Bangkok Post: Opinion

I don't see any comments by mothers anf fathers. Where are the mothers and fathers? I pity the mothers and fathers, because morality begins in the home. However if mothers and fathers are not moral people, then what do you expect of their children?

Dear Mom, Dear Reader,
here we are in an awkward dilemma.
On the one side our kids will have enormous problems to compete with others if we take away their freedom and watch and guard them constantly until they are grown-up. They will not be capable to look after themselves and they will have problems in their future jobs with their lack of independence. However if we let them run we definitely risk what you described and what can be found in the news almost daily.
Myself, as a mother of 3 grown-up and almost grown-up kids, had and still have immense difficulties with their struggle for freedom against my instincts of keeping them safe from all harm.
However as long as male-brain dominated Governments are uninterested and unable to find solutions to escalating violence and growing decadence in society we parents have no choice but to adjust ourselves and our families by trying to find the "golden middle way" for our families and for the future of our kids. The path our world society is following leads towards anarchy and there is presently no hope that this trend can be stopped. Good luck to All of us!

I would like to say first of all that I take exception to the "male-brain dominated" government being uninterested or unable in taking action concerning the declining condition of society. Tougher laws can help but without the efforts of society itself to stem the tide of decline all the government will do is slow down the decline, not stop it. Every comment I've seen so far has been about fear for our own children and blame on others. My question to you would be "what are you doing about it?" Have you made an effort to train yourself and others about the problem or have you developed a solution to present for consideration? As anyone who keeps up with world news knows we in America have the same problems you are facing and we have made many new and tougher laws but it has had little effect on stemming the probem. The solution that has best worked is the community getting involved and protecting their children so that they have the opportunity to mature through being free to experience their surroundings while at the same time being under the watchful eye of responsible adults. We have also developed a registration program for offenders so we know where they are at all times and since they know they're being watched they are less likely to reaffend. These programs and solutions did not come from the government but were presented to the government by concerned citizens and followed up by actively making sure the govenment did their job by producing the necessary laws and programs. You see the real solution is you and your neighbors working together to make solutions instead of fearful complaints. I love all the children in my community and I assure you I keep watchful eye on them to protect them whether they are my childen, grandchildren or just someones child I don't know and I also know former offenders who live in or near my community so I can report to police any suspicious activity they are involved in.

We should tell the world
to trust our daughters.

It is a male dominated world and there is more concern over girls hymens than their independence.
All I can suggest is stop looking to government to solve problems, it can't.
Only citizens can.
First thing any parent should do is get the TV out of the house.

I am surprised to see so few comments on this issue by Khun Sanitsuda. Either Thai people don't love their children or they accept this as a matter of fact which can't be changed or they are very ignorant of this heinous crime.
Grant it, this is not a popular issue to talk about in a newspaper, but I am thankful that the Bangkok Post allows such issues to be discussed openly.
TV is here to stay. We can't just throw it out. What parents can do is to screen the programs on TV for their children to watch. If they are caught, then they should be disciplined like not being able to watch any program for a week.
As to the government, if enough people talked with their political representatives, maybe something can be done in Congress. I think wives from different groups should take on this issue and present this to their senators or congresswomen.

Parents who spoil their children by giving them money to spend most of their day playing video games and gorging themselves at the 7-11 are the real culprits: they don't teach their children to do anything, and certainly not to respect others.

Somchai can't read - but he sure can play a mean game of whatever is the latest rage.

Unfortunately, this type of crime is sensationalist and is reported in this way to sell more newspapers. These crimes have always existed and no number of laws will stop them. Parents must assume responsibility for their children, in what they watch on TV, and what computer games they play. Discipline starts in the home or ends there. The potential victims must be protected, even if their rights are being eroded. However, Thailand is still a far better place than most countries in the west re crime.

Press should be more responsible and more cautious in reporting such crimes as well as the Censor Authority should work harder to protect the society. May I request TV producers not only business thoughts but social concerns must be the most important thing to be done. Who will know one of these social problems might be very close and might happen to one of those producers' affair.

"Unfortunately, this type of crime is sensationalist and is reported in this way to sell more newspapers."
I agree with this idea, yet not in the author's sense. I suppose the author is tilted towards accepting the cruel aspect of the world, and keeping discipline within the home.
But, what if a person can be strong? What if they can break through the social deteriorated norm? What if they realize that people who come into contact with them can only be as good or as bad as they allow? And the question comes down to how they can possess and maintain such power?
This is simply my belief. The real strategy is up to you, should you choose to.

Another thing to note is that instead of saying that men should respect women, men should not molest women no matter how they're dressed, and men should not violate women, all we hear everyday are that women should dress appropriately and stay pure. With this kind of mindset it's tough to get anywhere. We have to start educating our boys to respect women and that violence towards women is not okay!!

I have a friend who was sodomized while ten-years-old by an adult male in rural Lao. I was eleven when I was molested by an adult male. Neither of us (both men now) told many people about it - even years later. There is a stigma attached that prevents us doing so. I was also molested by an adult woman while still an adolescent.

Should someone tell my friend and I not to trust the world? The incidents you speak of are nothing new, or exclusive to women. There are many more people in the world and the media pounces on these things. It's not right these things happen, but it's life and it has been with humanity for a long time.

All we can do is try not to make our kids afraid of everything, but keep them informed as to how to be safe, trying to keep them safe ourselves. If this mean wrapping them in a cocoon, we may as well not have given them life to begin with

This trend is dengerous for the existance of a good earth.It need world wide and family based awerness for the removal of this immoral thing.

There needs to be government subsidized sexual relief stations set up for men that are as ubiquitous as public restrooms. Nothing will change the way men are wired. The concept of family isn't for everyone. If some progressive society would do this instead of trying to harness or ignore men's instinctive urges to frequently ejaculate, crime rates of all kinds would likely plummet. This is my opinion.

I think I understand why you're motivated to write what you wrote about teaching your daughter to not trust the world. But the part about the other mom and the daughter accepting sweets was painful to read.

What you are talking about constructing is a world of fear like we have built in the United States. Most of us here in Amerika, especially men, are afraid to say anything to or even look at children lest we be accused of being child molesters. It makes for a very cold world, and if you head down this path of irrational fear, you too can live in a land without community.

In Amerika, the process is fairly complete at this point. Children are allowed to interact with virtually no one other than their parents, and despite this or perhaps because of it, they are less safe than Thai children. There will always be sensational crimes against children, and they will always be reported as such, but having community will always be safer, in truth, than not having community.

Dear Mom and Readers, This kind of
crimes are due to declining rate of
parents influence on their own childs
whether its Girl or Boy. So they tend
to influenced by friends, medias and
TV Soap operas. Being a good parents
we should be able to spend reasonable
time with our kids and socialize them
and teach them how to overcome the
social crimes what we discuss here.

