Report Thailand Urged to Reform Domestic Violence Laws

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Photo courtesy of Bangkok Post

 

Campaigners in Thailand are urgently calling for reforms to the country's domestic violence laws, citing that the current legislation protects abusers more than victims. Civil society groups, led by the Coalition Against Gender-Based Violence Thailand, are urging the government to prioritize the passage of a long-delayed draft law to strengthen protections for victims of domestic and sexual violence.

 

The Coalition hosted a public forum on September 10 to address these legal shortcomings, gathering activists, legal experts, and lawmakers to push for legislative progress. Sasinan Thamnithinan, vice president of the Thai Women Parliamentarian Caucus, highlighted the various forms of violence, including domestic abuse, sexual harassment, physical assault, and online abuse, which the current laws fail to address adequately. She urged the government to pass two pending bills: the Sexual Harassment Bill, awaiting Senate review, and the Victims of Domestic Violence Protection Bill, which aims to close existing legal gaps and focus on victim-centred protection.

 

Angkana Intasa from the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation reported alarming data from 2023. Out of 1,086 domestic violence cases, a significant proportion involved substance use, with 29.1% linked to alcohol and 26.1% to drugs. The data revealed that nearly 40% of cases involved physical assault, mostly between spouses, and 35.7% involved murder, occurring primarily within marriages. Sexual violence within families accounted for 4.2% of the cases.

 

The Thai media reported 194 cases of sexual violence in 2023, with rape constituting 44.3%, indecent acts 20.1%, and sexual harassment 11.4%. Alarmingly, close to 40% of the victims were aged 11 to 15, with some as young as three. In over 47% of these cases, the perpetrator was someone known to the victim, such as teachers, neighbours, or former partners.

 

Varaporn Chamsanit of the coalition criticized the current law for prioritizing reconciliation over justice, leaving victims vulnerable and abusers unpunished. She emphasized that the new bill focuses on victim safety and calls for criminal accountability.

 

Key Takeaways

• Thai laws on domestic violence are criticized for inadequate victim protection.
• Substance abuse frequently exacerbates domestic violence cases in Thailand.
• Calls for reform emphasize victim safety and criminal accountability.

 

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  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-09-11