Domestic violence is a serious problem in Thailand, according to a government minister, which must be addressed through education.
Reducing violence will become part of the national agenda starting with a program called “People’s Voice: To End Violence” which seeks to counter any propensity to accept, ignore, or perpetuate violence against women and children, said Paveena Hongsakul of the Social Development and Human Security ministry.
November has been designated as a month to refocus these efforts to end violence against women and children, which has been on the rise. The event will be held this Sunday at the Dhupateme Royal Thai Air Force Sports Stadium, NNT reported.
Here are some statistics about domestic violence taken from women in Bangkok and Nakhon Sawan according to a 2005 study by the World Health Organization:
• 41 percent of women in Bangkok and 47 percent in Nakhonsawan experienced physical or sexual violence by an intimate partner
• 51 percent of those in Bangkok and 44 percent in Nakhon Sawan experienced injury ranging from abrasions and bruises, sprains and dislocations, ear and eye injuries, cuts, punctures, and bites to fractures.
• 31 percent of those in Bangkok required medical care, in Nakhon Sawan this was 23 percent
• 4 percent of women when pregnant experienced physical violence during a pregnancy, one-third of which reported being punched or kicked in the abdomen during pregnancy, almost always by the father of the child.
• 9 percent of all respondents in Bangkok and 5 percent in Nakhonsawan reported sexual abuse before the age of 15 years.
• Among nonvirgins, 4 percent in Bangkok and 5 percent in Nakhonsawan indicated their first sexual experience was forced
• Only 20 percent of physically abused women in Bangkok and 10 percent in Nakhonsawan ever turned to formal services (health, police, religious or local leaders, etc.) for help.
• 37 percent of physically abused women in Bangkok and 46 percent in Nakhonsawan never told anyone about the violence they had experienced. If anyone, they usually told their parents or the partner’s family.
• 44 percent of women in Bangkok and 31 percent in Nakhon Sawan only sought help because their circumstances of abuse were no longer bearable.
