The recent public outrage after a gang rape in India has prompted media-shy Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make a television address, in which he vowed to punish the rapists for their “monstrous” crime.
Protests in the wake of this horrific assault are currently out of control, prompting the authorities to use tear gas and water cannon against demonstrators. However, it is only because of the public outrage that the government is paying any attention to this issue, which would otherwise be ignored.
India is seen as one of the least safe places in the world for women, due to lax law enforcement. Indians are trying to make their voices heard once more, after protests on this scale took place last year.
This time around, they are sending the message to the government and other authorities that they will no longer tolerate such abuse of women. The 23-year-old victim was attacked on Dec. 16. She was beaten, raped repeatedly for almost an hour and thrown out of a moving bus in New Delhi.
Thai women are not immune from this kind of abuse and violence. According to a survey by the Grant Thornton Consultancy, more than 27,000 received medical treatment last year as a result of sexual harassment or domestic violence. However, only 1,300 of them reported their abusers to the authorities. The fact remains that many women feel too humiliated or ashamed to seek legal action.
These victims don’t report their cases also partly because they fear mistreatment by relatives or friends who might refuse to accept the truth. In some cases, women are wrongly blamed for inviting the assault ― they’re asked what they were wearing, for example. Such counter-accusers do not understand that nothing justifies sexual abuse or violence.
In fact, the penalties for sexual assault and domestic violence in Thailand pale in comparison to many countries. In addition, our society has no means to help victims cope with the consequences of abuse.
Victims are conditioned to silently accept abuse. These incidents are, more often than not, swept under the carpet because of the misguided belief that they bring disgrace to the family. Victims are thus discouraged from seeking justice.
Recent news about a woman who was killed and set on fire by her boyfriend in a fit of rage was compounded by the incident in which Thai parliamentarian Prasit Chaisrisa verbally harassed Rangsima Rodrassami, a female MP, during last month’s censure debate. Yet even Rabiabrat Pongpanich, who claims to be a female-rights activist, treated the issue lightly, refusing to criticize Rabiabrat.
Now that Thailand has its first female prime minister, we should be able to expect that our society might adjust its attitudes when it comes to the issue of sexual assault and violence against women. Public displays of sexual harassment should be absolutely off-limits and not tolerated. This is a fundamental issue in addressing the problem of gender inequality. Education on this subject is far more important than squandering money on populist give-aways for women.
(The Nation (Thailand))
(Asia News Network)
