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Public support for the battle to eliminate violence against women in Thailand is growing, with more than three million people, both women and men, signing up to the UN Development Fund for Women's (UNIFEM) "Say no to violence against women" campaign.
HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha, UNIFEM goodwill ambassador in Thailand, presented the signatures to UNIFEM's Regional Programme Director Jean D'Cunha at the weekend.
Of the five million people worldwide who have joined the campaign by adding their names to the call to make the campaign a priority for governments worldwide, Thailand has the highest number of supporters.
"This three-million-strong constituency provides us with the springboard for more substantive work to end violence against women," said D'Cunha.
One way to eliminate domestic violence against women and children in Thailand, the princess said, was to cultivate new social values and eradicate wrong beliefs of unequal power relations between men and women through continuous and systematic campaigning.
According to the Bureau of Health Systems Development Department, which oversees information systems of some 300 hospital-based One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) units, 19,068 women and children suffered from violent abuse in 2007, and an average of 52 cases of mental and physical violent abuse against women and children are reported every day nationwide.
The OSCC record was read out by the Social Development and Human Security Minister Udomdet Rattanasathien to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November, on behalf of the government.
Rattanasathien said more than two Thai women and children were abused every hour.
OSCC's records show that most abusers were known to the sufferers.
Close to 8,000 abusers were either the boyfriends or close friends, followed by husbands at around 4,000 and family members or relatives at about 1,000.
Rattanasathien says these numbers suggested domestic violence was still on the rise in Thailand.
See no evil
The Abac Poll Research Centre also released the findings of a survey of attitudes toward domestic violence.
The survey, conducted between 16 October and 3 November among more than 1,000 respondents, revealed that most people would not intervene if they witnessed domestic violence.
Almost 63 percent said they would do nothing if they were faced with a scene of domestic abuse. Although 65.2 percent of respondents realised that a call to the police would probably stop the abuse, they would stand by and do nothing.
"They insist that it's a family matter," Noppadon Kannika, the centre's director, said.
"To fight it, cases have to be reported to the relevant authorities," said Wilasinee Adulyanon of Thai Health Promotion Foundation.
Wilasinee had told IRIN previously that Thai women still accepted domestic violence as a part of life.
"We urgently need to create a new attitude in society by making clear that domestic violence is not a private or family matter," she said.
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HRH Princess Bajrakitiyabha, UNIFEM goodwill ambassador in Thailand, presented the signatures to UNIFEM's Regional Programme Director Jean D'Cunha at the weekend.
Of the five million people worldwide who have joined the campaign by adding their names to the call to make the campaign a priority for governments worldwide, Thailand has the highest number of supporters.
"This three-million-strong constituency provides us with the springboard for more substantive work to end violence against women," said D'Cunha.
One way to eliminate domestic violence against women and children in Thailand, the princess said, was to cultivate new social values and eradicate wrong beliefs of unequal power relations between men and women through continuous and systematic campaigning.
According to the Bureau of Health Systems Development Department, which oversees information systems of some 300 hospital-based One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) units, 19,068 women and children suffered from violent abuse in 2007, and an average of 52 cases of mental and physical violent abuse against women and children are reported every day nationwide.
The OSCC record was read out by the Social Development and Human Security Minister Udomdet Rattanasathien to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women on 25 November, on behalf of the government.
Rattanasathien said more than two Thai women and children were abused every hour.
OSCC's records show that most abusers were known to the sufferers.
Close to 8,000 abusers were either the boyfriends or close friends, followed by husbands at around 4,000 and family members or relatives at about 1,000.
Rattanasathien says these numbers suggested domestic violence was still on the rise in Thailand.
See no evil
 They insist that it's a family matter. |
The survey, conducted between 16 October and 3 November among more than 1,000 respondents, revealed that most people would not intervene if they witnessed domestic violence.
Almost 63 percent said they would do nothing if they were faced with a scene of domestic abuse. Although 65.2 percent of respondents realised that a call to the police would probably stop the abuse, they would stand by and do nothing.
"They insist that it's a family matter," Noppadon Kannika, the centre's director, said.
"To fight it, cases have to be reported to the relevant authorities," said Wilasinee Adulyanon of Thai Health Promotion Foundation.
Wilasinee had told IRIN previously that Thai women still accepted domestic violence as a part of life.
"We urgently need to create a new attitude in society by making clear that domestic violence is not a private or family matter," she said.
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This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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