Child Abuse In Thailand

[opothai]

I can't agree that mutilation is a reasonable response to this offence. It would set society at the same level as the abusers and is not likely to dissuade someone driven by a perverted sexual urge. I do agree that some punishment would be reasonable and that the abuser should be kept away from children. It may be possible to help some abusers on the grounds that they too may have been victims of abuse in childhood. However, the protection of children is more important and some abusers seem to be beyond even wanting help.

There may be more that can be done to prevent abuse in the first place. Again, I don't know much about what is happening within Thai communities and that is what I want to find out. The Western way is to hide the problem and catch a few paedophiles from time to time to give the public the impression that something is being done. The reality in the West is:

1. Abuse within families goes mainly unreported. The reasons for this include the avoidance of shame, the possibility of losing the family income if the perpetrator is imprisoned, or simple and straightforward denial.

2. Systematic, organised abuse is carried out within the very institutions that are supposed to protect children. Even within schools, 'mild' abusers are moved quietly to a school in another area where, having got away with it, they may well become worse. In fact, even abuse that appears to an adult to be minor can be as devastating to the victim as more serious examples.

Thais tend to avoid making public anything that may shame them. Also, they have a great respect for authority, at least to the extent that they don't openly criticise it. These characteristics, I fear, leave the door open for abusers to do what they want with little fear of being exposed. A big farang dragging children around is fairly obvious and the fact that such people are still walking the streets makes me wonder just what goes in behind Thai doors.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you have some valid points

however we are still not detering the criminals, and this is the only way we can put a stop to these despicable people, and until some body can come up with the answer, it will remain my view.

[350torana]

Give us a break...sexual abuse of kids happens with Thais as well . Sure, farang are guilty at times. . I am lucky, my daughter has white skin but has dark eyes. I am her sole custodian. Any femi-nazi or pc prick who would come up to me and accuse me of abusing my own daughter...hammer time

[Glauka]

I can't agree that mutilation is a reasonable response to this offence. It would set society at the same level as the abusers and is not likely to dissuade someone driven by a perverted sexual urge. I do agree that some punishment would be reasonable and that the abuser should be kept away from children. It may be possible to help some abusers on the grounds that they too may have been victims of abuse in childhood. However, the protection of children is more important and some abusers seem to be beyond even wanting help.

There may be more that can be done to prevent abuse in the first place. Again, I don't know much about what is happening within Thai communities and that is what I want to find out. The Western way is to hide the problem and catch a few paedophiles from time to time to give the public the impression that something is being done. The reality in the West is:

1. Abuse within families goes mainly unreported. The reasons for this include the avoidance of shame, the possibility of losing the family income if the perpetrator is imprisoned, or simple and straightforward denial.

2. Systematic, organised abuse is carried out within the very institutions that are supposed to protect children. Even within schools, 'mild' abusers are moved quietly to a school in another area where, having got away with it, they may well become worse. In fact, even abuse that appears to an adult to be minor can be as devastating to the victim as more serious examples.

Thais tend to avoid making public anything that may shame them. Also, they have a great respect for authority, at least to the extent that they don't openly criticise it. These characteristics, I fear, leave the door open for abusers to do what they want with little fear of being exposed. A big farang dragging children around is fairly obvious and the fact that such people are still walking the streets makes me wonder just what goes in behind Thai doors.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

you have some valid points

however we are still not detering the criminals, and this is the only way we can put a stop to these despicable people, and until some body can come up with the answer, it will remain my view.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

In this kind of situations I reserved my opinion about what should be done with a pedo...

But if a pedo do something horrible to my chinldren...( well my future children...)

I don´t know... I may become out of my mind and do something horrible to him/her...as I said I have to be in the situation before I can tell what should be done with those people...

[opothai]

.

In this kind of situations I reserved my opinion about what should be done with a pedo...

But if a pedo do something horrible to my chinldren...( well my future children...)

I don´t know... I may become out of my mind and do something horrible to him/her...as I said I have to be in the situation before I can tell what should be done with those people...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

exactly

the people that give out the punishment, i wonder if something like abuse happened to them or thier families ,would they deal so leaniently with the situation.

so if you knew the punishment would be that severe at least, you could feel he had been punished and not just a slap on the hand. and without his tackle he could not even abuse himself for the rest of his undeserved life.

[Buff-horns]

And we know that Thailand is one of the prime "hunting grounds" for internationally active paedophiles..........

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You have been reading those sensational newspapers again, haven't you!!

