Background and Rationale
Voice is a consortium between Oxfam Novib (Netherlands) and Hivos whereby funding is made available by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to target the most marginalised and discriminated groups. Oxfam in Cambodia delivers Voice project on behalf of this consortium. This document is the in depth contextual analysis for Voice programming in Cambodia and it serves as the baseline context analysis for Voice project. In Cambodia, these groups amongst others have been identified as 1) people with disabilities; 2) lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) people; 3) women facing exploitation, abuse and violence; 4) age-discriminated vulnerable groups, notably the young and the elderly; and 5) indigenous groups and ethnic minorities.
Voice aims to strengthen the capacity of civil society organisations and representatives of these groups to increase their participation in mainstream development processes. Since the most marginalised and discriminated groups are often hard to reach via regular programming Voice promotes the use of innovative ideas and strategies to empower these groups and to have their voices heard and respected. The programme has two main components:
- A grant facility to provide financial support to groups and organisations
- Linking and learning programme that will nurture learning and innovation across countries and groups.
The long-term outcome of this programme is: To strengthen and empower the capacity of civil society organizations and the marginalized groups in Cambodia for their voice to be heard and respected by way of innovative ideas for lobbying and advocacy.
There are often difficulties in reaching and raising the voice of the targeted people which are often the result of multiple barriers also called ‘intersecting inequalities’. Four core dimensions of marginalisation that overlap and reinforce each other have been identified as: social exclusion, economic exclusion, spatial exclusion, and political exclusion. A cross cutting dimension to these four exclusions is gender where women and girls are affected twice as much as any other group due to cultural and social norms.
Objective of the Context Analysis
The objective of this context analysis is to provide an in-depth analysis of the current situation and policy environment in Cambodia of the following groups within the five above mentioned targeted marginalised and discriminated groups.
Methodology
The context analysis was completed using a standard research process including a desk review, key informant interviews with government and civil society organisations, and focus group discussion with each target group. The full methodology and listing of key informants is available at Oxfam in Cambodia, Info.Cambodia@oxfam.org.