Situation of Children

URBAN POOR SETTLEMENT: Urban poor settlement is defined as “a group of ten or more adjacent households whose housing structures are of visibly poor quality, and/or whose homes have been laid out in a non-conventional fashion without adherence to a ground plan. In addition to the UN Habitat’s definition of slum (http://mirror.unhabitat.org/documents/media_centre/sowcr2006/SOWCR%205.pdf), they are also characterized by the lack of durable housing of a permanent nature that adequately protects its residents against extreme climate conditions; lack of sufficient living space or not more than three people sharing the same room; lack easy access to safe water in sufficient amounts at an affordable price, lack of access to adequate sanitation against the number of users; and, the lack of security of tenure and threat of forced eviction.
The common primary construction materials used for homes in the urban poor settlements were low quality mixed materials that are constructed non-permanently. The common access to the poor settlements is through a small alley or path wide enough to fit one motorbike. The area has no system of drainage for rain or human waste. The settlements are affected by flooding at least once during the last three rainy seasons. The households have access to toilet facilities, but likely shared and not by individual household unit. The settlement has pipe connection to the Phnom Penh Water Supply Authority (PPWSA) but not as individual households. Similarly, the settlements are connected to the state electricity network but informally rigged per household.

VIOLENCE AGAINST CHILDREN AND WOMEN: Violence against children and women is still a serious and insidious issue. No comprehensive statistics can determine the exact number of children and women who suffer from violence. However, it is clear that some of the worst forms of violence committed against women (such as domestic violence, rape and trafficking of women and children) occur in daily life.