Violence against women in Thailand

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Violence against women in Thailand includes but is not limited to domestic violence, rape, sex trafficking, and murder. Violence against women impacts the individual as well as the family in long-term psychological and physical manners.

Contents

Gender traditionalism and other Thai cultural values and practices in Thailand shape and perpetuate violence against women in Thailand. [1]

Types of violence

Domestic violence

In 2013, the Ministry of Public Health reported 31,866 domestic violence cases in Thailand. [2] The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes domestic violence in intimate partner relationships where there is emotion, physical, and/or sexual abuse. [2] According to a study conducted in 2005 by the WHO, 1 in 6 Thai women in heterosexual intimate partner relationships have experienced or encountered domestic violence in their lifetime. [2] The percentage of Thai women who experienced domestic violence in this study is significantly higher than the 2.9% that a 2009 study conducted by the Reproductive Health Survey in 2009 found. However, the 2009 study only asked one question about physical partner violence versus the several questions asked in the WHO survey. [3] Overall, this study concluded that domestic violence is a serious problem and public health issue that should be addressed by Thai society since its findings determined that the effects of domestic violence impact Thai women's overall quality of life and extend beyond the realm of health. The study surveyed Thai women in central, southern, northern, and northeastern Thailand through simple random sampling. The study reported that there are three forms of domestic violence: psychological, physical, and sexual.

Lower socioeconomic income of Thai women in relationships and their decision-making power in relationships have a positive correlation to higher chances of domestic violence. [1]

Psychological and physical

According to the study conducted by the WHO in 2005, 60-68% of the Thai women who have faced domestic violence reported to have experienced psychological violence. These violences included being insulted or made to feel bad, being humiliated or belittled, and being threatened to hurt. [3]

52-65% of the Thai women who faced domestic violence reported to have experienced physical violence in 2005. These violent acts included being slapped or thrown, pushed or shoved, hit with a fist, kicked, dragged or beaten, burned, or threatened to use a weapon. [3]

Sexual

62-63% of Thai women who have experienced domestic violence reported to have experienced sexual violence in 2005. These acts included being physically forced to have sex, sexual intercourse prompted by fear, being forced to do degrading or humiliating sexual activity. [3] In 2017, a study approved by the Ethics Review Committee for Research Involving Human Research Subject at Chulalongkorn University found that psychological and physical violence were actually more prevalent than sexual violence. This difference in results between 2005 and 2017 can be due to new policies and campaigns against domestic violence launched in Thailand in the past 10 years before the study was conducted. In 2007, criminal law B.E. 2550 section 276 shifted its language surrounding who can legally be considered a victim of sexual assault/abuse. The language before 2007 stated, "any person who commits sexual intercourse with a woman who is not his wife, and against the latter's will, by threatening her, or doing any act of violence..., shall be punished to imprisonment..." The law omitted the phrase "with a woman who is not his wife", in order to legally recognize victims of sexual assault or abuse whose rapist was their husband. [2]

Rape

According to statistics provided by the Royal Thai Police, there were 2,535 rape cases reported in 2017. While this number was lower than the 3,240 rape cases reported in 2015, there was a significant rise from the 2,109 rape cases reported in 2016. In an effort to raise awareness surrounding rape and sexual assault and to reduce its frequency, the Crime Suppression Division or CSD recognized rapists in Thailand as "No.1 public enemy". [4] According to the literature, rape in Thailand is typically characterized as a violent act done onto women by men. However, in 2019, the CSD chief, Pol Maj Gen Jirabhop, reported that in recent years, reported rapes have been more varied. Jirabhop mentioned many rape victims are under-aged and some rapes are even being committed by monks. [4] In a 2016 Op-Ed column written in the Bangkok Post, Paisarn Likhitpreechakul mentioned that many lesbian women in Thailand are raped as a corrective "cure" to their sexual orientation. [5]

