Just a small fraction of calls
Thailand's hotline set up for abused women last year received about 3,000 calls from women suffering sexual, physical and mental abuse, with most of the perpetrators being male relatives, the Friends of Women Foundation said yesterday.
Foundation manager Jadet Chaowilai said about 10 per cent of the women who called the foundation's hotline at (02) 513 1001 said they had been raped and about 10 per cent said they had been sexually harassed. About 70 per cent reported being physically or mentally abused and 10 per cent said they had an unwanted pregnancy, he said. Violence against women has been increasing over the past two decades and affects all segments of society and women of all educational backgrounds, Jadet said. Alcohol abuse and the perception of women as property sparked the violence, he added. The 3,000 women who called the hotline were just a fraction of the total number of women suffering abuse, Jadet said. "Men must start viewing women as human beings so domestic violence can stop." Citing research that found alcohol abuse was a significant factor in domestic violence, Wilasinee Phiphitkul, director of the Thai Health Promotion Foundation's communications office, urged men to quit or reduce alcohol consumption to help reduce domestic violence.
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