Incident Location (Village, Township and District)

Naw N---'s mother and father divorced when she was 10 years old [presumably in 2007]. After that, her father moved to Thailand to work in the Phop Phra area. He also remarried. Later that year, Naw N---’s aunt took her to visit him but she could not stay with him as he had a new wife. She just stayed with other people and worked as a day labourer. Her father divorced after Naw N--- had worked in Thailand for two and a half years.

In 2010, the father approached Naw N---, who was 13 at the time, and asked to live with her [as husband and wife]. The girl told him: "You cannot live with me, since I am your daughter." He replied: "Even though you are my daughter, I did not raise you when you were a baby." Then, he raped her. After the incident, she asked him: "Why did you rape me?" He replied: "I raped you because I hate your grandmother and I got my revenge through you."

Her father forbade her from talking about this incident to anyone. After the rape, she asked him to send her back to live with her mother. Instead, he brought Naw N--- back to Myanmar with him. They stayed in Myawaddy for one year. Then, he took her to K--- village, Ler Thaw Maw village tract, Noh T'Kaw Township, where she lived until 2019. She had two children and experienced one unsuccessful pregnancy while living in K--- village.

He did not allow her to call him "father". He said that if she called him "father" or talked about the case to anyone, he would kill her. He knew that if she had told anyone the truth, he would have been arrested. The victim did not tell anyone anything about her situation until May 2019, because she was scared and did not know who to trust. People from the village just knew them as husband and wife. No one knew that they were father and daughter because they were originally from another village.

He never fulfilled his responsibilities as a father or husband nor worked for the family. He would drink alcohol frequently and sometimes use drugs [yaba][5] with his friends. He often abused the victim further after drinking. The worst incident happened after she visited her neighbours on one occasion [KHRG was not able to find out the exact date]. They were moved by her suffering and they tried to find ways for her to escape. But when she got back home, her father tortured her badly. He even dug a hole in which to bury her if she visited the neighbours again.

In May 2019, she told her neighbour, Naw H---, about her situation. She is a villager who participated in a KHRG Village Agency Workshop and was chosen to report or let local authorities know about any human rights violations that happen in the village. The case was reported to the Karen Women’s Organisation (KWO) on August 7th 2019.

The victim was ultimately able to escape and reach a safe house in the O--- refugee camp [Thailand] in September 2019, while her father was in another village. She hoped the authorities would take action even though she was gone. KWO told KHRG about this and both organisations referred the case to the Noh T'Kaw Township KNU authorities and Dooplaya District KNU authorities on October 10th 2019. Before referring the case, KHRG field researchers conducted the necessary investigations to make sure that this incident happened as described. These included an interview with the victim.

The perpetrator stood trial at the Dooplaya KNU District court and he is now waiting in KNU jail for the final decision from the court. The victim now lives in the O--- refugee camp with her two sons. The KWO provides food, clothes and access to healthcare for them, and she received materials such as wood, bamboo and thatches from the camp leaders. The worries that the perpetrator will make life difficult for her and her mother if he is released from jail.