IRIN Asia | Khmer Rouge sexual violence survivors break silence | Cambodia | Conflict | Gender Issues | Human Rights

5.11.13

IRIN Asia | Khmer Rouge sexual violence survivors break silence | Cambodia | Conflict | Gender Issues | Human Rights: PHNOM PENH, 1 November 2013 (IRIN) - For almost 35 years, Rys Yamlas kept a secret. The memory of being taken into a forest in her native village of Ochero in Cambodia, pushed against a tree and then brutally raped by a Khmer Rouge soldier was too painful to share - until recently.

"It still hurts, but letting the world know about my story makes me feel better," Rys told IRIN after participating in a recent hearing for victims of sexual violence under the Khmer Rouge, hosted by a local NGO on the sidelines of the Khmer Rouge Tribunal.

The UN-backed Extraordinary Chamber of the Courts in Cambodia (ECCC) - commonly referred to as the Khmer Rouge Tribunal - earlier this week heard closing statements from defendants Khieu Samphan (former head of state) and Nuon Chea (chief ideologist for the Khmer Rouge).