A Thammasat University law student shared the story of her sexual assault online over the weekend in hopes of encouraging other victims to come forward and report assaults.
She wrote, in a heartfelt public Facebook post, that she hoped victims would not keep quiet about these crimes.
Thararat Panya shared the story of how an older student in her law program allegedly assaulted her. Her post included intimate details of what she said happened and a copy of a university report showing that the other student was punished with a semester-long suspension and community service sentence for “inappropriate behavior,” reported The Nation.
Thararat shared that she was intoxicated on the night of the event and was with several other drunk students, as well as her alleged attacker, someone she trusted, in the dorms.
“Fortunately, I had the opportunity to kick him and push him away. I got off the bed and cried. I didn’t know what to do. Everything happened when the rest of my friends were asleep,” she shared. She said that later, when confronted, her attacker said he had not meant to assault her and blamed his actions on his inebriation.
Thararat wrote, “Being drunk is not an excuse. Being drunk does not give you the right to mistreat others.”
Despite getting as much online backlash as praise for coming forward, the student said her intention was to encourage and empower assault victims, not to embarrass her attacker.
“I’m confident that I’m not the first victim of sexual assault by another student. Sadly, many victims have chosen not to speak up and take action. They let the incidents go away because they are embarrassed and they did not want to recall what happened.”
“We do not need to be embarrassed. Those perpetrators, instead, should be embarrassed.”
“By posting about it, I didn’t mean to shame my the person who sexually assaulted me, but I want to empower the victims of sexual assault and encourage them to speak up.”
The post sparked a large-scale conversation online after it was shared by ever-popular Facebook page “Queen of Spades.”
Some commenters victim-blamed by saying Thararat left herself vulnerable by being drunk and alone with a man, others blamed her attacker for allowing himself to get drunk enough to be unable to control his actions.
Some of the most sensible comments said to watch out for your friends when they are drunk and don’t leave them on their own.
