Thai soap operas, and society, see domestic violence as a minor issue; it is not, and it's time we took action to prevent it
Scenes of domestic violence are a constant fixture in Thai soap operas. One of the most controversial talking points on this issue is whether such dramas contribute to increased real-life instances of domestic violence through copycat behaviour, or whether such violence is a mere reflection of social reality.
While there's no doubt that confrontational scenes make any kind of human drama more engrossing, one must nevertheless consider how such behaviour can influence children and teenagers, even some adults. There's also no doubt that in this country depictions of women being beaten by their husbands, or sexually exploited, does keep viewers glued to the screen.
While a parental-guidance system already exists for television shows, many parents do still apparently watch such programmes together with their children. We have to wonder whether most parents try to explain the reasons behind violent scenes in these soap operas in a manner that will not lead youngsters to think that it's permissible for a man to beat up his wife or girlfriend - on or off screen.
Adults also need to ask themselves how accurate such portrayals are, and whether they reflect the true social situation. Is it so common for men to beat women up when they are upset or jealous? Is there any merit in showing such scenes in virtually every drama? If so, does such repeated portrayal make adults jaded? Do people become so inured to such violence that they eventually regard it as normal, perhaps even condone it?
There are no easy answers. But surely no sensible adult viewer would believe that such actions are permissible, or so common as to be acceptable as normal behaviour. We must always bear in mind the risk of weaker minds absorbing such graphic depictions of violence, and we must realise that there will always be people who act on impulse and the influence of television and movies.
Screenwriters and producers bear great responsibility in this regard, as they are the producers of these images. This is not to say that such scenes must be censored. But writers must bear in mind the influence they have and their responsibility toward discouraging barbaric acts of domestic violence off screen.
Those who follow the more sensational news media are fully aware that domestic violence is indeed common in Thai society. The truth is that there is not enough public education on the issue, and campaigns against it are few and far between. In any community, neighbours are known to be very tolerant towards domestic violence. Security guards in residential compounds lack proper training on how to deal with such incidents and mostly ignore the problem until it gets out of control. Nobody wants to interfere in the private affairs of other people. Even the police usually dismiss incidents of domestic violence as "internal family matters".
Given those attitudes, it is clear that without a sustained and multi-pronged campaign to educate the public about the evils and illegality of domestic violence Thai society cannot really expect to see any improvement in the situation.
Screenwriters and television producers could perhaps benefit from courses organised by women's groups on the prevailing problem of domestic violence, so the next time they pick up their pens or type out their next screenplay or TV episode, they would do so with greater sensitivity and a greater sense of responsibility.
By the same token, producers and directors should not succumb to the temptation of easily hiking up the rating level, thus allowing them to repeatedly show domestic violence in one soap opera after another.
As for a longer term solution, schoolchildren, both boys and girls, need to be educated on the wider implications of domestic violence. The problem is often treated by adults as insignificant, "just an argument", a "minor" problem. There is nothing "insignificant" or "minor" about a society that is obsessed with acts of domestic violence portrayed on screen while believing that domestic violence off screen is no big deal.
More deliberation, more study, more action is needed to come up with measures to reduce the instances of domestic violence both in the short term as well as the long term. This cannot happen if there is no collective sense of urgency about the magnitude of the problem.
