Special Courtroom Set Up For Abused Women

[churchill]

Female victims of sexual abuse and other forms of violence will no longer have to confront their abusers directly in court following the opening of a special courtroom at the Thon Buri Criminal Court.

Vacharin Patjekvinyusakul, a chief judge at the Thon Buri Criminal Court, yesterday said the courtroom had been partitioned to allow female victims to hide their faces from their abusers.

Reporters were shown the divided courtroom for the first time yesterday.

-- Bangkok Post 26/08/09

[Brigante7]

Female victims of sexual abuse and other forms of violence will no longer have to confront their abusers directly in court following the opening of a special courtroom at the Thon Buri Criminal Court.

Vacharin Patjekvinyusakul, a chief judge at the Thon Buri Criminal Court, yesterday said the courtroom had been partitioned to allow female victims to hide their faces from their abusers.

Reporters were shown the divided courtroom for the first time yesterday.

-- Bangkok Post 26/08/09

Will the same courtroom be used for men who are victims of domestic abuse by woman?

Brigante7.

[Briggsy]

And in the tradition of Thai government half-baked not thought through ideas, both areas of the courtroom will lead on to the same corridor where packs of camera-toting journalists or the accused rapist/women-beater will be waiting/exiting and ready to confront the victim.

Why only one courtroom, why not a nationwide policy, if that's the route you want to take.

[Scott]

Why not equal treatment for all victims?

[angiud]

Are you kidding? How many women are victim of domestic or sexual abuse everyday. And you talk about men and equality?

<deleted>!

[dale8]

Hello, I understand how it might make some people feel at ease when accusing someone of physical abuse so maybe more people will be charged with more crimes. It might have other unintended consequences as in the prejudice of the judge or reporters, and it is always good to charge the correct person with the specific crime so the victim can see the accused.

[Scott]

Are you kidding? How many women are victim of domestic or sexual abuse everyday. And you talk about men and equality?

<deleted>!

I said nothing about men.

The victims who have the most difficulty in testifying in court in a coherent manner are children, by the way.

[angiud]

Scott I understand what you say and my guess i that there is a tribunal for minors in Thailand too.

for talking about men i refer to Brigante:

Will the same courtroom be used for men who are victims of domestic abuse by woman?

[jacobbells]

Are you kidding? How many women are victim of domestic or sexual abuse everyday. And you talk about men and equality?

<deleted>!

Sorry, but im getting tired of all this pro-women justice stuff going around. I dont know about you but when i go to Pattaya, just how many women do i see throwing a tantrum with some guy and try to beat him up or smash a bottle over his head. Just how many of this kind of woman also beat up their husbands and boyfriends (I know plenty of men who have been the victim of domestic abuse and no-one gives a shit).

According a survey done (by ABAC?) i read in the Bangkok Post a year or so ago, physical abuse commited by Thai women against their spouse is on a par with that of men against women.

If you see man slapping a woman in public, what do you think?

If you see woman slapping a man in public, what do you think?

Hit it a woman and youll be arrested, probably imprisoned and ordered to pay damages. But if you get punched by a woman, the police will tell you, you deserved it. Where is the justice in that? Thai woman already already have chunk of the law. Another example: a woman flashes her thigh at a traffic police officer and gets waved on by while men get stopped and have to pay a 200baht bribe.

Sometimes i wish i was born a woman.

Edited August 27, 2009 by jacobbells

[angiud]

Are you talking only about that kind of Pattaya women? And you forget the whole rest of the thai women, being exploited and beaten from their husbands/partners.

C'mon, we live in 2009.

[Mario2008]

This thread is not about woman rights, but about a special court room for female victems of sexual abuse etc, so they don't have to be confromted by their attacker(s). Let's stay on topic here.

[TAWP]

Equality in-front of the law - and its process - or everyone loses.

[Scott]

One of the main ideas about going to court and getting justice is being able to confront your accuser. That means giving someone the guidance, confidence and security to be able to sit there and point the finger at someone and say "he did it." The court room needs to be secure enough--and most are--to provide people with the ability to do this. The perpetrators will one day get out of jail and by and large they are cowards who can't face someone who looked them in the eye and directly accused them of a crime. The process is emasculating for men who are perpetrators and it is empowering for women who are victims.