Today Thailand is relatively free of these people, compared to the 70's and 80's.

Most of them were thrown or forced out years ago.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

maybe so but the home grown variety are still very active .

go to any kareoki bar in rural areas and you see very young girls on the game.

[Mighty Mouse]

I ask again. Why does your post revolve around farang men and Thai children? Do you ever look at a Thai man with a Thai child and have similar suspicions about them?

I can't believe that I need to explain this in detail to you.

I am an Australian citizen and as such I have seen numerous cases of white anglo saxon males molesting young children. I have no personal experience, only what I read in the papers and/or see on TV.

I am well aware that the far eastern countries are haunts for known paedophiles.

Why do anglo saxon male paedophiles choose developing countries to satisfy their weirdo sexual cravings?

Because in many cases, the parents of child victims exchange their children for various sums of money with known paedophiles. ....and.....because the paedophiles realise that corruption is rife is these countries, therefore they think that there is little chance of them being brought to justice if caught.

Dolly Dunn is case in point.

I come to Thailand as a tourist and I see things. My suspicions are raised when I see unusual behaviour between a farang man and a young Thai child.

There may be unusual or excessive petting, petting involving the lower region of the body.

It may be that the child cannot speak any English words, which I may find unusual if the farang male was actually the father.

It may be that the Thai child looks uncomfortable in the company of the farang male.

It may be that the farang male looks sleezy.

It may be a whole host of different things.

Being a person from Western society, my suspicions would not be immediately drawn to a Thai male and a young Thai child....unless their behaviour seemed abnormal.

I trust that my answer to your question is now crystal clear to you.

[Guest endure]

I ask again. Why does your post revolve around farang men and Thai children? Do you ever look at a Thai man with a Thai child and have similar suspicions about them?

I can't believe that I need to explain this in detail to you.

I am an Australian citizen and as such I have seen numerous cases of white anglo saxon males molesting young children. I have no personal experience, only what I read in the papers and/or see on TV.

I am well aware that the far eastern countries are haunts for known paedophiles.

Why do anglo saxon male paedophiles choose developing countries to satisfy their weirdo sexual cravings?

Because in many cases, the parents of child victims exchange their children for various sums of money with known paedophiles. ....and.....because the paedophiles realise that corruption is rife is these countries, therefore they think that there is little chance of them being brought to justice if caught.

Dolly Dunn is case in point.

I come to Thailand as a tourist and I see things. My suspicions are raised when I see unusual behaviour between a farang man and a young Thai child.

There may be unusual or excessive petting, petting involving the lower region of the body.

It may be that the child cannot speak any English words, which I may find unusual if the farang male was actually the father.

It may be that the Thai child looks uncomfortable in the company of the farang male.

It may be that the farang male looks sleezy.

It may be a whole host of different things.

Being a person from Western society, my suspicions would not be immediately drawn to a Thai male and a young Thai child....unless their behaviour seemed abnormal.

I trust that my answer to your question is now crystal clear to you.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, your answer is crystal clear. Your answer is that you have a bias against 'white anglo saxon males' in Thailand because you have 'seen' numerous cases of white anglo saxon males 'molesting' young children and that 'far eastern countries are haunts for known paedophiles'. By your own admission you have no personal experience, only what you've read in the papers or seen on TV - hardly an unbiased source. You also say that these suspicions of yours don't extend to Thais because you have no idea of what constitutes 'abnormal' behaviour amongst Thais. In other words you're relying on rumour, personal antipathy and the maunderings of the press to condemn people whose circumstances you are completely unfamiliar with.

[Morden]

Endure,

I think that we are fairly clear about abuse by white males in Thailand. It seems to be a general view that there are such people in the country although I can't say that I have witnessed anything obviously out of order and I certainly haven't seen any other proof. I also accept that it is all too easy for a situation to be misunderstood and a male with a child be under suspicion just because he is with a child. It can happen anywhere and does. It's also sad that decent guys have to be very wary even around their own children because there are others all too willing to make accusations. It can happen to women too; a tv tv personality in the UK was actually arrested on suspicion of abuse when an idiot in a photo processing lab passed pictures of her child in the bath to the police.

However, what I am trying to get to in this thread is some clear idea as to whether abuse is a problem within the Thai community. My step children, for example, live in an area where farangs don't appear very often so they aren't a problem. I've seen no signs of abuse amonst any of the very happy children in that area. On the other hand, opportunity is ever-present and I don't think that the parents of those children are even aware of what might happen.