Perception is everything. I come from a mid-size Canadian town that was recently surveyed to find out how safe people felt. Surprisingly people said they felt much less safe than they did 10 years ago. The surprise was that crime statistics in every category had fallen dramatically in the last ten years. This in fact is also the case in most large North American cities mostly due to aging demographics. Some sharp minds were put to task to find out why perception was so out of touch with reality. What they came up with was that the media, for lack up real news kept harping over and over on the same crimes, even reporting crimes in great detail that were hundreds of miles away and even in other countries. The result is that people are forever seeing crime in the media without stopping to double check their perceptions with the reality around them.
I think that Thailand is probably safer than most countries so one must not panic at the constant bad news on the TV . We must teach our children to be street smart, like not accepting rides and candy from strangers but do so without scaring the living daylights out of them. I think a lot of the readers commenting on this subject were brought up in small communities were no one even locked their doors. However now they are living in a big city were people are more anonymous so more care has to be taken. I am over 50 years old and I was also warned against strangers so it is nothing new. The odds of your child dying on a motorcycle are far greater than being drugged and kidnapped yet I see 9 year olds driving motorcycles with no helmets everywhere. Also remember that it is a well known statistic around the world that family members are a much higher risk that strangers when it comes to sex abuse. Please people, a little common sense.

I really should not be commenting on this topic because my feelings are too strong. My age is such that my children are grown and have grown children of their own. I love all children because a childs years are so short, that they should be able to be happy and carefree during this time. But, as we know, this cannot be in this society which WE have cultured. The answer to how to help our children face the world of deviants and sick-minded people is impossible to do when the powers that be refuse to take a hard stand. If I could pass just one law, it would be to make eunichs of every person who molested a child. Make it banner headline in the paper that so-and-so was castrated today because ----. As I said before, I have strong feelings about the molestation of innocents and if I were ever a witness to such an act, God help the molestee! Savage, ain't I?

I think behavior of child. They are show under environment and to take care of our parent. If parent to take care are very good. The Problem is not happen. Some parent are young so they are decrease experience of take care our child. But from childhood to adult are good. They are know separate of our opinion good or bad.

When I read this news I'm very sad.In the present,our society has a bad news .It's change from the past.I think that the world have new technology but mind of people not develop.Father and mother should be careful children from a bad things.You should close up them for protect from this event.
Finally you can protect children by give love and take care them. Don't leave off them.

I do agree with your article on teaching your children not to trust anything or anyone. Isn't that sad??? I have 2 girls; 19 and 14. I have been telling them all these years not to talk to or taking any foods from strangers. I also told my oldest to look in the parking lot before opening her car door and lock the doors once she gets in. It seems that we have taught our children to be fearful of this world. But seeing what happens to young people these days, it's hard not to be too careful!

It's not simple, is it? As a daugther, I felt that my parents should have allowed me to be more exposed so that I could be more experienced and more equipped to deal with different people in this world. However, as a mother, I don't really know the best way to raise my children. Luckily I am not anyone's mother yet.

i feel sorry for the girl and parents in this story, but sorry to say, for all others then the people involved, it becomes normal to see/read these stories. like latest stories about burma/china,bombs in south thailand. its now allready a part of our day to read/hear about it..its normal. but for the people directly involved it will never be. tell your children to be carefull,not only outside home, but at home too.
father of one.

Well, sexual abuse like rape is surely the most significant problem in Thailand. Mostly, the causes of this problem had begun long ago, that is it's always easy to reach those sexual things, whatever it's from a Website or a porn magazine, the most clearest thing being the soap opera on TV, namely Sawan Biang.

To fix this problem, we should start with project our own family from those awfuls. By sending our girls to learn how to fight and protect themselves, we can prepare them for future situations. Also, every adults in neigbourhood should each volunteer to look out for those girls.

In addition to, all girls should carry with them the device that can protect them, such as the device that can spark electric throgh body.

We really hope that in the future the government can find a clue to stop this problem. They even should start it right now than argue with each other about the political things.

As a dauther of my beloved mom, I know the reason that my mother always disagree when I want to hang out with my friend. However, I think as a innocent and stubborn girl that it's better to let me know more about this dirty society and learn to avoid threatening situation by myself.
All of us know that we can't live with our parent for good, so that we have to find the way to live on our own.
If I have daughters, I will let my daughters to encounter the fact and figure out their own problem.

I think, it's a big problem in our world. Nowadays, moral is decreasing by any factors such as education, nurture and environment. This problem is solved by the parents' attention. Besides, helping from every people in social is the most important thing. However, children must take care of ourself. For example, bewaring of the conversation that can make them to the risk situation, should refuse something which are not safe, and if he has a problem, he should consult their parents or teachers for solve the problem correctly. Finally, the children who have a problem, they should always think "If you consult the means form other people who can trust and solve", "You'll never walk alone".

Dear readers

Apparently, Thai society has been changed a lot. Many trends and fashions are adopted from many foreign countries. These are the main cause of change in our community especially in teenagers. For my opinion, as a teenager, I think that parents should teach their children the living skills in order that they can live themselves safely and happily. If they always protect their daughters from everything, they’ll absolutely kill their daughters because they can learn nothing. It’s impossible to get rid of all bad people but we can avoid them by making strong community. As I know, teenager’s behavior is mainly depending on the environment. Some teenagers pay respect to their friends much more than parents, so it’s easy to be persuaded to do anything from friends. However, the paramount important unit in the society is the family. To prevent any social incident, we should make our families strong with full of love and warm first, then expand to the larger and larger community.

Dear Reader,
We are both girls who live in the country which has a lot of raping. We think that the way which can solve this problem is depended on the parents who always take care and look after us. When we were little girls, our parents didn’t tell us a lot of these horrible things. However, while we are growing up, our parents started to tell us some of these things little by little. Although there are many laws that protect the women and child’s rights, the people who want to commit this crime can always find the ways to do what they want. So the laws can’t protect us from all of these hazardous things. We think it is the parents’ responsibility to look after and teach their children for being in this world.
If your children are boys, you don’t have to forbid them from looking the pornographic pictures or movies. However, you should remind them that what they saw is the bad things and don’t copy them. As you already know that if you force somebody too much, they will feel constrained.
If your children are girls, you have to teach them not to be so optimistic. As someone said “the coins have two sides”, we can infer that everything has two sides, one is bad and another is good. Nonetheless, you can protect your children by telling them not to be alone at night, not to get into taxi alone and other ways that you can teach them.

In our point of view, their children will grow up one day. And they have to take care themselves. Parents should teach the facts to them and how to live in the way society which is going now. Children should learn what they can trust or cannot, because parents cannot protect them eternally. One day children will be parents and they will look after their children, too. If they cannot take care of themselves, they will be able to take care of no one.

If we take a closer look in the problems, not only just what is happening? We will see that the raping start from the families. The way parents raise their siblings are important; parents need to teach their siblings moralities. Our daughters and son need to learn now they should behave themselves right. Of course that the medias and the internet has influence the society, making the society more dangerous, many kids think that raping is acceptable however if they have been taught what is right and what is wrong, they will be able to choose which media they are going to watch and will be able to learn that some media have shown bad examples of the society and they should not do it! Declaring stronger laws against raping won't solve the problems permanently. Kids today tend to be COOL in their ways. They do what their friends do and whatever needed for them to be accepted among friends. By the pleasure of today society; parents spend most of their time in the offices, giving not enough time for their kids. It is us, not their friends, to give them love, advices and teach them what is right and what is wrong. But remember that we are not them, our jobs is to TEACH them and let them learn by watching the society. Good advices and solitude will connect them to their inner selves; let the society be the real life guidance.

