Cambodia to Take Strict Legal Action Against Content Undermining Culture and Women's Dignity

The Ministries of Information, Women's Affairs, and Culture and Fine Arts have jointly issued a directive strictly prohibiting the production, dissemination, and re-sharing of content that undermines national culture, traditions, customs, honor, dignity, and the value of Cambodian women. The ministries noted that while they have previously issued recommendations to content creators on social media to produce and disseminate responsibly, some creators have violated these guidelines, ethical codes, and professional conscience. They pointed out that content using inappropriate language, immoral expressions, and sexually suggestive imagery of women's bodies, aimed at attracting attention, personal gain, or product sales, is severely impacting Cambodia's culture, traditions, and social morality. Such content is damaging the honor and dignity of Cambodian women and diminishing the precious values of culture, traditions, and customs that ancestors have long preserved and promoted. Particularly, adopting foreign cultural imitations by objectifying women sexually is degrading to women's value, honor, and dignity, and deviates from Cambodian traditions and culture, potentially leading to a decline in moral values and national identity among the youth. To protect the nation's culture, traditions, morality, and especially the honor, dignity, and value of women amidst the advancement of digital technology and media, the ministries are recommending the following to content creators, social media users, citizen journalists, and all media outlets: 1. Immediately cease the production, dissemination, and re-sharing of any content, whether text, audio, video, or otherwise, that uses offensive language, insults, explicit sexual references, or involves gestures mimicking obscene acts or violence contrary to Cambodian moral traditions. 2. Refrain from using women's bodies or activities related to women in a lewd and suggestive manner as a tool to attract likes, shares, views, or for product advertising to serve personal or group interests. 3. Cooperate in producing, disseminating, and re-sharing content that showcases activities and images contributing to the preservation of Cambodian national culture and traditions, and the promotion of Cambodian women's honor and value, highlighting their role in society and on the international stage. 4. Strictly avoid using images or language in advertisements for products or services that contain gender discrimination or violate the dignity of women and all individuals. 5. Social media users, citizen journalists, and all journalists must adhere to journalistic ethics and professional standards and must not produce, disseminate, or re-share content that negatively impacts the value of women. 6. Encourage the production of content that demonstrates creativity, education, life skills, art, culture, traditions, and Cambodian customs to contribute to building a knowledgeable, moral, and civilized society, and to promote gender equality in Cambodia now and in the future. The ministries emphasized that individuals or legal entities that continue to violate these directives will face strict legal action after educational measures have been taken. Source: CEN Cambodia