Impact

On individuals

In 2017, 29% of women who are victims of domestic violence reported that they were hospitalized as consequence of domestic violence. 26.1% were forced to have sexual intercourse after fighting/arguing with their partner. 46.7% of women who are victims of domestic violence in Thailand reported to have been physically injured. These injuries included cuts/bites (15.9%), scratch/bruises (74.8%), sprains (56.1%), burns/deep cuts (6.5%), broken eardrum or eye injuries (11.2%), and broken bones/teeth (6.5%). The impact of domestic violence against women in Thailand extends beyond physical injury. 61% of women who are victims of domestic violence reported that they could not concentrate at work following their experience(s) with domestic violence. 12.2% reported that they had to take a day's leave from work, 23.9% reported loss of confidence and low self-esteem, 12.2% reported they did not go to work because of shame, and 9.5% reported that their partner stalked them while at work. [2]

On families

In 2017, 49.6% of women who experienced domestic violence reported that their children witnessed the violence. These women expressed their anxieties that their children would perpetuate the cycle of domestic violence in their lifetimes. [2]

Perpetuation of violence against women

Gender traditionalism

There are traditional socialized gender roles, and a patriarchal system that created and foster them, in Thailand. Two major sources of gender traditionalism are Thai Buddhism and traditional Thai family values. [1]

Thai Buddhism

Buddhism is not Thailand's official religion, but 93% of the Thai population is Buddhist. Thailand's 2017 constitution mandates that the Thai government assists the Theravada school of Buddhism and guards Buddhism against all forms of desecration. [6] Within Thai Buddhism, women are inherently inferior to men. Women's major role in Thai Buddhism is to provide support for monks (who are always men) and temple activities—this, along with providing offering, is one of the only ways for a woman to earn religious merit. Women's "lower karma" subjects them to a life of suffering from which they should endure with bravery so that they can eventually be reborn as a man in their next lifetime. Women in Thailand who've experienced domestic violence are often given advice from Buddhist monks to be patient and compassionate with their perpetrators as the victims' suffering is a product of bad karma from a past life. [1]

Thai family values

In traditional Thai families, husbands are subjected to the role of head and master of the household. Wives are subjected to roles of being gentle, pure, obedient, and subordinate in relation to the husband. These roles can be traced back to eighteenth and nineteenth century legislation in Thailand that recognized wives as property of husbands that could be subjected to corporal punishment or sold. [1]

More traditional Thai family values emphasize the dichotomy of public and private in Thailand. Families are encouraged by tradition to keep family conflicts and problems within the family in order to maintain family honor. Families are also encouraged by tradition to hide their expression of feelings and thoughts to others. [1]

Thai television dramas (lakhon)

Rape and other forms of sexual violence are highly prevalent in Thai television dramas or lakhon , which are one of the main forms of domestic primetime television entertainment. Sexual violence is often portrayed in lakhon as being administered by then men as a justified act to women who misbehaved—especially in the "revenge" genre of lakhon. Sexual violence in lakhon are often justified in the show as consequence to bad karma or fate and gendered social punishment—painting the sexual violence as inevitable and ethical. [7]

Related Research Articles

Sexual assault is an act in which one intentionally sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their will. It is a form of sexual violence that includes child sexual abuse, groping, rape, drug facilitated sexual assault, and the torture of the person in a sexual manner.

Acquaintance rape is rape that is perpetrated by a person who knows the victim. Examples of acquaintances include someone the victim is dating, a classmate, co-worker, employer, family member, spouse, counselor, therapist, religious official, or medical doctor. Acquaintance rape includes a subcategory of incidents labeled date rape that involves people who are in romantic or sexual relationships with each other. When a rape is perpetrated by a college student on another student, the term campus rape is sometimes used.

Some victims of rape or other sexual violence incidents are male. It is estimated that approximately one in six men experienced sexual abuse during childhood. Historically, rape was thought to be, and defined as, a crime committed solely against females. This belief is still held in some parts of the world, but rape of males is now commonly criminalized and has been subject to more discussion than in the past.

Sexual violence is any sexual act or attempt to obtain a sexual act by violence or coercion, act to traffic a person, regardless of the relationship to the victim. It occurs in times of peace and armed conflict situations, is widespread, and is considered to be one of the most traumatic, pervasive, and most common human rights violations.

