Cambodia to host women's meeting

Cambodia to host women's meeting

CAMBODIA: Some 200 women from different religious faiths and civil society groups will gather in Cambodia next week for the first regional conference to challenge the lack of governmental action in tackling violence against women, officials said on Sunday.

The Nov. 19-Nov. 23 meeting in Phnom Penh will bring together women of Buddhist, Christian, Hindu and Muslim faiths from Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam.

It is being organized by the World Conference of Religions for Peace, said Yi Thon, acting secretary-general of the Inter- religious Council of Cambodia, an affiliate of the New York-based group. Participants plan to address "the lack of action regarding sexual violence against women" and the role women of religious faith can play in ending abuse against females in the region and the world, the organizer's statement said.

"While domestic violence is more difficult to document due to cultural acceptance, it is estimated that, around the world, at least one in every three women has been beaten, raped or suffered other abuses -- most often by someone she knows," it said.

"One in every four of these women were abused during pregnancy, endangering the lives of their unborn children as well as their own." -- AP