Victim, According to Whom? : - A Minor Field Study on Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of Children in Cambodia

Abstract: Cambodia is a destination, transit, and source country for child sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) and has become particularly vulnerable due to growing tourism, increasing geographic accessibility, and widespread poverty. In the aftermath of SEA, repeated violations of children's rights and deprivation of their childhood occur. This Minor Field Study was conducted on-site in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, to examine the main factors that affect the general perception of child victims exposed to SEA, in the opinion of Action Pour Les Enfants (APLE) professionals. In addition, it highlights the main issue, raised by APLE staff, regarding the absence of legitimate status of victims of SEA in Cambodia. Finally, it assesses the ideal victim theory’s explanatory power when applied to child SEA victimisation in Cambodia. Eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with APLE employees, followed by a thematic analysis. Four main themes were identified: cultural aspects, lack of education, absence of intervention, and offender characteristics. The findings of this study suggest that the assignment of legitimate victim status is highly influenced by cultural aspects and lack of education. This study further identifies the absence of intervention as the key issue of not being assigned legitimate victim status. Finally, the findings suggest that the ideal victim theory overall offers great explanatory value to the absence of legitimate status of child victims of SEA in Cambodia. However, some theoretical limitations are evident.