I don't feel that, as a whole, you should feel guity for teaching your daughter so. You've done what good concerning parents do. We all aware that Thai's society has changed gradually and definitely not in a good way. Anyway, you cannot always be there for her, one day when she becomes a grown-up and realizes how messed up this world could possibly be, that will be the time when she has to fight her own issues. Telling you daughter not to trust the world wouldn't help much, in contrary, telling how to cope with these viciousness might help a lot. Letting your daughter to experience some truth can't be too harmful, after all, you live in nice neighbour hood, don't you?
The way our society now is going on should be in large concern. But with the so-called "government" way of work shows that we shouldn't hope for others but we strenghten ourselves. Keep those watchful eyes on them in appropriate distance, let they learn the world and you'll not be sorry.

All I can say is that you shouldn't, as a whole, feel guilty for teaching your daughter so. It's true that not all the people nowadays could be trusted and you did the right decent thing like good parents should do. we all aware that Thai's society has changed gradually since who knows when and definitely not in a good
way.
Anyway, telling your daughter not to trust the world could be slightly overdo and it don't seem to help much because one day when she becomes a grown-up and realize how messed up this world could be, that's when she has to fight her own issues. To help your daughter with that, teaching her how to deal, to cope with all the viciousness could benefit a lot. Parents cannot always be there for their children but letting them to learn from their own mistakes (that means not totally neglect them) with watchful eyes in appropriate distance, they'll be fine. After all, you don't seem to live in such a bad neighbour hood, do you?
Judging from the way government works remind all of us not to depend on others, in contrary, we have to strenghten our community and especially ourselves.

The comment about Thailand being safer than most countries interests me. Reading what appeared to be a mainstream periodical (Chiang Mai News, I believe) I was astounded to read that Thailand ranks third in the world for gun violence - behind South Africa and Columbia. I still find it hard to believe. Can anyone verify, or deny this claim?

After teaching in Thailand for the past four years, I am suprised to see the way the male students are treated in a superior way to the females. From an early age, the males are taught, in many subtle ways, that they are superior. If you want your female children to be respected by the males, even the playing field and treat the females the same. No wonder the males treat their females the way they do!!!!!

DAD

My Thai wife said she wanted a farang husband because she couldn't trust Thai men with her daughters! We now have another daughter together so I have 4 women in my immediate family to concern me. However, I do not see the bad everywhere in Thai society that locals do. I love Thailand because its (the people's) values are high.

What really saddens me though was the letter from 2 girls above where they said rape is common in the countryside. Certainly equality and respect should be taught in both the home and schools and somehow Thailand needs to address the huge number of teenage girls who become pregnant out of wedlock. I suspect they lack basic contraceptive knowledge. If you/we let family life breakdown in Thaliand just as it has in the UK/USA etc.then we can only expect to eventually live in the moral vacuum in which those societies now find themselves.

Pa JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA :D
I love your article!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well........
I am really sorry for such as things in Thailand.
I am a Spanish taecher, and I have been living and working in Thailand for three years before.
As long as you worry about things like that and try to solve them, you will be better than all our Western Societies.
After one and a half years more in Spain, I can´t see myself living in here forever.
I hope to be able to get back to Thailand and to stay forever in there.
You, Thai People have been independent for more than eight hundred years.So, you have to take the best from outside and to leave the rest.
I LOVE THAILAND

I think that we should tell our daughters to avoide from all the bad thing better.

I would like to make a suggestion to the National Statistics Department of Thailand to inform us of the number of cases of rape in Thailand for the years 2006, 2007. Since there have been so many letters addressing this issue, I think it is proper for the Thai authorities to inform us of how serious this issue is. Tell us like it really is, so we know and can do something about this matter. Can someone from the statistics Department tell us .... please!! Knowledge is power to the people involved. Thank you.

Yes, I do agree with Bob and his Idea is really straightforward!!Good

The problem is that worldwide attitudes have changed (for the good or worst). In some ways it is better and some ways it is worse. But let's be under no illusion that society has changed. People are doing more now "that they want to" than they have wanted to in the past. In short it comes down to whether one should hold back or do what "wants" or some of what "wants to". There is no shortage of examples of studnets also indulging themselves in what many to be considered to be "immoral behaviour". But it takes 2 to tango as the saying goes. Or often unless the person is under age or under the age of consent. I hear a lot of people complaining about the breakdown in the morals of society and law and order but maybe if the laws were no so strict and so much expceted then fewer people would want to break them. If the "laws" or rules of behavious were more inclined towards people as human beings with needs and desires and less in terms of rules, laws and "sins" then more people may be inclined to follow the wisdom of their forefathers. But in truth too often than not we are told only the "good" our forefathers did and not the "bad". They re made out to be perfect and innocent beings when in fact they were anything but. Yes we need to protect our daughters and women in general but women also need to look at themselves. Why is that men feel the need to be such bread winners and earn so much money as possible? In the end "money talks" and no matter what anyone says it is normally the thing that women are after. They say men look for "sex symbols". Women look for "success symbols". If we wish for the world to change then women have to change too. They cannot complain about the current status quo and dominance of the power of men when they demand men to have power. What kind of double standards are these? Men know this. They know that simply without power they are nothing. And so they do all in their domain to get it. When they do, they are told they have abused their power and we live in male dominated world. Who asked men to be so dominant in the first place when it came to the power? Women! Maybe women should try and also look for the qualities of kindness, heart, compassion. If the world was more concerned about good and not just about money, power and success then the world would be a better place. There would be less environmental destruction. We would consider our actions more and not just do things to make as much money as possible. But in the end we men are as much victims as we are perpetrators. We do things because we are expected not because we always want to, because in the end we know that is what people expect and what women want. If we want to change the world then we have to start from inside, from the person who writes the articles and has opinions. We cannot expect the world to change if we are not prepared to. We cannot expect the world to be a better place when we don't care about the environment and the state of the planet. In the end we are all involved and it is too easy to point a finger without knowing that 4 are pointing back at us. We also have to change our expectation and behaviour and "be the change we wish to see".

As a male foreigner living in Thailand I'm really shocked by the treatment of women in thai "cultural" medias.

I've never seen so many rapes on TV anywhere else, and I travel a lot. Most of the times those events are not even treated in a dramatic soul-crushing fashion but simply as normal unimportant events.

Add the revolting attitudes of government members towards women ( remember Samak and the female reporter incident? aren't those people in power supposed to be examples for the youth?) and I'm surprized that raping is not even more commonplace.

In my building there is so many cases of domestic violence that I stopped counting, and I live in an "upscale" area.

