frond

A really sad story that seems to tie-in with the many posts on domestic violence on this forum. I wonder what the outcome would be for farang women polled regarding domestic violence would be. Frankly, I'm disgusted by any man that would do something like this to a woman. They aren't human...they're scum.

Thai women among world’s most abused, survey says

Published on November 25, 2005

The first ever global study on domestic violence has revealed that physical abuse by an intimate partner is the most common form of violence against women and is more widespread than assault or rape by strangers or acquaintances.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) study revealed the massive toll that physical and sexual violence by husbands and partners has on the health and well being of women around the world and the extent to which such violence is hidden.

In Thailand, about 65 per cent of all women who have been physically or sexually assaulted have had the acts perpetrated by their partners.

The study was conducted among 24,000 women from rural and urban areas in Thailand, Bangladesh, Brazil, Ethiopia, Japan, Namibia, Peru, Serbia and Montenegro, Samoa and Tanzania.

Thailand ranked fourth among the 10 countries, with Ethiopia on top with a rating of 91 per cent.

“The first ever conducted in Thailand on this issue, the study has given us a better understanding of the extent of violence that women experience here, said Dr Churnrurtai Kanchanachitra from Mahidol University, a member of the study team.

“The findings helped us develop a national plan for the elimination of violence against women and children,” he said.

Dr Claudia Garcia Moreno, WHO’s study coordinator, said domestic violence can be prevented and governments and communities need to mobilise to fight this widespread public-health crisis.

The study found that a quarter to one half of the respondents who were physically assaulted by their partners were twice as likely to have poor health and physical and mental problems as non-abused women, even if the violence occurred years before.

This includes suicidal thoughts and attempts, the study claimed.

Women who were physically or sexually abused by a partner were also more likely to have had at least one induced abortion or miscarriage than those who were not abused.

Although pregnancy is often considered a time when women should be protected, in most study locations between 4 and 12 per cent of women reported being beaten during pregnancy More than 90 per cent of those were abused by the father of the unborn child and between a quarter and half of them were kicked or punched in the abdomen..

The abuse remains largely hidden with at least 20 per cent of the women interviewed revealing that they never reported physical violence against them.

Despite the health consequences, between 55 per cent and 95 per cent never sought help from formal agencies such as health clinics, police or other people in authority. Those who did seek formal support tended to be the most severely abused.

http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2005/11/25...s_19253711.html

we can go out to eat together, movies, chit chat, we have amiable personalities...but do i actually know him?

I felt that way too when I first started going out with my girlfriend. I know I might get criticized over writing this but I think most of Thai people's discourse stays "on the surface" of things. What we think of as being "deep" topics of conversation aren't a part of common, everyday banter. Emotions are, by nature, passing things. Perhaps your situation could have something to do with not having a good grasp of each other's languages. Give it some time.

Getting to "know" him isn't important. All of that information is in the past, so think more of what he does now.

That's right.

I came crawling out from under the rocks, did I?

I

don't want to badmouth Thai men, but most that I've met

"most that I've met" is not

a pretty sweeping generalization

. And notice I use the word "met"--in other words...I know them! I'm not here to bash Thai men, so don't get the wrong idea. I have NO REASON TO.

Seems that alot of farang men are with Thai women who have left unsuccessful relationships with a Thai man and therefor assume that all Thai men are bad.

I hope you're not referring to me--such is not the case.

In every relationship it takes two to tango and rarely is one person the sole culprit/bad guy.

Agree 100%.

Just commenting on the posts I've read here written by farang women who get beaten up by their Thai boyfriends, and adding in what I've observed personally. If anything I feel very sympathetic to them and again I'm not here to bash anyone. Seems like there's enough going on already.

TV is boring no matter what's on!

I use the word "some" throughout my post, not "all."

you presume that all farang women are putting up with this?

Not a presumption that "all" farang women put up with this.

I agree, people are more likely to post something negative than positive, unfortunately. I'm just commenting on the threads I've read in this section, not making any wide sweeping generalizations (I challenge you to find one in my post) about Thai men.