Rape can be categorized in different ways: for example, by reference to the situation in which it occurs, by the identity or characteristics of the victim, and by the identity or characteristics of the perpetrator. These categories are referred to as types of rape. The types described below are not mutually exclusive: a given rape can fit into multiple categories, by for example being both a prison rape and a gang rape, or both a custodial rape and the rape of a child.

Rape by gender classifies types of rape by the sex and/or gender of both the rapist and the victim. This scope includes both rape and sexual assault more generally. Most research indicates that rape affects women disproportionately, with the majority of people convicted being men; however, since the broadening of the definition of rape in 2012 by the FBI, more attention is being given to male rape, including females raping males.

Rape is a traumatic experience that affects the victim in a physical, psychological, and sociological way. Even though the effects and aftermath of rape differ among victims, individuals tend to suffer from similar issues found within these three categories. Long-term reactions may involve the development of coping mechanisms that will either benefit the victim, such as social support, or inhibit their recovery. Seeking support and professional resources may assist the victim in numerous ways.

Statistics on rape and other sexual assaults are commonly available in industrialized countries, and have become better documented throughout the world. Inconsistent definitions of rape, different rates of reporting, recording, prosecution and conviction for rape can create controversial statistical disparities, and lead to accusations that many rape statistics are unreliable or misleading.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rape</span> Type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse without consent

Rape is a type of sexual assault involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or against a person who is incapable of giving valid consent, such as one who is unconscious, incapacitated, has an intellectual disability, or is below the legal age of consent. The term rape is sometimes used interchangeably with the term sexual assault.

Violence against women in Peru is defined as harassment or violence propagated against those who are born women. Intimate partner violence (IPV) is the most common form of gender-based violence that occurs though it can occur concurrently with sexual and emotional violence.

Intimate partner sexual violence (IPSV) deals with sexual violence within the context of domestic violence. Intimate partner sexual violence is defined by any unwanted sexual contact or activity by an intimate partner in order to control an individual through fear, threats, or violence. Women are the primary victims of this type of violence.

There are many theories explaining the causes of sexual violence. These theories include military conquest, socioeconomics, anger, power, sadism, traits, ethical standards, laws, and evolutionary pressures that lend some explanation to the causes of sexual violence. Most of the research on the causes of sexual violence has only been done on male offenders and has been target of criticism.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestic violence in India</span>

Domestic violence in India includes any form of violence suffered by a person from a biological relative but typically is the violence suffered by a woman by male members of her family or relatives. Although Men also suffer Domestic violence, the law under IPC 498A specifically protects only women. Specifically only a woman can file a case of domestic violence. According to a National Family and Health Survey in 2005, total lifetime prevalence of domestic violence was 33.5% and 8.5% for sexual violence among women aged 15–49. A 2014 study in The Lancet reports that although the reported sexual violence rate in India is among the lowest in the world, the large population of India means that the violence affects 27.5 million women over their lifetimes. However, an opinion survey among experts carried out by the Thomson Reuters Foundation ranked India as the most dangerous country in the world for women.

Domestic violence is prominent in Nigeria as in other parts of Africa. There is a deep cultural belief in Nigeria that it is socially acceptable to hit a woman as a disciplinary measure. Cases of Domestic violence are on the high and show no signs of reduction in Nigeria, regardless of age, tribe, religion, or even social status. The CLEEN Foundation reports 1 in every 3 respondents admitting to being a victim of domestic violence. The survey also found a nationwide increase in domestic violence in the past 3 years from 21% in 2011 to 30% in 2013. A CLEEN Foundation's 2012 National Crime and Safety Survey demonstrated that 31% of the national sample confessed to being victims of domestic violence.

