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Published on March 6, 2008

Supensri Puengkoksoong of Friends of Women Foundation sees sexual prejudice against women in such questions.

"I have been asked this kind of question many times when working with men in government offices. I challenged them to find evidence to prove their claims," she said.

Friends of Women Foundation has received complaints from victims such as a temporary employee in a government office who said her supervisor had raped her in a Karaoke room in a restaurant. Another complaint involved a high ranking officer at Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) harassing women who reported to him.

But Thicha Na Nakhon, a crusader in the Thai women's movement said she had seen women as harassers in many cases she has mediated.

In a recent case, Thicha said, a woman revealed she had sexual relations with a politician when working as his assistant in parliament. The woman said the affair had started without her consent. When seeking evidence, Thicha found other stories about the woman's relationship with the politician.

"Other people in the political party told me the affair had been obvious and they didn't see any sign of the woman's unwillingness," Thicha said.

The politician showed Thicha messages that the woman had sent threatening to reveal the affair if he did not give her money.

In another case, Satree (not her real name), a reporter, dated a high- ranking government officer who had a reputation for harassment in the workplace.

"When looking at me, his eyes showed what he wanted, but I could handle the situation and nothing happened. We just had dinner together," Satree said.

Satree said she was satisfied with privileges such as having his private number so she could call him anytime for news exclusives. 

"Many women use their femininity to get privileges," Thicha said.

Thicha, however, said she did not want to blame the women, as she sees them as victims of a working environment that does not value women's intelligence.

But how do we decide what is harassment?

Karuna Buakhamsri, who used to work for a news agency, said she didn't feel harassed when her male boss and certain colleagues greeted her with a touch or a kiss.

"But I felt sexually harassed by a colleague who never touched me but used disgusting language," she said. Karuna managed to avoid the man, but she said, "It's difficult for women to avoid the situation."

Subhatra Bhumiprabhas

The Nation