Thai women are great (travel a bit and you'll understand why) but Thai men seem to have forgotten that.

If Thai drama on TV wants to have rape script, romantic-rape and specially brutal lead actor who likes to torture women, the drama producer, script writer -please please -provide more script on how to fix the rape problem, provide choices to the rape victims, give more roles to justice process and don't let brutal lead actor stay with no legal punishment !!!

The world is not an ideal place and never has been . In the past girls and women were not given the freedom that they are today , in order to protect them . Progress is often a retrograde step . I have for the most part , always been a country dweller . In my youth in England my sisters and I played and adventured around our local countryside without fear ; our parents too had no worries for our safety . In my early thirties , my wife and I farmed and brought up our small children . I could leave my car in an open barn , with the key in the ignition , day and night , without fear that a prowler or thief would take it , we used to go shopping in the local town 3 miles away and leave our front door open .
I now live in a rural village in North East Thailand . Our little house has bars to all the windows and my wife worries lest I forget to lock the door . When I am at home alone, I must lock the door incase the thieves burst in . As yet none of these fears have been justified .
I actually marvel at the freedom of women and girls here . Girls of all ages cycle to school and many still very young ride a motorcycle .
After school I see many children , especially girls who romp and play around the village and in the fields , with no fear for their safety on their part or their parents . My sister in law has a wayward 13 year old daughter who on any excuse will go out after dark to visit friends . She is on a bicycle or motor cycle and she does not see the danger ; her parents are very angry when eventually she returns . I'm not sure they really get across to her the danger of being out at night . People don't speak about sex it seems , even to their children when necessary . They should explain to her that there are young lads around the village at night , who have had a few drinks and might stop her and force her to have sex with them . A generation ago it would have been unthinkable for a girl to go out unaccompanied after dark , so there was no need to say anything .
I think the greatest danger lies in urban or suburban areas . It is not a just excuse to say that very poor have to work hard to survive and are not able to properly supervise their children . Many years ago the Hollywood Star Mike Todd , lost all his money . Newspaper reporters asked him how it feels to be poor .
Mike Todd replied," Poverty is a state of mind ". Poor families are poor because they lack education and are ignorant . Their state of mind is not to keep an orderly home and take proper care of their children .
It is shocking that young children should be allowed , by an adult , into a shop where pornographic videos can be viewed . There are computer shops everywhere , even in the country , where children come to play games , but might find access to pornography . There seems to be little or no supervision at our local computer shop .
It is sad , but the world is far from perfect ; It has never been a safe place for women and girls . In a time when girls are effectively equal , they should be forewarned by their parents of the dangers they may encounter .

Long-term media studies in the United States have shown that people's perception of their society are strongly influenced by the amount and type of TV they watch.

Think about it--if there are 60 million people in any particular country, and the nightly news culls all the horrific events from the entire world and presents it as "the news," wouldn't that tend to skew one's view?

Fact is, it does.

I'm not saying horrific events don't occur; but I am saying that they occur with far less frequency than a heavy diet of TV news leads one to believe.

I agree with Martin (is that you, Eddy?), above, in a sense, that men are victims, too. Maybe not in the same sense, but a similar one. I was born into a pre-existing world, a pre-existing social structure, with a lot of goofy beliefs about reality best encapsulated, for this discussion, in the phrase "barefoot, pregnant, and in the kitchen."

Thankfully, those beliefs and assumptions are evolving, but the male sense of entitlement has perhaps developed in the wrong direction. I hope I'm wrong about that, and the writer above, who spoke of being abused as a boy in Laos, is right--this has always been with us and is only now being publicized.

Perhaps the writers and producers of those Thai dramas, so maligned above, are reflecting what they see (which is disgusting) to arouse disgust, rather than trying to propogate these behaviors and attitudes?

The writer above (sorry, lost track of all your posts and names) who spoke of community-oriented solutions to social problems--with government support--is right on the money. The African saying "It takes a village to raise a child" is more, in my view, about the fact that the pressure of money-making and child-rearing is too much for most nuclear families to bear in a completely healthy manner.

A bottom-up, community-based organization can approach local magnates and government representatives to seek donations of space and money so that each comunity has the necessary facilities to provide growing children with healthy activities--perhaps even monitored game rooms with individual daily time limits. Community watch organizations armed with cameras and hand-held video recorders do wonders in suppressing rampant drug-based behavior--or at least, flushing it to another, less fortunately orgnaized, area.

Anyway... just sayin'...

As any parents, we are concern about the physical safety and mental well being of our children. We wish that we could have our kids protected with lifetime warranty – like some automobiles. Do you know - in the medieval time, the knights and kings employed chastity belt to “protect” the “honor” of their love ones? In Africa, up to now, they are still using the sewing method. Which method would you prefer?

As intelligent adults, instead of over reacting, we will acknowledge the concern and try to collectively find the solutions. I remember, when I was a very young boy in Udorn, we were taught to cross the street safely. We were first taught to recognize the cars and the trucks and, subsequently, the consequent if we’re unfortunate enough to get hit by one of them – if we didn’t die from it, mom would make sure that we would. There were twelve of us and we did not lose anyone. I bet you have many good life experiences similar to mine too. In another words, we may be powerless to protect our children from sexual predators; but we can teach our children to recognize and avoid the situations where their physical safety could be compromised. Furthermore, when you teach your children to solve problem through reasoning you will show how mature adults handle crisis and instill confidence in her. You will be able to sleep well everynight when you know that your children are capable of taking care of themselves. Life is good. Aim for a star. Live without fear.

I would like to speak for those troubled children - the neglected and the abused, who will grow up to be troubled adults. Show me a bad child and I will show you the dysfunctional family. Instead of condemning them, I would like people to show more understanding and compassion. Be a role model - volunteer to be a big brother or sister for those kids. Assist them financially to get good education. Treat them as your own. Stand up and demand for their rights. After all, it takes a village to raise a child.

As a parting word, I would like to quote the words of the American President John F. Kennedy –“ Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country. “

The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.

-Albert Einstein-

On this day, People don't train the child to be good people but want the child to be the expert one. then I think that If parent change the idea to train the child frome expert to goodness, the world will be good for living.

Every poster on this site must surely be aware of the huge amount of domestic violence in Thailand. Almost none of it gets reported. Why is this? Social workers are well aware of the high incidence of domestic violence, sexual violence, and child abuse. The newspapers go into a frenzy over the comparitively few cases of paedophilia involving farang teachers, yet rarely do we see reports of the frequent abuses against children by Thais - teachers, as well as others in the community. If the perpetrators are in high positions, as Sanitsuda points out, nothing is done. (It is well-known that there are many people in this country who can get away with, quite literally, murder.)
Castration is not the solution. Sexual violence does not occur as the result of mere sexual desire in males ; it occurs because many males believe that women & children are lesser life-forms, like dogs, for example, and can legitimately be used in any way they desire, and, in more extreme cases, some have a mental need to cause suffering to the vulnerable.
Community action is the solution ("it takes a village...") The discussion has got to become open and frank, neighborhoods need to provide support for the victim families,instead of ignoring or shunning them, pressure has got to be put on the authorities to strengthen laws & engage in more honest, thorough and balanced policing & judicial processes. Governments will only act when they know that the community demands action.
Education has a pivotal role to play in this. Teacher-training is badly in need of improvement. All teachers should be screened (i.e. not only farangs, and the screening of farangs should be adhered to properly - at the moment it's not.), children should be not only TOLD that both sexes are equally valuable, they should experience that in the day-to-day running of schools. Counselling services should be available to troubled children - too expensive? Improved auditing and policing processes in the public sector could well result in billions more baht being available to be used productively and properly.
In my work in Thailand I have had opportunities to look at many schools. I can't help noticing that in general, girls in segregated high schools seem to be much stronger, more balanced mentally & emotionally, and more mature & happy than their counterparts in co-educational schools. This is worth looking at.