Endure, do you have an idea of what the situation might be within the Thai community? The impression I get from this thread and my own experience is that, for the present at least, there is probably less of a problem than there is in my own country. But what about the future?

[cdnvic]

Endure I think what Mighty Mouse was saying is that while he knows what constitutes abnormal body langage and behaviour in his own culture, he isn't aquainted enough with Thai ways to tell when a Thai is doing something out of the ordinary.

For instance, in the west it may be perfectly normal to for a father to carry his eight year old daughter on his shoulders, or to tickle her. In many Chinese families this would be shocking and inappropriate behaviour towards a female child who has reached school age.

A Chinese father watching such playful activities might assume wrongly that the westerner was a pervert. I think this is what mighty mouse is trying to avoid, casting judgement on something he feels he doesn't understand enough to make an informed decision.

cv

[Mighty Mouse]

You also say that these suspicions of yours don't extend to Thais because you have no idea of what constitutes 'abnormal' behaviour amongst Thais. In other words you're relying on rumour, personal antipathy and the maunderings of the press to condemn people whose circumstances you are completely unfamiliar with.   

Endure.

I know you are trying to make a point, but you have intentionally mis-interpretted my words and are intentionally trying to make me out to be some kind of villain.

I did not say that my suspicions don't extend to Thais. My exact words were:

Being a person from Western society, my suspicions would not be immediately drawn to a Thai male and a young Thai child....unless their behaviour seemed abnormal.

Debate me all you want but please don't mis-quote me.

I gave you examples of what I regard as 'unusual behaviour.' You call it 'abnormal behaviour.' Same difference as far as I'm concerned.

The impression I am getting from your tirade is that you find all of my examples of unusual/abnormal behaviour, normal.

What do you regard as 'abnormal' behaviour between a farang or Thai paedophile and a child and what would you do if you witnessed it?

I rely on the results of court cases for my information. I mentioned Dolly Dunn. His court cases have made world headlines, and he is just one of many.

What personal experiences have you had with paedophiles?

Are you a father?

If so, would you not want someone to get involved and protect your child should that child be at risk, or would you rather the someone close a blind eye to what he/she is seeing because they have never had direct personal experience with paedophilia?

[astral]

And we know that Thailand is one of the prime "hunting grounds" for internationally active paedophiles..........

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

You have been reading those sensational newspapers again, haven't you!!

Today Thailand is relatively free of these people, compared to the 70's and 80's.

Most of them were thrown or forced out years ago.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

maybe so but the home grown variety are still very active .

go to any kareoki bar in rural areas and you see very young girls on the game.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

By western standards I agree with you, but you are applying those standards to

an oriental country.

Read the other post about what is acceptable in China.

There was a thread some time ago where a farang was asking about the Thai

custom for relatives to feel boys genitals to see if they have grown.

This point also came up in the USA when a Cuban boy reached Florida....

when his grandmother came to see him, she did the same thing.

Do not judge another culture by your own.

Perhaps your own is flawed.

PS I hope I do not meet Mighty Mouse when I am out with my Thai step son.

Lek speaks little English and will certainly not practice his English with a stranger,

he is actually quite shy.

Edited November 24, 2005 by astral

[Mighty Mouse]

By western standards I agree with you, but you are applying those standards to

an oriental country.

Read the other post about what is acceptable in China.

There was a thread some time ago where a farang was asking about the Thai

custom for relatives to feel boys genitals to see if they have grown.

This point also came up in the USA when a Cuban boy reached Florida....

when his grandmother came to see him, she did the same thing.

Do not judge another culture by your own.

Perhaps your own is flawed.

PS I hope I do not meet Mighty Mouse when I am out with my Thai step son.

Lek speaks little English and will certainly not practice his English with a stranger,

he is actually quite shy.

Astral,

Please click on these links and read about paedophilia in Asian countries. You may then like to explain how Western culture is different from Oriental cultures in this regard.

http://www.paralumun.com/issuesthai.htm

http://www.aegis.com/news/afp/2001/AF010869.html

I hope that Lek never goes with strangers, but by reading the information contained in the above links, you will learn that it is often people well known and well trusted by the child and the child's family, who are the main offenders.

[Ijustwannateach]

These kinds of topics never turn out well, and magnify by far any offenses that any poster theoretically perceive. As a certain poster notes, most of these abuses will happen among relatives within a family, and will certainly not be perceptible to paranoid delusional types looking daggers at poor family members holding hands on the street.

