 4 bisexual women and 34 trans women) were surveyed, revealed that more than 80% of the respondents had suffered emotional and physical violence from their family members, 35% had considered suicide following their families' non-acceptance, and 10% had experienced sexual violence or were forced into heterosexual marriage.[22][23][24]

In 2015, TNS Cambodia conducted a survey focused on the opinions and attitudes towards LGBT people in Cambodia. According to the survey, 55% of Cambodians were in favour of same-sex marriage, while 30% were opposed and 15% were neutral. Additionally, a majority of Cambodians reported personally knowing an openly LGBT person.[39] However, most LGBT Cambodians said they had been victim of discrimination when coming out to their families and friends.

In an interview conducted in 2018, Ith Sovannareach, founder of La Chhouk Recycled & Creative Fashion, said that "Just five or 10 years ago, Cambodians saw the LGBT community as social trash... People saw them as unnatural strangers... But now there is less discrimination, as we've seen more coverage on television and in newspapers about their capabilities."[40]

• Recognition of same-sex unions in Cambodia
• LGBT rights in Asia
• Human rights in Cambodia

• "Official website of the Cambodia Human Rights Portal (Sithi)".
• "Official website of the Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)".
• "Gay Cambodia Guide". cambodia-gay.com.
• Welbourn, Alice; Hoare, Joanna (2008). HIV and AIDS. Oxfam. p. 62. ISBN 9780855986032.