Women activists encourage women to report on violence against women

BANGKOK (NNT) -- Thai women foundation has urged all women to report to authorities any cases of both domestic and sexual violence against them in order to protect their rights and dignity.

Activist Patchari Junhiran of the Friends for Women Foundation said in the seminar “Sexual Harassment and Society’s Daily Crimes” that in 2009 alone, a total of 775 cases of rape and domestic violence, were reported by women who had been abused, one of whom was a three-year-old child. Ms Patcharit said the abusers, in most cases, are people the victims know or are acquainted with, such as their neighbors. Most of the offences involve sexual harassment, rape, drugging the victims, and use of weapons as a means to threaten them to give in.

According to Ms Patchari, 22% of the reported cases of sexual harassment in the workplace are committed by the victims’ bosses and employers. When the victims fight back, the bosses or those in higher positions usually come up with an excuse of being drunk when they committed the crimes. The activist has also encouraged women who have experienced any kinds of harassment to protect their own rights and dignity by reporting the offences to the foundation or authorities, so they can take legal action against the offenders

-- NNT 2010-08-10

Still light years behind the rest of the world when it comes to this. When alcohol is still seen as a reasonable excuse for rape it makes the entire country look like neanderthals. And report a rape? To the police?! Worse than nothing comes of that.

I am scared of the police