Sorry to have offended. Carry on.

farang

And he's never been punished for doing this. He even ran for Prime Minister! Ah, to be a rich, well-connected Thai...you can get away with anything.

I'm perplexed by the amount of abuse foreign women have to deal with coming from their Thai partner. I know it's not the same for every relationship of course, but from reading these posts I'm frankly shocked. Not shocked that it happens--I've seen domestic violence spilling into the streets, as well as my mother-in-law's fights with her husband--so I know that some Thai men can be quite violent. I'm shocked that foreign women put up with it for so long. I don't want to badmouth Thai men, but most that I've met--from the factory worker to the rich Chinese/Thai--all have the propensity to be violent, cheat, and abuse to a high degree. And some of them seem to be lacking in the logic department as well.

I've also noticed that many foreign women meet Thai men in bars, Khao San, and especially Ko Samui. They also seem to support their Thai boyfriends monetarily and have to put up with cheating and extremely baby-ish behavior, not to mention possible physical abuse.

So many Thai men seem to be like bombs waiting to go off, especially when they're 'caught in the act,' or push things too far and it's pointed out to them. Alcohol contributes to this as well, and men here seem to like their drink.

Same thing happened to TWO of my co-workers. One of them quit because she was battered pretty badly, shook up, and in hiding! The other went out with a Thai movie star and was pretty traumatized by the event.

Not sure why anyone stays in an abusive relationship. Some women do bbecasue they were abused as children and grow thinking that's the way relationships are.

They aren't.

Good luck in your new, healthy, safe life.

Many times since I've been living here I've been told that rich people are rich because of "good karma." With this type of logic it would mean that a poor person is "bad" because of mistakes in their past lives. Ok.

It seems like this type of attitude is helpful in controlling society by putting people in their place, i.e. the rich person should be respected because he/she's on top, the poor person should be defiled because he's/she's at the bottom. Everyone accepts their fate and never seeks a change. It is a great method of control, but is it true to Buddhist philosophy?

Wat Bang Phra

NAKORN CHAISRI

50 km west of Bangkok.

...not sure about the date. Sometime in November or March?? From the photos it looks pretty amazing and intense!

I would say Neilson Hays Library, but it's not really a social club. Maybe call the British Club (which is next door to the NH Library).

I've neither hears of anything like this, neither from my thai or farang friends.

Hopefully your Thai friends make more than the minimum wage.

Ok, my numbers are a tad off...and so is this thread (instigated by me...sorry).

Thousands protest in Bangkok for minimum wage increase

Posted: 4:00 PM | Jul. 18, 2005

Agence France-Presse

printable version email a story write the editor feedback

Get INQ7 business breaking news on your Smart mobile phone in the Philippines. Send EXTRA BUSINESS to 386.

BANGKOK--About 3,000 people demonstrated outside Thailand's Government House on Monday calling for an increase in the minimum wage, police said.

Thousands of members from the Labor Association of Thailand and State Enterprise Labor Association carried colorful banners as they marched to call for an increase to 233 baht a day from 175 baht effective October 1.

"We should receive the increased wage so that we can survive," said Vilaiwan Sae Tiea, the solidarity working committee chairman.

"Even the Prime Minister [Thaksin Shinawatra] thinks people should earn at least 233 baht a day."

The protesters also asked the government to curb prices. Inflation hit 3.8 percent in June -- a six-year high.

Thaksin on July 12 announced five percent increases in civil servants' salaries and retirees' pensions as part of a massive economic stimulus package.

Thaksin said the minimum daily wage may be increased by six baht for workers in Bangkok effective August 1, but any increase remains to be negotiated between employees, employers and the government.

Thaksin has given the minimum wage a 6 baht increase for workers in Bangkok. That should be able to buy a pack of Wrigleys chewing gum (with one baht change)! After 4 days of work laborers can buy a bowl of noodles! How generous!

Workers in Prachuap Khirikhan will get the highest rate of 8 baht.Those in Bangkok and its suburban areas will get a 6-baht increase, while there will be no increase in the rate in the southern province of Narathiwat.

http://www.biz-day.com/read/economy/18_jul...near_demand.htm

Looks like some people in the South of Thailand will get stiffed... And the govt wonders why there are problems down there??