"Steven"

[Neeranam]

I have met lots of Isaan people who go to pattaya with their families as it is one of the nearest beaches.

It's hardly surprising that they have a negative view of farang.

If i see a farnag guy walking around Isaan with a Thai kid, i think nothing of it.

If I see a farang guy, alone, walking down "prostitution street" with a Thai kid, the thoughts of pedophilia enter my head.

[dseawarrior]

I am not an expert in this controversial area, but having living in the LOS for a while, I have certainly seen quite a few funny looking farang men with very young Thai children...

If people want to do something without getting all steamed first, it makes sense to me to engage people in conversation...

Simple eh? Why not talk with people and get more information? Instead of being proscecutor, judge and jury all rolled into one?

What languages do you speak? Can you speak German, Thai, whatever language is needed?

I speak a number of languages and if I was truly concerned, I would casually start asking some questions of the people involved...

If you live in LOS or travel here frequently -- start learning the language! Duh! Huh?

(deh kuhn yuu tii bratet thai dong rian puut passa thai, na? mai dong ben kon ngo, na?)

Yes, there are problems in LOS, but aren't there problems everywhere?

Check your facts first, learn local language and culture... (and world culture for that matter!!!)

Get going with your studies...

dseawarrior

[seonai]

what a lot of shit you men are talking. Take a look on the streets of Pattaya - the gay streets - I am a journalist and I was told I would be dead if I talked the truth about it............ young, young boys......... go see for yourselves.......

[Neeranam]

what a lot of shit you men are talking. Take a look on the streets of Pattaya - the gay streets - I am a journalist and I was told I would be dead if I talked the truth about it............ young, young boys......... go see for yourselves.......

Some people like to turn a blind eye and pretend their beloved playground is all above board.

[Mighty Mouse]

what a lot of shit you men are talking. Take a look on the streets of Pattaya - the gay streets - I am a journalist and I was told I would be dead if I talked the truth about it............ young, young boys......... go see for yourselves.......

If you are a responsible journalist with a conscience, why wouldn't you publish what you believe to be the truth, or if you're worried about reprisals, why not take what you know to be the truth to the appropriate authorities?

Paedophiles should be prosecuted, and innocent, defenceless children should be protected.

This will never happen if people put their heads in the sand or turn a blind eye to paedophilia.

[cdnvic]

Enough slagging each other off. Seonai if you're really a writer then use your aquired skills to respond without profanity. This is a serious subject that needs serious discussion. If it can't be discussed maturly without flaming then its a waste of bandwidth and may as well be closed.

cv

[Morden]

Enough slagging each other off. Seonai if you're really a writer then use your aquired skills to respond without profanity. This is a serious subject that needs serious discussion. If it can't be discussed maturly without flaming then its a waste of bandwidth and may as well be closed.

cv

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks for that, cdnvic. I have started this thread because it is a serious subject and facts are hard to find. I would be disappointed if the thread was closed because of personal abuse.

What I would like is information about child abuse within the Thai culture. Like many other members, I think, I move in traditional Thai circles rather than the tourist or expat ones. We all know that sex tourists are active in Thailand but, 'though it's quite sickening, it was not the subject of my initial enquiry. Clearly, no sensible parent would allow a child to wander alone in Pataya. In a nutshell, are Thai children still safe out on their own in their villages or should their families keep tham on a tight reign?

[Ijustwannateach]

I think part of the point being made is that the families are part of the problem, so how is going to help the kids to be held on a tight rein by them?

As far as I've been able to tell, abuse of children here is handled:

1. For Thais, usually informally, by village justice;

2. For foreigners, formally with a press circus for the sake of Thailand's "image," or

3. Not at all, most of the time.

Most of the international press circus which stirs up such leering voyeuristic behavior on here is by and about the sad foreign sex tourists, mainly around the Pattaya brothel areas. Well, great- you've protected, what, .0001% of the country that way? And caught none of the THAI perpetrators.

I think it's pretty sad that many on this forum help to perpetuate the image of the sex criminal in Thailand as a foreigner, much to delight of the Thai government, when, as with any other crime, the majority of criminals in Thailand are THAI.

Furthermore, the other types of abuse- neglect, violence, etc., etc.- are rarely perpetrated by anyone else except the families. Who's going to pay here for institutions to protect children *from* their families, when there are hardly even enough institutions for education and health care in general?