I am afraid that this special courtroom may be a way for society not to face up to what is going on.

There are cases where justice is best served by not identifying the victim(s). An example of that is when human trafficking gangs are involved and there are likely to be other gang members who might want to silence the witness or teach other potential witnesses a lesson.

[kmj]

it's only partitioned so they can hide their face from the accused not the court...

[Brigante7]

Are you kidding? How many women are victim of domestic or sexual abuse everyday. And you talk about men and equality?

<deleted>!

Are YOU kidding?

How many men are victims of domestic abuse everyday?

So it doesn't matter how many men are victims of domestic abuse does it, just as long as womans needs are catered for, is that what you are saying?

How many western men have crazy jealous thai wife's/girlfriend's who put up with all manner of bullshit from their woman?

Brigante7.

[TAWP]

The ratio doesn't matter, the laws, rules, protection and help should be equal across the board.

Edited August 27, 2009 by TAWP

[Brigante7]

This thread is not about woman rights, but about a special court room for female victems of sexual abuse etc, so they don't have to be confromted by their attacker(s). Let's stay on topic here.

I'm sorry Mario2008 but it is about womans rights, it's about the court saying that woman have the right to accuse a man of domestic abuse from behind a screen but men aren't afforded the same right.

It seems Thailand is now on the same slippery slope as the UK, soon a Thai woman can accuse a man of anything she wants without any proof and he will be dragged through the courts while the woman gets to hide away in the background.

Brigante7.

Edited August 27, 2009 by Brigante7

[Brigante7]

The ratio doesn't matter, the laws, rules, protection and help should be equal across the board.

I agree with you TAWP but it seems the courts are telling men that they are 2nd class citizen's compared to woman.

Brigante7.

[angiud]

OMG, I'm so sad about all those poor men abused by those bad thai women.

[animatic]

One of the main ideas about going to court and getting justice is being able to confront your accuser. That means giving someone the guidance, confidence and security to be able to sit there and point the finger at someone and say "he did it." The court room needs to be secure enough--and most are--to provide people with the ability to do this. The perpetrators will one day get out of jail and by and large they are cowards who can't face someone who looked them in the eye and directly accused them of a crime. The process is emasculating for men who are perpetrators and it is empowering for women who are victims.

I am afraid that this special courtroom may be a way for society not to face up to what is going on.

There are cases where justice is best served by not identifying the victim(s). An example of that is when human trafficking gangs are involved and there are likely to be other gang members who might want to silence the witness or teach other potential witnesses a lesson.

These are not insignificant exceptions,

as are the pure psychos who think women can look anywhere they like.

Straight eye to eye is fine, they'll still take the beating like the last one.

This court room is likely not for all cases, but at least is now available.

[Rumfoord]

Sorry, but im getting tired of all this pro-women justice stuff going around. I dont know about you but when i go to Pattaya, just how many women do i see throwing a tantrum with some guy and try to beat him up or smash a bottle over his head.

...

Sometimes i wish i was born a woman.

so you wanna become a woman?

and go to pattaya and there smash bottles over the heads of some guys? do it just like , in your opinion., typical women do?

[Brigante7]

OMG, I'm so sad about all those poor men abused by those bad thai women.

That's an offensive thing to say to everybody who suffers domestic abuse and you should be ashamed of yourself.

Brigante7.

[angiud]

Just for information: (USA related)

7% of women (3.9 million) are physically abused by their partners, and 37% (20.7 million) are verbally or emotionally abused.

Every 9 seconds a woman is physically abused by her husband.

95% of assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by men against women.

30% of women presenting with injuries to the emergency department had injuries caused by battering.

From 7% to 26% of pregnant women are abused.

42% of murdered women are killed by their intimate partners.

[Brigante7]

Just for information: (USA related)

7% of women (3.9 million) are physically abused by their partners, and 37% (20.7 million) are verbally or emotionally abused.

Every 9 seconds a woman is physically abused by her husband.

95% of assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by men against women.

