When the Academy Awards are announced tomorrow morning Thai time, the spectacle will be tainted with the spectre of one of Hollywood’s most enduring controversies. With Woody Allen nominated for another Oscar, 22-year-old allegations he sexually assaulted his de facto stepdaughter Dylan Farrow, then aged seven, will no doubt be discussed at length again.
The case has been investigated and debated ad nauseum: Allen is entitled to the presumption of innocence and Farrow is entitled to share her version of events, and she recently took the opportunity to do so after two decades of silence.
However, weighing up the “he said, she said” accounts of such scandals not only reduces serious allegations to a vulgar kind of spectator sport but, more worryingly, could discourage victims of sexual violence from coming forward. Rape victims often find it difficult enough to speak out when they know they will be greeted with suspicion. Children are even less likely to be believed, despite having less reason to lie.
Sexual violence is an insidious and woefully underreported crime. Statistics from UN Women have shown 44% of Thai women have experienced abuse at the hands of an intimate partner. In 2005, only 20% of victims in Bangkok sought help from the authorities, while in Nakhon Sawan province the figure was only one in 10.
Sadly these figures are in line with trends around the world. The Centres Against Sexual Assault (Casa), a network of non-profit research and support groups in Australia, has found only 14-16% of women victims reported sex crimes.
Even more disturbingly, it is children who are at greatest risk. In 2012, Thailand's Men and Women Progressive Foundation found most sexual assault victims were aged between 11 and 15 years. Most of the culprits were men with close relationships, such as fathers, brothers, grandfathers, teachers and monks.
Again, sadly, this is broadly in line with findings elsewhere in the world. Casa figures show one in three girls and one in six boys will experience sexual violence before the age of 16.
Casa research has also helped burst many of the myths that surround child sexual abuse, including such flawed ideas as the victims are too young to understand what is happening to them, they can recover or forget quickly and that it is only a problem among lower socio-economic groups.
Child sexual abuse is not about race or class. It is perpetrated by people from all walks of life, including those in positions of power and social and community standing. As vast as the problem is, there are reasons to be optimistic. In the past decade there have been policy changes, and to some extent attitude changes, which have made it easier for victims to come forward.
UN Women rightly criticises Thailand for ranking 92 out of 138 countries on the Gender Inequality Index, but notes 2007’s criminalisation of marital rape in and provision of divorce rights as important, if belated, improvements. “Policies relating to women have become a regular part of the government agenda,” the agency said, adding the country’s efforts “have had a visible impact on progress towards gender equality”.
Thailand’s Men and Women Progressive Foundation has called for more than policy changes, recommending a change in cultural values and putting an end to the way victims are blamed for either provoking the attack or reporting it. It is one thing to establish the truth of a case, it is quite another to attack someone making an accusation.
The foundation also said the way police officers treat such cases and increasing the number of women in the force’s ranks are also essential to ensuring victims are comfortable about coming forward.
For its part, the Paveena Foundation has said twice as many rape and sexual assault victims are reaching out compared to 10 years ago. Assuming this is correct, then based on the UN Women figures less than half the sex crime victims in Bangkok and only a fifth of those in other provinces seek help or justice.
While this improvement is encouraging, there is still much to be done. Those who fall victim to sexual predators should be encouraged to report the crimes, and the policies and social structures should support them and ensure their safety. Most importantly, a change in attitude is required so there is no blame and guilt associated with taking the brave step of making an accusation. It is never the victim’s fault.