Domestic violence is a family problem in Thailand
Many women in Thailand tolerate domestic violence. They don't seek help out of shame or because they want to keep their family intact. Yesterday, a hundred activists, with painted blue eyes, drew attention to the abuse of women and children and the lax attitude of society in Bangkok.
The action at the Victory Monument was a precursor to the UN International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on November 25. It is no coincidence that the subject is also central this week in the columns of Sanitsuda Ekachai (Wednesday) and Ploenpote Atthakor (Thursday) in Bangkok Post.
Both columnists come to the same conclusion following the murder of Olympic sports shooter Jakkrit Panichpatikum: the Jakkrit case shows how Thailand thinks about domestic violence. It is considered a 'family problem', which must be solved within the family.
A poll of 1.194 women in Bangkok found that 30 percent of respondents tolerate domestic violence rather than seek help. They are ashamed, they want to keep the family intact or they want to prevent their children from falling victim to a broken home.
Few women who experience long-term abuse decide to fight back, says Jadet Chaowilai, executive director of the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation. But that only exacerbates the situation. The foundation is conducting an awareness campaign this month in collaboration with the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.
Jakkrit was murdered in his Porsche last month and this week his mother-in-law (70) confessed to having ordered it. She could no longer bear the years of abuse of his wife (and children), aggravated by his drug use. Jakkrit was notorious for his violent outbursts and assault on his wife, who runs a successful beauty salon. In mid-July he was briefly detained after threatening her and his mother with a firearm.
After the mother-in-law's confession, social media exploded with play-it-yourself comments. Both the wife and the mother-in-law were beaten. Jakkrit's father said that beating women is an "ordinary matter" in Thai families. Others wondered why the wife had not left him much sooner.
The comments illustrate the complete lack of understanding of domestic violence, writes Sanitsuda. They blame the victim (Blame the victim) – as often with rape. But the woman is trapped in a hopeless situation and has nowhere to go. And when she threatens to divorce, she is threatened with death or, as in August, her fiancé and mother are killed.
Jakkrit's mother-in-law had had enough. 'I am an old woman. I want my daughter and my grandchildren to be happy. Do you understand a mother's feelings?'
There is one woman who does that, writes Sanitsuda: Jakkrit's own mother. "I understand how a mother feels," she said in her silent grief.
(Source: bangkok mail, November 12, 13 and 15, 2013)