Warning: This story contains references to a child’s assault, which may be disturbing for some readers.
12-year-old Socheata came from a very broken home. After her mother died in childbirth, Socheata was left in the care of her father, who struggled with severe violence and drug addiction. He frequently beat Socheata and kept her from attending school. And on one terrifying March evening, Socheata experienced a horror that no child should endure — her father’s friend raped her.
Weeks later, a local child protection NGO brought Socheata to AHC for a medical checkup. Her body was scarred and bruised. She struggled to eat or maintain her hygiene. She recoiled in fear when someone came near her and suffered crushing panic attacks. She’d also developed an excruciating social phobia, especially around men.
Though Socheata had yet to tell anyone what she’d endured, her clear trauma compelled our doctors to screen for sexually transmitted diseases. After a clean test and thorough physical examination, the doctors sent her to talk to our medical social work team.
The team patiently built a relationship and established trust with Socheata over several counselling sessions that week. For days, she couldn’t say a word about what’d happened. Still, the counsellors refused to give up. By the end of the week, Socheata felt comfortable sharing her story. Understanding the complexity of her trauma, the team decided to offer Socheata long-term counselling while she stayed at the Siem Reap Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation Center.
In the meantime, the team conducted an extensive investigation to find her a safe home, as she was clearly not safe returning to her father.
Eventually, they concluded that Socheata could live with her older sister, Mealea. To aid her through the shock and transition, they offered Mealea counselling as well.
Over the next year, AHC’s counsellors worked to help Socheata process her trauma and overcome her debilitating fears. Over time, Socheata learned to feel confident and safe. She built a strong and loving relationship with Mealea. And after over a year of counselling, Socheata no longer showed any major signs of mental illness. With this amazing progress, our medical social work team has been working with the Ministry to finally get Socheata into school.
“Socheata’s shown so much strength getting to where she is today,” marvelled Loy Champa, AHC’s Medical Social Work Team Leader. “After the support we’ve given her at AHC, I’m so happy that she can now end her counselling. But we’ll always be here if she wants to come back.”
Tragically, Socheata’s story is not unique. Five percent of children in Cambodia suffer sexual abuse, and half suffer severe physical violence. For so long, the lack of trained social workers in the country has left little hope for these young victims. Across Cambodia, there are an average of only two social workers serving every 25,000 people.
No child deserves what Socheata has endured. And while these holistic care services are rare in Cambodia, our medical social work team is a critical lifeline for children who’ve been abused. With our trained staff and strong partnerships with local child protection organisations, AHC is well-equipped to provide children like Socheata with the attentive, compassionate care they need and deserve.