I am not a firm believer in statistics (there are 3 kinds of lies: lies, damn lies, and statistics) therefore cannot tell whether it is true or not that Thailand has more rape problems than most other countries in the world as had been implied by some in this page; however, I am fairly certain that most rapists are those who the victims know, or even from the immediate family, not only here but everywhere else.
I can still vividly recall an incident in which a South Asian taxi driver in Sydney pointing at a group of middle age caucasian males crossing the street and, out of the blue, blurted out that 'they raped their daughters'.

Crime against woman is a worldwide not only in Thailand alone. I have lived in almost 15 countries including USA & Canada. Its same problem, people say it in every country same things, but nothing happens. I CAN ONLY PRAY FOR EVERYBODY.

From my opinion i strongly disgree with your idea cause you can't protect your son or your doughter for the rest of your life so you should let's them stand by their own feet.

It's not just frightening parents who have daughters but the whole society need to concern much on what is going on as well. Nowaday, we experience he sophisicated phenomena, we can't avoid it. Basically, education is the fundamental issue could help enhance morality, conscience, and etc.

Entrenched attitudes towards women are a big problem in Thailand, also a contributing factor are the women who turn a blind eye to and support men who behave disgracefully and dishonestly . A close friend of mine became involved with a man who turned out to have 3 wives - he told her he was not married. In addition, there were also a number of women constantly calling him on the phone. He also harassed women in the workplace; there were complaints, yet he still manages to be re-employed in the same sector of work which is ironically, the humanitarian sector. Mercifully she told him to get lost after she found out the truth and realised his main motive was having her give him financial support. Makes you wonder what ideas this person's son will have as children learn from the behaviour of adults.......

Dear readers,
Let me share my view as a Thai. I think the root cause of the problem lies in the gender inequality aspect of the Thai culture dated back centuries ago. Thai males have been taught to be superior to the females. The media help reinforce this value. Raping is a manifestation of power of the males above the females and that should not be tolerated in any civilized society.
The group that needs to be educated should be the male, not the female. So dear parents, teach your sons to honor and respect daughters of yours or of someone else.

Yes you should tell Nong jah that the World is very scary and full of dangers.. anyway I'm writing news about Thai Fabric and the super duper new innovation of Thai Textile Machinery that I have no idea what words to use. Regardly, you are my aunt and I have no skill in writing at all I should be ashame of that. And this is a public comment oh well, I miss you and hope to see you and your lovely family soon.
Back to work
x x
Gem

Dear all,

Yesterday when my family turned on the TV, there's this new thai soap called Superstar. In merely 30 minutes, there were 2 rape scenes!!!

Although there's a rating of 18 for this soap, what on earth are they thinking showing this soap at the prime time of 8-9pm? (not too sure of the air time, but I was too shocked and too angry to find out details).

Yes, maybe some of you who have left comments here are right that rape is a testesterone problem.

But still, without media (in this case, the soap operas) to provoke the male testesteron, don't you think there will be less likely that it will happen?

Another example: without indulging in the video games of the GTA, would the 18 yr old immitate the video scene thinking that it's all too normal to go out and kill somebody?

Please think.

One other source of bad influence that has been overlooked is Japanese manga/ comic books. A lot of these comic books may seem innocent--young girls having a crush on some guy in high school, for example. However, what many parents don't realize is that there are TONS of very graphic, sexual scenes within these comic books that are supposedly targeting an audience as young as pre-teen girls. It's almost difficult to find comic books these days that do not contain any sexual scenes. Plus, homosexual sexual scenes are also on the rise in Japanese comic books, and surprisingly, these books are targeted at girls.

I think the comic book industry needs to be regulated, or at least the content of each book needs to have some sort of rating so that parents will know what kind of comic book their children are reading. I bet several parents never flip through their kids' comic books, and never realized that these seemingly innocent books contain scenes that would be considered pornographic by most standards.

Dear khun Sanitsuda: With all due respect, please tell your daughter about both goods and bads of the world. Dear Thais: Please stop drawing a link between anything negative to being Thais. We gain nothing by talking negatively about our own country and culture. Rape is a testosterone problem. Many kids in the west were raped by their fathers, step-fathers, mothers' boyfriends, uncles, family friends, teachers, and the priests! The real question is how to set an appropriate limit of our kids' exposure to media. I doubt if those 8-12 year old boys gained any sexual pleasure in that so-called rape.

What should we tell our children? FIGHT BACK.

When I was a young girl in Manila, I was subject to humiliating public groping by street boys. This happened almost weekly for a few months, always on my solitary walk home to the jeepney stop. It happened even one time when I was walking with another classmate.

The fear made me mad; I was raging inside, but I felt powerless because there were always three boys who would surround me, and I was afraid of getting hurt if I fought back. It finally stop.

One day a few months later, my own male classmate surreptitiously groped me while we were in class and waiting for the teacher to arrive, and it was too much. I exploded and shouted at him to stop groping me. He laughed at me and told the other guys, look she thinks I'm attracted to her. The other girls were sympathetic but told me I should have just kept quiet. However, the point to keep in mind is that he never did it again, and I never got groped again by any other guy.

No way, never just keep quiet. Keeping quiet is tacit approval of the act. Keeping quiet means the shame is on the victim, not the victimizer.

What should we teach our children? Fight back! Is it better to live in shame and fear? No, it is better to fight back, come away with an injury, but always one will be able to hold one's head high!

And while my husband disagrees with me, I advocate teaching girls martial arts so that they can learn how to control situations, how to turn the violence back on the aggressor, and how to be peaceful and self-controlled and inspire peace and calm rather than aggression.

Remember, rape and molestation are not about sex. They are always about violence and power that one individual can inflict on another.

Ultimately, the cause of rape is sexism - the idea that women are inferior to men. In Thailand, there is zero effort from the government - rich men - to prevent sexism. Children in Thai schools are not taught that sexism is wrong. Instead, they are beaten by their teachers, and told to shut up. Also, in Thailand, racism is deliberately encouraged, throughout society. The idea that Thai people are somehow superior (or inferior) to foreign people is just as stupid and disgusting as the idea that men are superior to women. Most Thai people, adults and children, simply don't know that racism and sexism are wrong. It's just that nobody in authority has ever explained to them why racism and sexism are wrong.