I hate to sound cold, but it's really up to the Thais and how they want to run their country. Our opinion and influence as foreigners count very little, except insofar as Thailand wants to appear respectable abroad. And foreigners certainly don't even amount to a drop in the bucket as a cause of the problem (and to the extent we are, it is with the collusion of certain of the Thais themselves).

"Steven"

Edited November 25, 2005 by Ijustwannateach

[Krub]

Out of town police force enter a bar in Phuket 'take off' a few kids under age.

The kids are brought to the cop shop and released.....in the nature (not taken care of)

A few 'captains' employed by the bar are also brought to the cop shop and released the next day upon payment of a few thousand baht by the owner of the bar.

The bar has its license 'stopped' for 3 months by the out of town police.

Three days later after intervention by the owner to the 'local' police the bar is open for business as usual.

The kids are not in the bar anymore but in a 'safe' place provided by the owner

This is a true story less than a month old

Thais 'looking after' Thais with no respect for their own kids

Where are the families of those kids ?

They surely must know as they receive the product of their kids 'work'

Edited November 25, 2005 by Krub

[Mighty Mouse]

Thailand has laws in place that deal with sex offenders, irrespective of them being foreigners or Thai nationals.

I just stole these opening paragraphs from a website:

Safeguarding the welfare of Thai women and children is a national priority for the Government of Thailand.

Of particular concern to the Royal Thai Government is the exploitation of children for the purpose of commercial sex. Young girls and boys too often are lured or forced into working in brothels and other sexually oriented establishments by profiteers.

While child prostitution is hardly unique to Thailand, its existence is repugnant to the Thai people. Thai society and culture are based on close family ties and religious values that are in direct conflict with the forced exploitation of individuals-- particularly children--for sexual or any other purpose.

You can read the whole piece here : http://www.thaiembdc.org/socials/childprs.htm

The Thai Govt. is making moves towards cleaning up its sex trade image. Many threads in this forum have discussed some of these initiatives.

Whilst I agree in part with ijustwannteach, I don't believe that we, the non-Thai nationals, can't influence the Thai authorities to enforce their own laws.

Yes, a lot of children are sexually violated by their own family members. This practice is not isolated to Thailand, and it is probably the most difficult for the authorites to detect, or to prosecute.

School teachers are in the front line as far as being able to identify victims amongst their students.

Unfortunately you can't force people to notify the authorities when they suspect that a child may be the victim of paedophilia, and so a lot (or most) of cases go unreported.

The same would apply in close knit Thai communities. Neighbours may suspect or may know that a family in their street is sexually abusing their own children, but they choose not to become involved.

There is a Christian Childrens Fund and other child protection agencies operating in Thailand, but I don't know to what extent they go in removing child victims from their family unit.

What I do know is that nothing will ever be done unless more people become concerned and demand action.

[Ijustwannateach]

^I can mostly agree with you, too, but just WHO is going to demand action? Foreigners who are living here are highly vulnerable, as you probably know. It's hard enough for us to remain legal here without making embarrassing complaints and being labelled "troublemakers" in official eyes. It's still got to be something led by the Thais.

"Steven"

[Morden]

I hate to sound cold, but it's really up to the Thais and how they want to run their country.  Our opinion and influence as foreigners count very little, except insofar as Thailand wants to appear respectable abroad.

If a foreigner has children or step-children living in Thailand then he would feel as responsible for their welfare as the rest of the family and would want know to something about the magnitude of the problem. He would be unlikely, I think, to regard it as a matter only for his Thai relatives.

I'm quite willing to accept that most abuse takes place within the family but, as an aware individual in that family I, for example, would keep my eyes open. My enquiry is about the risk of abuse away from the home in areas where the children are still allowed to wander at will. It seems, so far, that either there is no big problem or none of us has any kind of measure of its extent.

[astral]

Please click on these links and read about paedophilia in Asian countries. You may then like to explain how Western culture is different from Oriental cultures in this regard.

http://www.paralumun.com/issuesthai.htm

http://www.aegis.com/news/afp/2001/AF010869.html

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I read your links and now I am totally confused.

One estimate for number of prostitutes based on a study of statistics from the Thai Foundation For Children was 2,800,000.

Thailand's Department of Public Welfare estimates there are up to 18,000 child prostitutes in Thailand while a 1998 UNICEF survey placed the number at 200,000, with more than 10,000 trafficked from neighbouring countries annually.

Clearly these are wild guesses and no one knows.

The quote about the bar in Phuket is equally vague.

The police took away under-age children from the bar..........

Since the age for being in bar seems to 21, were these "children" aged 20

or 12 or 2......................?