30% of women presenting with injuries to the emergency department had injuries caused by battering.

From 7% to 26% of pregnant women are abused.

42% of murdered women are killed by their intimate partners.

And I'm not disputing woman suffer from domestic abuse, my problem is that you think that it's funny that men suffer from it and if I had laughed at woman suffering domestic abuse then I would have got it from all quarters. The original post was about Bangkok courts starting to give special consideration to woman over men when both need it and both should recieve it equally.

Brigante7.

Another thing, the reason that there are so many oficial statistics for woman and so few for men is that A) fewer men report domestic abuse for fear of ridicule, sound familiar Anguid and There are no agencies to help men only to help woman so what's the point in reporting it.

Edited August 28, 2009 by Brigante7

[angiud]

95% of assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by men against women.

I don't think men need help for domestic abuse. Are not so relevant numbers confronting the women.

The problem you don't want to see but is worldwide well known is the condition of the woman not only in Thailand, but back in the old Europe and in America.

I had laughed about the men abused because it looks like and excuse because the numbers are so different.

And, if talking about a certain kind of abusing women in Thailand, we all well know why this happen. (BTW I don't justify that)

[david96]

And what they forgot to mention that 50% or more of so called "domestic violence" complaints

against men are instigated by women. If there is a problem in a domestic arrangement one

will find that there is a woman behind it. And it goes on over a long period.They try to dictate

to their husbands.

They gossip and make slanderous statements about their husbands.

Of course women can be as unfaithful as they like and they will always be innocent.

But yes, there is genuine DV issues and these are the ones that should be addressed.

Many women make complaints of rape years later when they see that they may get some money out of it.

Do not always blame men. Thai women are very jealous although this seems to be a cultural

thing.

[kmj]

Many women make complaints of rape years later when they see that they may get some money out of it.

what a load of B*llocks - and your proof ?

[Brigante7]

95% of assaults on spouses or ex-spouses are committed by men against women.

I don't think men need help for domestic abuse. Are not so relevant numbers confronting the women.

The problem you don't want to see but is worldwide well known is the condition of the woman not only in Thailand, but back in the old Europe and in America.

I had laughed about the men abused because it looks like and excuse because the numbers are so different.

And, if talking about a certain kind of abusing women in Thailand, we all well know why this happen. (BTW I don't justify that)

Yeah and if that certain kind of abusing woman in Thailand was given a taste of her own medicine by her boyfriend/husband you would be the first one on here screaming about those same woman suffering from domestic abuse.

Do you know how many woman kill their boyfriends/husbands and claim years of domestic abuse and get away with it, then when it gets to court the "abuse" turns out to be the boyfriend/husband having a go at the woman's cooking or cleaning or appearance while men have to put up with HER nagging. When was the last time you saw or read about a man being cleared of killing his wife after years of nagging?

When somebody is a victim of domestic abuse the first time (At which point they should be packing their bags to leave, that goes for both genders) then I have every sympathy with them but if they choose to stay then I have no sympathy for them after that.

My dad always told me that if somebody does something wrong and gets away with it then they will do it again and again and again.

Brigante7.

[TruthWillOut]

There is more support for women cause they fought for it and reason they got listened to eventually is there are so many of them demanding to be heard, reason theres so many of them is down to the higher amount of abuse against women. If abused men dont come forward & demand the same level of support then how is that abused womens fault and why should abused women not get what they have fought for.

Reading some of the replies here, wonder some of your mothers can stand to look at ya.

[Bukseeda]

The point is ALL should be treated equally whether they are men or women being abused. To quote statistics is a complete red herring. If only 5% of victims of abuse are male then those 5% need sympathy and support as well.

I happen to agree with the divided courtroom. I also believe absolutely in equality and that support should be offered to women and men.

Abuse takes many forms (not just physical) and the victims can be of any gender. In fact many men who suffer from abuse don't come forward because society in general doesn't sympathise or mocks as many have been doing here.

One final thing - I was the victim in an abusive relationship (and I happen to be male). I was physically assaulted although i didn't make any complaint to the police. After a number of months I managed to get her out of my life.