All children should be taught how to be careful, no matter what country they live in, the world is not a perfect place, there is evil in all countries. This is nothing new, I do think it is more difficult in Thailand because children are not as aware as western children and are more afraid to speak out.

to keep close and teach our girl to know what is right or wrong thing in our current situation is might be the best way to protect our children from any bad.
Moreover, we should teach them to know what is the reason of wrong thing that occur right now, and point them the result of it.

Rape like murder, robbery and corruption will alway occur as it has always occured so there is little point blaming TV. This is just a convenient but questionable defence used by anyone caught doing something they know was wrong... look for someone or somethng else to blame.
What is happening now is that rape victims do not stay silent out of sham. Eventually more will report the attack and more rapists will be jailed. The more jailed the greater the deterent.

What is important is that parents dont over react and try to protect their children from risk in life. All life carries some risk but thats what makes life worth living. If you shut your children's life down completely in order to protect them you actually make them more vulnerable.

Knowledge is power and knowledge comes from shared experience. Don't try to keep your children young by making innocence a holy virtue. Give them the knowledge early to enable them to make decisions to protect themselves.
Talk to them about sex and violence and what can happen but at the same time remember no matter how it appears from the newspapers the overall risk of rape, like murder is relately low.

An admirable concern from a concerned mother whose daughter was in 'ballet class'. No argument. That mother is living in a country where she and most others turn a blind eye to tens of thousands of adolescent girls from Issan being sent from Northern poverty to provide Southern hospitality to locals and foreigners in Bangkok and Pattaya. Sad to see.

If "we" means all the parent in the world. I believe,mature parents have to take serious care to thier child. In the real world, there are lots of immature parents who can not even protect themselves from what we called globalization. I admit that I love to live in this era which teaches me to face the fact. Reality is not just a fairy tale. It's all mixed to perform the society of humanity. I'm not a parent but I have nieces and nephews to take care of. I won't tell my child to do not trust the world. I always tell them "be confident in what you have been experienced and don't forget to take advantage of it "

The prophecy foresaw this so we basically just have to deal with it. There is nothing ''wrong'' about it. We are just social animals. Without moral values we are nothing but animals.

The prophecy foresaw this so we basically just have to deal with it. There is nothing ''wrong'' about it. We are just social animals. Without moral values we are nothing but animals.

News report
10,000 girls all walked home from school today and were not raped.
40,000 girls spoke to men today and were not asked for sexual favours from them.
I understand this does not sell newspapers but please do not end up as scared as the western world. Remember we invade countries and kill 100,000 people becuase they put two planes into two buildings and killed 3500 Americans. Rape was going on before mass media but nobody heard about it. i know rape is wrong but please put your arguments into context. You mat end up like my country. We have no water and 50,000 homeless people but we spend billions of dollars to save two lives per year on the road.

As a retired farang teacher this subject really tears at my heart. I first came to Thailand in 1973 serving in the U.S. Air Force and I have seen it all. First of all I would like to comment on the Thai fathers who teach their sons that males are superior to Thai females. Shame on you! What you should be teaching your sons is how important it is to respect Thai females equally, be a gentleman, and have respect for them, not degrade them. I here it everyday that Thai females prefer farang husbands versus Thai husbands because Thai men have no or little respect for Thai ladies. You can thank their Fathers for this because they were taught to treat Thai females to be sub servant and not equal. This mentality has to change Dad! Thank yourself when your son can't find a nice wife. For the Mothers, it's time to teach your daughters about the values of staying a virgin until marriage instead of being influenced by their friends, boyfriends, and sickening soap opera's like Sawan Biang and Superstar. Let's face it, sex sells, but lets get back to old fashioned values. Sure, their are daughters that won't listen and have sex before marriage anyway, if thats the case it's not the Mothers fault, it's disrespect. I am also amazed by how many Mothers have failed to teach their daughters about sex. I actually had female Thai students ask me some very personal questions about sex because their Mothers were afraid to discuss it with them. It was just as embarrassing for me as it was for them to have to ask but I did my best to explain it to them without going over the fine line of being a Male teacher. Just because your Mother didn't teach you about sex doesn't mean you shouldn't teach your daughter, times have changed. Start at age 10 and teach them more as time goes on. By 13 they should know about condoms and what boys will try to do under peer pressure. The markets are full of young Thai ladies with children, education would have helped Mom. I have so much respect for the Thai ladies in their 30's and 40's that are still virgins, I just wish I could find a nice husband for you because through respect for morals and your families you have done very well. I am always teased about finding them a nice farang husband. Parents, please teach your children to respect one another, stay off drugs and alcohol, and get a good education. Remember, they are the ones that will have to take care of you someday. One more thing, don't be afraid to hug and tell your children how much you love them at least twice a day, a hug goes a long way. Choke dee krap

Dear parent,

Although we are confronted by the shocking way that these youngsters chose to re-enact a game, the offence is not new. If you take away the reasons, why they did it, the offence is as old as men. I recall the attempt to murder president Reagan because the offender was inspired by a caracter in a movie. Our parents had the same worries.
What I want to say is that the world has not changed, it is not turning bad. It is good that happenings like that remind us how fragile we are and maybe we can "scan" the measures we took to protect us. Be aware for letting our fears take control over us and our beloved. That is the greater threath to us. Love your child and guide it, don't imprison him/her because we think live is getting more dangerous. You rob your child of many good experiences because somewhere there lurks danger. thanks for reading.

#27 - I cringe when I see comments like yours, stating that the antisocial trends in Thai society now are the result of influences from foreign cultures. Thailand has a very long history of sexism, sexual exploitation and sexual violence. Prostitution has been a major industry, young children of both sexes have been sold into sexual slavery,since long before the Vietnam war & the tourist boom, and men of higher status have always regarded women of lower status as 'available,' to be used at will. Right now, we can see acres of 'short-time' hotels, karaoke bars & massage parlours which cater to Thai men, not tourists, in every part of Bangkok, as well as smaller towns all over the country. Sexual harrassment in the workplace is very common. Thai culture!

Thank you for your interesting story, this is something that is not only local to Bangkok or even Thailand. It is everywhere we go.

Thailand may not quite have the system in place like other countries do (I do not mean this in a bad way) but we see all the same things occur all over the world.

Good luck to everyone in everything that you do.

As a 38 year old male, I remember as a child being warned by my parents that if strangers or even family friends or family, made me feel uncomfortable or like something was wrong, that it was ok to get away and to come to them and talk.

I consider my parents to be conservative, but looking back, extremely caring and thoughtful. I don't know of any sexual abuse problems within my immediate family, but obviously, they had at some time in their adult lives known enough to consider us as potential victims. I never felt afraid, but I do think I must have paid attention to how I felt in the company of adults.

I remember at a public swimming pool when I was all of about 8, being approached by a 40+ male whilst with a group of friends (with my mother not far away). I was first one in my group of 5 or 6 friends to gather my things and tell them to get out of there and get away from this man. I can't remember what this man had said, but he was not menacing and the rest of my group seemed intrigued by him rather than frightened.

