PUBLISHED: 10 Mar 2025 at 06: 07
A community working to suppress gender-based crime is raising the alarm over the number of instances of domestic violence in the country, calling on the government to implement constitutional changes to overcome the issue.
Varaporn Chamsanit, secretary-general of the Sexualities Studies Association and representative of the Coalition Against Gender-Based Violence ( GBV ) Thailand, said the figures show that 15, 000 people a year in the country on average seek hospital treatment for injuries caused by domestic violence.
Statistics from the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation say 1, 086 circumstances were reported by the media in 2023.
Of them, 75 % were rapes and killings perpetrated by one family against the other.
As for internet information about domestic violence involving unmarried couples, 49 % of the circumstances in 2023 pertained to rape or murder committed by one lover using a rifle against the other.
Ms Varaporn said legal procedures are not powerful enough to protect and support patients.
She said that despite the severity of the issue, the anti-domestic crime rules contains major loopholes that prevent the safety of victims.
These include reasonably lenient sanctions for domestic violence perpetrators, an emphasis on peace that does not favour victims as well as aspects of the law opened to different view, allowing perpetrators to evade trial.
Ms Varaporn added the law lacks clear coordination mechanisms among state agencies and fails to ensure adequate resources for victims.
While the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security has drafted amendments to the Victims of Domestic Violence Protection Act to expand victim protections, the coalition believes the measures still have shortcomings which must be addressed, Ms Varaporn said.
The group calls on the government to revise the act to remove legal loopholes and enhance its effectiveness in addressing cases of domestic violence in the country.