FINAL REPORT CROSS-SECTOR CAMBODIA YOUTH ASSESSMENT December 21, 2019 Cover photo taken by Matya Stavnitzky This publication was produced at the request of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). It was prepared independently by Social Impact, Inc. (SI) and authored by Dr. Sarah Parkinson, Team Leader, and Elaine Stavnitzky, Senior Gender and Inclusive Development Specialist. The authors’ views expressed in this publication do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government. (PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK.) CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS II ACRONYM LIST III EXECUTIVE SUMMARY IV INTRODUCTION IV ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS IV ASSESSMENT DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY IV FINDINGS IV CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS VI 1 INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 ASSESSMENT PURPOSE 1 1.2 YOUTH IN CAMBODIA ARE AWASH IN CHANGE 1 2 ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS 3 3 ASSESSMENT DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY 4 3.1 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 4 3.2 DATA COLLECTION 4 3.3 DATA ANALYSIS 6 3.4 LIMITATIONS AND BIASES 6 4 FINDINGS 8 4.1 ECONOMIC WELL-BEING 8 4.2 MIGRATION 21 4.3 CIVIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 26 4.4 SAFETY AND WELL-BEING 34 5 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 45 5.1 ECONOMIC-WELL BEING 45 5.2 MIGRATION 46 5.3 CIVIC AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT 47 5.4 SAFETY AND WELL-BEING 48 5.5 GENDER ISSUES 50 5.6 GENERAL AND CROSS-CUTTING 51 ANNEX 1: BIBLIOGRAPHY 53 ANNEX 2: ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY 62 ANNEX 3: WORK PLAN OF ASSESSMENT ACTIVITIES 71 ANNEX 4: ASSESSMENT DESIGN MATRIX 73 ANNEX 5: LIST OF RESPONDENTS 75 ANNEX 6: DATA COLLECTION PROTOCOLS 77 ANNEX 7: SUMMARY OF FGD DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY 87 ANNEX 8: SUMMARY OF VIDEO CLIPS BY PROVINCE 92 ANNEX 9: SUMMARY DATA ON VIDEO SUBMISSIONS 103 ANNEX 10: TRANSCRIPT OF “WHAT THEY HAVE TO SAY: CAMBODIAN YOUTH SPEAK!” VIDEO 105 ANNEX 11: CONSENT SCRIPTS 110 ANNEX 12: ASSESSMENT TEAM COMPOSITION 113 ANNEX 13: STATEMENT OF WORK 114 LIST OF TABLES AND FIGURES Table 1: Summary of All Data Collection 6 Table 2: Youth Concerns from Video Submissions 9 Table 3: Key Factors in Deciding Whether to Continue Education (Summarized from FGDs) 12 Table 5: Summary Statistics for Youth Health 35 Table 6: Summary Statistics for Youth Substance Abuse 36 Table 7: Summary Table of Youth and Violence 38 Table 8: Summary Statistics on Child Marriage 38 Table 9: Summary Statistics on Child Labor 39 Table 10: Summary of Conclusions and Recommendations 51 Figure 1: Key Thematic Areas Covered by the Assessment 4 Figure 2: Geographic Distribution of Data Collection 5 Figure 3: Education Stocks and Flows in Cambodia 10 i | FINAL REPORT: CROSS-SECTOR CAMBODIA YOUTH ASSESSMENT USAID.GOV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors would like to extend their warm thanks and appreciation to the Cross-Sector Cambodia Youth Assessment (CCYA) field team members: our translators Mok Sarorng and Kim Ong, our logistician Channak Chhun, and our two youth experts Chhim Chhun and Noan Sereiboth. A special thank you to CCYA team members Sophea Seng and Sophea Touch who ably led the youth self- expression video component of this assessment and made exemplary efforts to make sure that youth from all backgrounds and experiences could have a chance to participate. Thank you to our drivers who took us to all the field locations, and especially to Lee Saron, who kindly helped us in the field in setting up our focus group discussions. Thank you to Project Director Julie Younes, Project Manager Soham Banerji, and Project Assistant Charity N. Whitehead, and the wider team at Social Impact headquarters who provided managerial, technical, and administrative support and oversight to this project. Thank you to the staff of the USAID Cambodia Mission for your support and interest, and especially to those who were able to join the CCYA team in the field. A very special thank you to Sopheap Sreng, who went above and beyond in helping the CCYA team secure contacts, and who has been consistently thoughtful, patient, and engaged throughout this assessment. Thank you to all those who gave their time and shared their thoughts with the CCYA team, and especially to the youth who participated in focus group discussions, bravely spoke up even when they felt shy, and put a lot of heart and thought into their words. For all those youth who made video and audio clips for the self-expression project, everyone who has viewed them has been deeply impressed by the clarity and power of your words. You demonstrate through your actions the great potential and thoughtfulness of Cambodian youth, and we hope that decision makers hear and respond to you in their own words and actions. USAID.GOV FINAL REPORT: CROSS-SECTOR CAMBODIA YOUTH ASSESSMENT | ii ACRONYM LIST AQ Assessment Question ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations CCYA Cross-Sector Cambodia Youth Assessment CDCS Country Development Cooperation Strategy CSES Cambodia Socio-Economic Survey CSO Civil Society Organizations C-TIP Countering Trafficking in Persons FDI Foreign Direct Investment FGD Focus Group Discussion GDP Gross Domestic Product HIV/AIDS Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome I-SAF Implementation Plan—Social Accountability Framework ICT Information and Communication Technology ILO International Labour Organization IOM International Organization for Migration KII Key Informant Interview LGBTQ Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer MCHN Maternal and Child Health and Nutrition MoEYS Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sports MoH Ministry of Health MLVT Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training MoWA Ministry of Women’s Affairs NEA National Employment Agency NGO Non-Governmental Organization OECD Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development PDP-Center People Center for Development and Peace PLWD Person(s) Living with Disability PTSD Posttraumatic Stress Disorder SAF Social Accountability Framework SRHR Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights STI Sexually Transmitted Infection TVET Technical and Vocational Education and Training UN United Nations UNFPA United Nations Population Fund UNICEF United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund USAID United States Agency for International Development UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization YRDP Youth Resource Development Program iii | FINAL REPORT: CROSS-SECTOR CAMBODIA YOUTH ASSESSMENT USAID.GOV EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Executive Summary summarizes the main document. For more details, please refer to the main document. INTRODUCTION This report presents the findings, conclusions, and recommendations from the Cross-Sector Cambodia Youth Assessment (CCYA). The CCYA is intended to inform USAID’s interventions that support, protect, prepare, empower, and engage youth and enable them to participate in addressing the development challenges of their communities and country, informing the next USAID five-year Cambodia Country Development Cooperation Strategy (CDCS), project approval documents, and activity designs. The assessment is intended to address issues that affect all youth in Cambodia, from ages 15 to 30. ASSESSMENT QUESTIONS The assessment is guided by the following four assessment questions (AQs), with special consideration to the needs of the most marginalized youth populations in both urban and rural areas: 1. What are the key opportunities and constraints that youth face in preparing for and/or attaining a livelihood, whether through formal or informal means? 2. What are the current drivers of risky youth migration (domestic and international), and what can be done to address them? 3. What factors motivate Cambodian youth to participate actively and collectively in civic and community decisions, processes, and institutions? What factors inhibit the collective activism and participation of Cambodian youth? 4. What conditions drive risk factors that threaten the safety and well-being of youth in Cambodia? These can include both internal factors, such as addictive or violent behavior, and external factors, such as drivers toward exploitation by others. ASSESSMENT DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY This study employed a literature review; key informant interviews (KIIs) with representatives from the government, donors, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and youth groups; and focus group discussions (FGDs) with youth. The study conducted most data collection in Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Ratanakiri, and Sihanoukville with additions from Kampong Cham and Kampot. A total of 25 FGDs and 36 KIIs were conducted. The assessment also included a “youth self-expression” component where youth were invited to submit short video clips about the issues that most mattered to them and their suggestions on what to do, and then vote to select the top clips from all those submitted. Youth from Phnom Penh, Siem Reap, Ratanakiri, and Kampong Thom submitted a total of 69 clips. A video compilation of 12 clips (3 each from four locations) was made. FINDINGS ECONOMIC WELL-BEING Opportunities: Cambodia’s economy is growing with much foreign direct investment, especially from China. Many jobs across multiple sectors are booming. These jobs are often gendered, with the garment sector mainly hiring women, and construction mainly hiring men. Almost half of employers surveyed by the National Employment Agency (NEA) reported facing recruitment difficulties. There is a skills gap that if addressed, means youth have many work possibilities in front of them, with relocation required for many of these. Remittances mean that there is some cash flowing into rural communities, and this USAID.GOV FINAL REPORT: CROSS-SECTOR CAMBODIA YOUTH ASSESSMENT