I learnt many years later that this man was a convicted paedophile. At the time, I felt no fear, only a certainty that something was not right with him. I felt no disrespect towards him by ignoring his advances and getting me and my friends away.

As a youngster, I resented certain restrictions that my parents placed on me. Things like not being able to watch certain shows on television (circa 1977 - how bad could they have been back then in comparison to todays Thai soap operas etc?) I was never allowed to stay at a friends house unless my mother AND father had PERSONALLY met the parents, and had spoken to the parents prior to the stayover. At the time it was REALLY painful, very uncool, and something I challenged them on constantly. They never budged. I was never molested. That is not to say that I may not have been, but I do think my parents were always doing their best to protect me.

I have never seen anything but love and respect between my Mother and Father. Sure, they did argue and they did fight, and with gusto sometimes. At the end, there was always some resolution by both of them. I have never in my ENTIRE life, seen either my Mother or my Father treat another person, be they a friend or a stranger, badly. I have seen them reach out to our extended family members when in need with help in whatever way they could give; a place to stay, money in times of hardship and support and comfort in times of personal need. I have never seen either one act dishonestly, no matter how minor, in any way shape or form - EVER.

All in all, I was blessed with loving parents who took the time to be PARENTS, to guide me, to answer my questions when I did not understand, to punish me when I did wrong, but most importantly, to set a good example. I can understand quite easily how I came to be like minded and to have what I consider to be a good moral compass.

Where does that leave the kids that don't have parents, or that don't have parents that set a good example, or parents that even take the time (or have the time) to be PARENTS to their children?

Thailand has to contend with a rate of cultural change well beyond most countries. A few years ago a television was a luxury, and now, an Armani or Gucci handbag or watch that cost several times the price of a television is not enough. To look at a Thai soap opera leaves me truly saddened, especially when I see this apalling behavior emulated in the parking lots of shopping centers by young couples. I see western movies edited so that a rude word is changed, a naked body is blurred (which I can understand being in Thailand), and yet have seen the violence of rape depicted clearly and in detail. That the rape is not clearly shown as a brutal crime but more as an everyday event makes my head spin! This I cannot understand.

So what is the answer? I don't believe you can change the whole world on your own. I do believe you can change the world of the people that you encounter, be they friends, family or a stranger. Kind and caring acts leave a huge impression on people. Setting a good example through your own behaviour is a great start. We should not accept that it is ok to see rape as an accepted practice on TV. We should be vocal to the government and to advertisers in these slots about this. We should take the time to be parents to our children and teach them the values of life through example and discussion; through punishment and reward. We all need to take responsibility for the way the world is today and do what we can, no matter how small it may seem, to make a difference. Don't simply complain about things. Sure, complain, be vocal about things that need changing, but don't stop there. If even only a small act, do something that will make a difference. Write a letter, make a phonecall, help a friend, teach a child, do the RIGHT thing when you are tempeted not to. Do SOMETHING...

The best things in life are never the easiest.

A neighbor is from Cambodia. She lived in Thailand before comming to the US to stay. She said parent family members were killed so that the children would become prostitutes. She is afraid to visit Cambodia for fear of reprisial for the killings she has witnessed.

I am a mum of a 6.5 yr old who had repedetly problems with Bullying in different preschools and schools.Her pediatrician gave us the tip to send her to martial art in order to get rid of her problem to fall victim all the time ,also to deal with then motorical and disciplinary issues.Not that it is a wonderweapon but her selfconfidence has grown in those two years since she started Tea Kwon Do.
I personally think when it comes to bringing up children either boy or girl love, care and communication with the child are the best way to keep them out of trouble.If I dump my child in front of the TV without screening what she watches I am responsible for the bad language, the nightmares and what ideas she gets from it.The same applies to having her PC time unsupervised.
Both TV and PC belong to this world and I am not taking it away from her- she can have it- in moderation.
Of course it is not like when we grew up and had adventures in the nature but I agree with a fellow commentor we grew up in a different environement and we do have to adapt.I don't like to have to supervise her that much and often and I am sure at some stage later my daughter might want to escape that- but sorry I do not see another option right now.
There is a fine line to overdo the protection of our children but YES, I do tell my daughter about strangers, even aquaintances who behave oddly and do things she does not want to have done.It is a crazy world we are living in and I do protect my child but I try to do it in an ageapropriate way.Of course our kids here in Bkk lack of being 'street smart' but then again, they have advantages of other things compared to kids living in other countries.You can't have it all.We parents try our Best and that is all we can do .And love them and tell them they are loved.

I think that sex takes a major part of thai culture now days . parents should be mature first and clean minds that they can give best eduvation to their children. I lived for 4 years in bkk and life is running around sex only in between mature , teenager or children . old thai culture is gone since thai people start to worship money and forgot heir budha,they are proud of.

#71 Yes Michael so true- most decent foreigners would not behave in this way. I knew a Thai man who has 3 "wives" and sexually harassed many women in the workplace. The phrase 'sex addict' comes to mind -he was not a nice person, very arrogant with zero respect for women. Believe it or not,he works in HIV/AIDS prevention.

Rape is not new, its been around for all of human history. What is new is that the 'shame' that used to attach to it has lessened so we hear about it more as victims speak out.

But its not pornography that caused these young boys to rape that girl. Thats just the convenient excuse. Something to blame other than yourself. What is to blame is poor parenting and a society which tries to ignore the reality of just how sexually active its young people are and how motivated they are by money.

As a not very frequent traveller to Thailand I was amazed at just how many young girls would offer you sex for money. Even travelling with my wife (a Thai that prefers to speak english) I would be offered sex when they didnt realise she could speak english. And Thailand is not alone. It was the same in KL and there it happened on the main shopping street.

Thais live in a country that is awash with sex and education is the key to controlling it. Trying to sweep it under the carpet or say things are worse now than in years gone past is just ignoring reality.

It is heartbraking to hear about these rapes. The problam as i see it is the lack of communikation betweene children and parents. If you as a parent has tought your child good behavior and more importantly have made a good exampel yourself you have i good chans that your child can cope with the influense of TV and internet. Talk talk talk to your kids. Give them a good knowledge plattform to deal with the massive influense the media has on our young ones. Give them self confidence and strong good values so they can deal and valuate their own thoughts and in the end their own behavior. Easy said, but maby diffecult done. Ecpesially in a poor and tuff life situation.

Its true the world has problems i am a father of 2 girls under 8 and you want to hold on to them forever but you can.
Its a worry

To all parents please teach your children to know what is right and what is wrong. When they are not sure just don't do it. Remember to use your commom sense.

Its a tough job being a parent in modern times. As a father I understand the pressures and problems of children especially teenagers can be very difficult. We parents often forget this. Try to remember how it was when yiu wre a kid and now its even more harder for kids.