I do not dispute that there has been a problem in the past but to say that it still

exists in Thailand.......... well I am dubious to say the least.

Even more so when I watch the media like the BBC still going on about the Tsuanami and Thailand,

and ignoring the much larger catastrophe in Indonesia.........

If a major organisation like the BBC does not get it, then why should anyone

believe the other stories especially from self motivated NGO's who rely on their image for their funding?

Edited November 25, 2005 by astral

[markt]

ITN news here in the UK have just done a report in the bars of Ho Chi Min city.

An "undercover" reporter went into bars asking to look at the girls ID cards.

One girl showed him her card, born 1988. But the reporter said that "most of the girls do seem to be children".

[Krub]

Please click on these links and read about paedophilia in Asian countries. You may then like to explain how Western culture is different from Oriental cultures in this regard.

http://www.paralumun.com/issuesthai.htm

http://www.aegis.com/news/afp/2001/AF010869.html

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I read your links and now I am totally confused.

One estimate for number of prostitutes based on a study of statistics from the Thai Foundation For Children was 2,800,000.

Thailand's Department of Public Welfare estimates there are up to 18,000 child prostitutes in Thailand while a 1998 UNICEF survey placed the number at 200,000, with more than 10,000 trafficked from neighbouring countries annually.

Clearly these are wild guesses and no one knows.

The quote about the bar in Phuket is equally vague.

The police took away under-age children from the bar..........

Since the age for being in bar seems to 21, were these "children" aged 20

or 12 or 2......................?

I do not dispute that there has been a problem in the past but to say that it still

exists in Thailand.......... well I am dubious to say the least.

Even more so when I watch the media like the BBC still going on about the Tsuanami and Thailand,

and ignoring the much larger catastrophe in Indonesia.........

If a major organisation like the BBC does not get it, then why should anyone

believe the other stories especially from self motivated NGO's who rely on their image for their funding?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Astral

The 'kids' in my Phuket bar story wer not sitting around as customers drinking pop or beer but were 'working their bodies' and they are still 'available' in a remote location owned by the Thai bar owner who goes to great pain 2-3 times a year to recruit these 'workers' from up north

Just an illustration of 'what I know', the title of this thread on child abuse in Thailand. It still exists, it is a regular thing and si going to carry on as long as there is a demand (Thai and foreign)

If I am not mistaken to 'work' in a bar the legal age is 18 and these 'kids' were around 15 not 2.....

I live 'up north' and the poor state of the economy encourages also this 'trade' as it seems parents choose to close their eyes on one of their child who will go to the 'city' and send some money to support the whole family back in the village.

It is only by increasing the standard of living in these countrside areas that there might be a hope of reducing the number of these abused kids.

[Mighty Mouse]

My enquiry is about the risk of abuse away from the home in areas where the children are still allowed to wander at will. It seems, so far, that either there is no big problem or none of us has any kind of measure of its extent.

You started this thread and if you are only seeking information on what happens "where children are still allowed to wander at will," then I can't answer your question and I doubt if anybody else could either.

Responsible parents don't allow their children to "wander at will."

My partners parents, and my partners sisters, either walk or drive their children to school and pick them up after school.

At home, the children are only allowed to play in and around the house.

They live in small communities in central Thailand where crime is virtually non-existent. Obviously, they are very protective of their children.

Krub makes a good point about children working in bars. They didn't wander at will into these bars, they were forced into them against their will.

The actions of the local police apparently did nothing to permanently protect the kids involved, but would the local police pursue the matter if more complaints were made to them, to their superiors or to the Government?

Just because expats are living as guests in Thailand, there is no excuse for not pursuing these issues further.

[Guest endure]

My enquiry is about the risk of abuse away from the home in areas where the children are still allowed to wander at will. It seems, so far, that either there is no big problem or none of us has any kind of measure of its extent.

You started this thread and if you are only seeking information on what happens "where children are still allowed to wander at will," then I can't answer your question and I doubt if anybody else could either.

Responsible parents don't allow their children to "wander at will."

My partners parents, and my partners sisters, either walk or drive their children to school and pick them up after school.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

My parents allowed me to 'wander at will' in the UK in the 60s. I either rode a bike or caught 2 buses to get to school in the morning and did the reverse to get home in the afternoon. Mind you back then we didn't have NGOs scrabbling for funds - nor did we have organisations whose sole purpose was to perpetuate their own existence.

Edited November 26, 2005 by endure