Lesson 5: Victims, Perpetrators, and Coercion

When people act under extreme coercion, how should responsibility be understood?

Coercion
Complicity
Moral ambiguity
Survival strategy
Responsibility
Agency
Obedience
Duress

D2.His.16.9–12: Integrate evidence from multiple relevant historical sources into a coherent understanding of an idea or event.

D2.His.14.9–12: Analyze multiple and complex causes and effects of events in the past.

D2.Civ.10.9–12: Analyze the impact of public policy decisions on citizens and society.

Students evaluate claims, evidence, and moral reasoning in nonfiction texts. This aligns with PSAT and SAT passages that require distinguishing explanation from justification and analyzing complex human behavior.

This lesson explores the moral complexity of participation in the Khmer Rouge system. Students examine how individuals could simultaneously be victims and agents of harm, and why simplistic labels fail to capture reality. The purpose is not to excuse violence, but to understand how systems coerce participation.
DOK: 3

People in modern institutions may follow harmful policies out of fear, pressure, or lack of alternatives. This lesson invites students to consider how coercion operates today in workplaces, governments, and social groups, and where responsibility still exists.

Participation equals full moral guilt

Victims and perpetrators are always distinct groups

People always have meaningful freedom to refuse

Understanding coercion excuses violence

Case-based discussion with guided prompts

Sentence stems for students grappling with moral language

Small-group analysis before whole-class discussion

Optional extension comparing moral ambiguity across units

Short analytical response explaining how coercion complicates traditional ideas of responsibility in the Cambodian genocide.

• Reading and question worksheet

• Short case descriptions or survivor testimony excerpts

• Board or shared document for tracking arguments