Transgender woman speaks out on sex abuses, Khmer Rouge trials

Weeping as she spoke, Southevy said that while she was in these prisons she was repeatedly sexually assaulted and gang raped by Khmer Rouge officials and cadres.

Although she cannot reveal all of the details, many of which are the subject of the official complaint to the tribunal, she was also forced to have her hair cut and wear men’s clothing.

"If I had not followed these orders I would have been killed," she said. "I was forced to marry a woman and after ten days they [the Khmer Rouge] investigated whether it was a genuine marriage -- that is they tested whether we had had sexual intercourse."

Forced marriages were a common occurrence during the Khmer Rouge regime.

"I was just one of many transgender victims, a lot of them died during the regime," said Southevy. "I am lucky to have survived and be able to tell my story."

"It is time to dispel the widespread myth that sexual violence did not occur under the Khmer Rouge," said Silke Studzinsky, Southevy’s lawyer.