It can be said that no one else in the world could ever love a child more than the parents. While that statement is usually true, on the flip side of the coin, it is often the child's own parents who inflict the greatest pain through acts of violence. After all, it always hurts more to be hurt by someone near and dear to you.
The print advert for the 'End Violence Against Children' campaign.
According to the Ministry of Public Health, in 2013, about 19,000 Thai children were victims of violence, 70% of which was sexual harassment. Among children under five, most violence was carried out by parents. Those numbers came from data collected from hospitals nationwide, meaning they only represent children who were treated in hospital. That's just the tip of the colossal iceberg — many other cases were left unreported.
Another recent study also revealed that 50% of Thai children surveyed said they had experienced violent punishment by their parents, caretakers or teachers. Even sadder is the fact that many of those children believed it was their fault.
Unicef and the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security recently kicked off the "End Violence Against Children" campaign to create awareness about the negative impacts of corporal punishment and other violent actions on children.
"Violence against children persists because it is often accepted by adults, and the children themselves, as part of life," said Bijaya Rajbhandari, representative for Unicef Thailand. "It doesn't only harm the well-being of children, but also undermines the productivity and prosperity of the country as a whole."
According to Rajbhandari, most violence against children takes place behind closed doors, undetected and unreported. Many adults have seemingly logical explanations for their violence, unaware of the negative impact on the child.
The definition of violence does not just include hitting someone. There are many other forms of violence: seeing parents fighting aggressively, verbal abuse, being neglected, or having to carry too much expectation. Like corporal punishment, these actions too can affect children's physical and mental health.
Sirirath Chunnasart, child protection officer of Unicef Thailand, said many parents often say that they hit their children because they want to teach them a lesson. Scientific evidence confirms that it's the opposite.
"Naturally, when children are being physically punished, the fright activates the part of the brain responsible for the fight-or-flight response, not the frontal part which learns logic," she said. "The child would only learn how to avoid being hit the next time."
For parents who argue that they have turned out well-adjusted only because they were spanked as children, Sirirath pointed out that such reasoning cannot be proven, and is therefore not a logical argument.
"Who knows? You might have turned out even better if you had never been physically punished," she said.
Studies have shown that children who have suffered from violence have an increased risk of mental health disorders, depression, anxiety, self-harm and suicide. Violence also impairs the ability to learn and socialise and increases the chance of children engaging in risky sexual behaviours and becoming violent adults.
Dr Panpimol Wipulakorn, deputy director-general, Department of Mental Health, cited a recent survey by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, which surveyed 30,000 children and 20,000 adults. All of them admitted violence had been a part of their upbringing, whether it was spanking, yelling, name calling, threatening or other mistreatments.
"To stop this problem, blaming the parents is not going to work, because by blaming them, we are also using a violence. The best way is to educate parents, teachers, caretakers, and society as a whole about the negative consequence of violence against children," she said.
The End Violence Against Children campaign urges the public to stop all forms of violence and adopt a positive, disciplined approach to raising children. The campaign will be promoted through several channels such as TV commercials, nationwide roadshow activities and online.
Visit www.endviolencethailand.org
