{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,4]],"date-time":"2026-05-04T00:35:42Z","timestamp":1777854942917,"version":"3.51.4"},"reference-count":65,"publisher":"SAGE Publications","issue":"13-14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,20]],"date-time":"2023-02-20T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1676851200000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["journals.sagepub.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["J Interpers Violence"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2023,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>The unwanted sexual touching of boys by adults is a form of child sexual abuse. However, the genital touching of boys may be culturally \u201cnormal,\u201d with not all instances necessarily being \u201cunwanted\u201d or \u201csexual.\u201d This study, set in Cambodia, explored the genital touching of boys and the local cultural constructions of it. It entailed ethnography, participant observation, and case studies involving 60 parents, family members, caregivers, and neighbors (18 men, 42 women) in 7 rural provinces and Phnom Penh. Informants\u2019 views, along with their use of language, proverbs, sayings, and folklore were recorded. The combination of the emotional driver for touching a boy\u2019s genitals and the physical action of doing so is \/kr\u0268\u0268t\/ (\u1782\u17d2\u179a\u17ba\u178f or \u1780\u17d2\u179a\u17ba\u178f). The motivation is usually overwhelming affection, and to socialize the boy to cover his nakedness in public. The spectrum of action ranges from light touching to grabbing and pulling. Benign and non-sexual intention is signaled by adding the Khmer predicative \/t\u02b0oammea\u0294taa\/, or \u201cnormal,\u201d as an adverb to the attributive verb \/lei\u014b\/, or play. The genital touching of boys by parents and caregivers is not necessarily sexual in nature, though it is possible that abuse can be committed despite the absence of such intention. Cultural insights are not a \u201cdefense\u201d or basis for exculpation, with each case evaluated simultaneously through cultural and rights-based lenses. There are anthropological implications in gender studies, and it is essential to have an understanding of the concept of \/kr\u0268\u0268t\/ to ensure that interventions to protect the rights of children are culturally responsive.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1177\/08862605231153894","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,20]],"date-time":"2023-02-20T07:57:09Z","timestamp":1676879829000},"page":"8235-8262","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/sage-journals-update-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Reconsidering the Unwanted Sexual Touching of Boys by Adults: An Ethnographic Study in Rural Cambodia"],"prefix":"10.1177","volume":"38","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-1734-3651","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Maurice","family":"Eisenbruch","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Monash University, Clayton, VIC, Australia"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"179","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2023,2,20]]},"reference":[{"key":"bibr1-08862605231153894","volume-title":"Centuries of childhood: A social history of family life","author":"Ari\u00e8s P.","year":"1962"},{"key":"bibr2-08862605231153894","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2466\/pr0.1990.66.2.401"},{"key":"bibr3-08862605231153894","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/08862605211013003"},{"key":"bibr4-08862605231153894","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.4324\/9781315231747"},{"key":"bibr5-08862605231153894","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/00332747.2022.2114268"},{"issue":"4","key":"bibr6-08862605231153894","first-page":"407","volume":"39","author":"Blanch H.","year":"2012","journal-title":"Social Work and Christianity"},{"key":"bibr7-08862605231153894","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00787-022-02015-5"},{"key":"bibr8-08862605231153894","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1057\/978-1-137-53312-8"},{"key":"bibr9-08862605231153894","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.13189\/sa.2014.020104"},{"key":"bibr10-08862605231153894","volume-title":"Justice and culture: Theory and practice concerning the use of culture in courtrooms. 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