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Oh, it hurts so much to read about these stories that are happening in the country I consider Paradise. I think that in Thailand, as in the West, if people watch the trash on T.V., then producers will place it on the tube (T.V.). If people refuse to watch trash on T.V., there will be no audience and producers will know that there is no gain to producing trash programs. What is on T.V. in America now astounds me. "Sex in the City" and so many other programs, where morals are so loose. More people watch these programs, and thus more trash programs are aired. It's up to each individual to switch the channel. I find that I spend almost all my time now watching PBS (educational Public Broadcasting) and I love it.

I agree with RLS.
Love itself is so powerful, hence it is a double edged sword in itself and we must handle it mindfully. As much as we all love our children, we shouldn't forget that children should be able to live their lives bravely one day with or with out us, parents. Things are changing all the time, who knows what is going to happen tomorrow. Our best bet might be to spend every minute with our loved ones wisely. Treat everyday as if it's going to be the last day of our life, instead of worrying about it. We might then come to see that nobody has full control over life even though we want to. Our most important responsibility as good parents should be to equip the children with ability to grow up and live the life with love, not with fear. The consequences of passing the fear to our children are costly and might rob them of true happiness in their lives for good.

I'm a foreigner, a father and I have a 11 month old daughter. I live here since almost two years now and what I've seen so far gives me certainly enough reasons to worry about her and her future every day and every night.
However, telling her that "she should not trust the world at all" would not solve any problems we are confronted with on a almost daily basis. I believe, that education along with a lot of explanation is the long-term key to success.

It was a sad story.
I disagree about premarital sex.therefore most of my friends called me"Hua boran" which means thinking as an old man.

By the way, I've my friend studying in a famous university. She wasn't good in English but she passed every test because she drank a cup of coffee with her teacher.

= ="

I am a foreigner who plays comedy with the Thai comedy group Doo Dokraedone. We play all around the country in all kinds of places.

At temple festivals and other big parties there is usually a stage with lots of singers and dancers. The dancers are usually performing in very sexy costumes (even in temples) and are usually very young (from 12 to 16). I can really understand where these youngsters get the idea from to experiment with sex.

Today I encountered something that I really found disgusting. The dancers normally dress sexy up to a limit. Coyote dancers usually go way over that. Tonight there was a group of Coyote dancers performing before us. When they came of the stage I asked one of them how old she was as she looked barely in her teens to me. She was 12 and the costume she was wearing was extremely revealing. The other girls were 13 and 14. I asked her if her parents knew this. She said yes her mum is the manager ......

Now if this dancing involves adults in a closed environment I could care less about it. But this was a performance by a group of kids basically in a public beergarten in Samut Prakan .... where the audience was male and drunk basically.

Now is it little wonder with the lack of sexual education. And these kind of performances that Thailand is slowly derailing sexual wise. And actually not just Thailand. But also other East Asian countries from Japan to Thailand.

I think it's shameful that 10 year old children are committing rape. That they argue emulating sexual acts from watching pornography should ring sirens amongst policy makers. Observational learning, i.e. people imitate behaviour via observation, has been experimented many decades ago by Bandura-- his most famous the "bobo doll". We need ratings on visual material. Developed countries implemented these many years ago; as for Thailand, we are lagging behind aeons. All this non-sense about finding a middle way approach with the film industry is ludicrous. Governments need to exercise their legitimate authority rightfully. It annoys me to hear the news that minors are committing rape. We really are a developing nation afterall.

The world is changing and is no safe place anymore but Thailand is one of the worst places to bring up the children. Sexual abuse seems normal in Thai Society. The victims feel ashame to report to the authority which do not take this kind of crime seriously and some cases blame the victims.

1. Enforcement of the law is of vital importance. Without enforcement, no law is good enough to protect children from predators. Now, what happens if the enforcement agencies are unable or unwilling to do anything ?

2. Then, the next step is to organise street protests to get rid of such agencies! What happens if he Government
itself is unable or unwilling to act? Well, then get rid of the Goevrnment at the polls! What choice do ordinary people have?

3. Can this be done? Yes! Look at the OBAMA effect chnaging the world map! Change has coem to America; and it can bring change to other countries as well.

4. Of course, it is easier said than done, many would say! And they are right!

Apartheid in South Africa took almost 30 years to attain the goal. Nelson Mandela was imprisoned for so many years! But, change finally took place there!

Burma is undergoing a simialr situation. Aung San Suu Kyi has been under hosue arrest for several years. Her Party's victoryat the polls was not respected. Instead, she was locked
up! What is the UN doing ?

Zimbabwe is experiencing hardship and suffering, especially the people. Mugabe is still hunting down those people who oppose him.People are dying of starvation.What is the UN doing?

Philippines was under martial law for several years under President Marcos. Then , he allwoed an election.People power threw him out . He flew into exile in Hawaii!

Hopefully, President Obama will bring real change and give people real hope.

Of course, in the meantime, innocent peopel have to sacrifice discomfort and even lose lives.

Finally, truth will triumph. It si a pity taht innocent lives may have to be sacrificed.

Those brutal and even people should be put out of circulation.

In the short term, parents have no choice that protecting their children.

What to do in this cruel world?

S.H Huang

If you go to the USA or Europe and ask men on the street what they think about Thailand the first thing they will say is pretty girls and good sex. That is the world view of Thai girls because our government allows the sex industry to boom every day and every night! The internet is filled with porno and the average age girls lose their virginity in Thailand is 13 years old. When you combine these facts with poverty we have a nation of little girls who face many sexual dangers. If you want to lower sex crimes against girls age 6-13 years old the bext place to start is shutting down the entire sex industry starting in Pattaya!!! That will set the tone for all men to understand the good people of Thailand want our children protected! The future sex industry workers are little girls who age 3-4-5-6-7-8-8-9-10-1-12-13 today. And todays little girls have no idea what grown men will do with their body when they grow up. And the Thai governement allows it to happen because they like money more than Thai girls!

There are too many aspects to this problem. However, boys of the age of 8,11 and 12 are not even in their puberty. And this particular rape is probably an imitation. My friends in Germany found their 3 year boy lying on a girl and imitating sex. It was all from the TV. Apart from this, sexual education is a must. In Holland pupils are even tough mastrubation and their underage pregnancy rate is the lowest. It is all sad though, Thai women carry the society on their shoulders. They deserve nothing but only love and respect.

They are three main things that allow this problem occured, the first thing is about medium. As you can see that almost of Thai medium is easy too observe like the internet.there are many obscene pics posted on the Internet, the unpleasure words or suggestions on the Magazine or even on the cover of the magazine forexample.

Absolutely agree with comment from few previous posts.Sexual education!!Talk with your kids when they are very young, explain the secrets and give aswers.Than they need no to search them in internet.TV is nothing bad.But access to internet, we, parents, need to control.
About Thailand.What is TV soap operas comparing with open prostitution on streets? Terrible.Shame to Thai government.What can learn young Thai boys?Woman is available for everyone!Just go through any street in Pattaya,Phuket,Samui..I even don't know place in Thailand where you can walk and not seeing cheap girls everywhere.

Is AIDS awareness to be shown to the childrens now itself?