Agree. I'm definitely part of "Population #1" although I haven't been to a bar in months, nor have I been drunk even at home. How about "Population Good Boy #1"?

If I were working hard as a policeman in Leith seeing all these rich Asians spending in one night what I earn in 1 month, I would be pretty jealous, especially if they had no respect for my country's culture.

Shall we blame Westerners for this disparity in wages? It's a little more complex than this. Maybe Scottish police should start extracting money from passing motorists for alleged violations!?

There was a recent request to the Thai govt to increase the daily wage from 170 baht to 233 baht. Toxin basically said "no, Thai people can exist just fine on 170 baht.' But to his credit he did increase the wage for civil servants 2 baht/day.

Sad...

Like having our own drinking areas where locals can not get in

Did Westerners here make this rule? No, Thais did. How many Thais do you know that would get upset because they can't ogle/shag darkskinned girls?

And when some of them have had enough and decide to beat up one of us, complain that their society/race/nation is violent, and that where we come from things are so much better....

Didn't say my home country (USA) is any better! How could I?

totally safe

Being totally safe is totally impossible. I've walked around BKK very late at night (against the wishes of my wife/mother-in-law)--several times very intoxicated--and have never had a problem. This doesn't mean BKK is safe, it just means I was lucky!

If my hometown of Leith, Edinburgh had thousands of rich Asians coming and doing what farangs do here, they would be beaten hourly, not daily.

Really? Sounds like you live in a terrible, intolerant place. What are we doing here that a "rich Asian" (or any other ethnicity) would get beaten for in Scotland, that a native Scot wouldn't?

Bangkok is still much safer than any western city, IMO.

I used to wander the backstreets at all hours all over Bangkok for years and only got mugged a couple of times through my own stupidity.

Kind of discounts the idea that BKK is a safe place, doesn't it?

It figures that if you have a massive influx of people into the country there will be some kind of percentage rise in crime

It's a difficult situation--if a country is unable to deal with this influx than they need to curb the entries of immigrants and tighten up the borders to prevent human traffickers from passing to and fro. But as long as there are poor people seeking better conditions there will always be someone to exploit them, especially in countries whose ethics are in need of development (even more than their economy).

jump to the conclusion that because your see corpses on the front pages of the newspapers here, it is a violent society.

There are 60+ million people living here in Thailand, there are people murdered here every day.

So...it is a violent society! What society isn't violent? They all are (except in the utopian one between my ears )

There is a huge influx of people coming into the country, some legally and some not.

The numbers are astounding. The next stop after Chiang Mai for many is Bangkok which pays slightly better for labour. I have seen and heard of case after case. Some of these people have Baat Dang Dao and some have nothing.

This is certainly fuelling the crime situation.

Are you blaming illegal aliens for crime in Thailand? If so, you've just confirmed what I wrote in my post

Foreigners are an easy target, and an excellent scapegoat.

If Thailand doesn't want people crossing its borders to live/work illegally than anti-human trafficking laws need to be followed by Thai people. Many of the illegal aliens you refer to were brought into Thailand to work illegally by Thai people themselves. If they are the cause of Thailand's violence (which a very small percentage are) than we know who to blame.

Be careful that it doesn't have an "anti-Thai" angle.

There's a police shop across from Immigration, Soi Suan Plu. They may have what you're looking for, you fetishistic devil you!

Thailand is a violent place--all one has to do is look at the front page of a Thai newspaper. Most of the violence isn't random, that's the big difference (and why BKK and bigger provincial towns may seem safe). The violence is usually pre-meditated, and there's generally more than one Thai involved (dogpack mentality). I think Thai society, as it changes, will become more violent--perhaps on par with the Philippines. There are only one or two things keeping violent-prone Thai people from lashing out-once these institutions are surmounted, or die out, anger will come to the fore. Foreigners are an easy target, and an excellent scapegoat.

35

Chinatown! That's where my wife and I bought ours. Gold shops abound!

Do you have to stay in Bangkok for the entire 6 months? A trip for a few days to a beach or island might be nice. Have you been here before?