Domestic violence in Kenya constitutes any harmful behavior against a family member or partner, including rape, assault, physical abuse, and forced prostitution. Domestic violence in Kenya reflects worldwide statistics in that women are the overwhelming majority of victims. Over 40% of married women in Kenya have reported being victims of either domestic violence or sexual abuse. Worldwide, over 30% of "ever-partnered women" aged 15 and older have experienced physical or sexual partner violence. The distinct factors and causes of this high percentage have often not been studied due to lack of data.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sexual violence in Finland</span> Overview of sexual violence in Finland

Sexual violence is defined as the use of force or manipulation to get someone to engage in unwanted sexual activity without his or her consent. Such violence takes place in both heterosexual and homosexual relationships, as well as outside intimate relationships. All sexual offenses violate the basic right of sexual self-determination. In Finland, sexual violence and taking advantage of a person is always a crime, even if the assaulter was the victim's spouse, relative or their friend. Sexual offences include but are not limited to rape, forcing someone into a sexual act and taking sexual advantage of a person. The victims of sexual violence are predominantly women, but 26 percent of Finnish men have experienced sexual harassment since their 15th birthday.

Domestic violence within lesbian relationships is the pattern of violent and coercive behavior in a female same-sex relationship wherein a lesbian or other non-heterosexual woman seeks to control the thoughts, beliefs, or conduct of her female intimate partner. In the case of multiple forms of domestic partner abuse, it is also referred to as lesbian battering.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Domestic violence in same-sex relationships</span>

Domestic violence in same-sex relationships is a pattern of violence or abuse that occurs within same-sex relationships. Domestic violence is an issue that affects people of any sexuality, but there are issues that affect victims of same-sex domestic violence specifically. These issues include homophobia, internalized homophobia, HIV and AIDS stigma, STD risk and other health issues, lack of legal support, and the violence they face being considered less serious than heterosexual domestic violence. Moreover, the issue of domestic violence in same-sex relationships has not been studied as comprehensively as domestic violence in heterosexual relationships. However, there are legal changes being made to help victims of domestic violence in same-sex relationships, as well as organizations that cater specifically to victims of domestic violence in same-sex relationships.

Violence against women in the United States is the use of domestic abuse, murder, sex-trafficking, rape and assault against women in the United States. It has been recognized as a public health concern. Culture in the United States has led towards the trivialization of violence towards women, with media in the United States possibly contributing to making women-directed violence appear unimportant to the public.

Violence against women is a serious problem in Malaysia. Reports of physical, psychological, emotional, and sexual abuse of women has been on the rise since the early 1980's. The most common form of violence being domestic violence.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Xiaohe Xu; Kerley, Kent R.; Sirisunyaluck, Bangon (November 2010). "Understanding Gender and Domestic Violence From a Sample of Married Women in Urban Thailand". Journal of Family Issues. 32 (6): 791–819. doi:10.1177/0192513x10386306. ISSN   0192-513X. S2CID   146142422.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 M, Chuemchit; S, Chernkwanma; R, Somrongthong; Dl, Spitzer (2018-09-01). "Thai women's experiences of and responses to domestic violence". International Journal of Women's Health. 10: 557–565. doi: 10.2147/IJWH.S172870 . ISSN   1179-1411. PMC   6166756 . PMID   30310331.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Chuemchit, Montakarn; Chernkwanma, Suttharuethai; Rugkua, Rewat; Daengthern, Laddawan; Abdullakasim, Pajaree; Wieringa, Saskia E. (2018-07-01). "Prevalence of Intimate Partner Violence in Thailand". Journal of Family Violence. 33 (5): 315–323. doi:10.1007/s10896-018-9960-9. ISSN   1573-2851. PMC   5986850 . PMID   29904232.
  4. 1 2 Bangkok Post Public Company Limited. "Rapists get 'No.1 enemy' tag". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  5. ↑ Bangkok Post Public Company Limited. "We need to fight homophobia at home". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 2019-11-09.
  6. ↑ "The Dangerous Buddhist Card in Thailand's New Constitution". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2019-11-10.
  7. ↑ Townsend, Rebecca (October 2016). "Prisoner of love: sexual violence on Thai television". Critical Asian Studies. 48 (4): 579–596. doi:10.1080/14672715.2016.1231011. ISSN   1467-2715. S2CID   152213206.
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