About 7% of women -- largely from southern Thailand -- and 8.4% of men in the Central Region of the country continue to believe that domestic violence is justified in a relationship, according to the Sixth Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey for Thailand (Mics 6), a national survey conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) every three years with help from Unicef.
The recent results, which covered an extensive range of issues relating to women and children and also included a chapter on gender equality in adulthood, revealed that domestic violence is still considered a normal part of married life to a certain extent.
A fraction of women and men -- between the ages of 15-49 -- that were surveyed felt wife-beating was justified for any of the following reasons: the wife goes out without telling the husband; the wife neglects children; the wife argues with the husband; the wife refuses sex; the wife burns food.
To get an overview of the situation, Life spoke with Somchai Jitsuchon, Thailand Development Research Institute (TDRI) research director, who has been closely following the survey ever since its inception.
"In comparison to the last survey, where 8.6% of women condoned domestic violence, we see a slight improvement. However, having said that, I believe we still have to work harder as a community to address this issue at its root cause because the practice is still very much a part of our society and is deemed a personal matter."
Domestic violence, driven by a patriarchal mindset that subjects women as subordinates, is on the rise, Somchai continued. This thinking has to change and must begin with the family and parents can serve as role models and conduct a self-check survey to determine where they stand on the matter of patriarchal mindsets.
"Fathers have to take a stand on gender equality and treat their partners with respect and dignity. By doing so, they will set a good example for their children which is important because this cycle of domestic violence can only stop when changes in attitude and behaviour are made. Communities have to learn that this practice is not a personal matter but that it impacts the entire neighbourhood. This is why intervention is required when a situation calls for it. If you feel you are not ready to knock on the door of a man who is abusing his wife, then at least inform the police so that they can help.
"As this is a collective effort, the private sector can also play a part in addressing this problem by taking to task employees that are found to beat their wife/partners at home."
Somchai said people at the grassroots level are the most vulnerable to domestic violence. Therefore, they should be offered opportunities to improve their economic situation so that women in particular can become financially independent and have the choice of leaving an abusive relationship if need be.
"While domestic violence impacts every stratum of society in a patriarchal culture, women often have to endure physical abuse because they are financially dependent on the man. We have to narrow the gap between the middle class and the poor. The economy should focus on inclusive growth and also support vulnerable communities.''
Somchai said he could not place any more emphasis on gender equality and said that it needed to be taught as well as practised.
"Domestic violence is a blight in a developing country such as Thailand. We have to collectively work on developing a society that views this practice as a peril to the advancement of our nation."
He also hopes to see the media play a more active role in investigating domestic violence than just reporting it.
In another development, the TDRI executive also indicated that children from poor families continue to lag behind in health, education, and overall development.
He said the Mics 6 national survey, which collected data of over 150 indicators on the health, development, and protection of children and women over 40 from 660 households across the country between May to November 2019, offered detailed information on areas which need to be rectified to ensure progress. The age bracket of the children involved in the survey ranged from infants to 17.
The research director also remarked that past surveys have shown that Thailand has continued to make progress in the overall development of women and children, however, more recent studies painted a worrying trend.
"One sharp decline came in the breastfeeding performance index. While data recorded during the Mics 5 survey put this figure at around 23%, just three years later it had declined to 14%, which is rather worrisome because it impacts the immune system of children and lack of breastfeeding can cause all sorts of future development issues. In Thailand, the Central Region is the most impacted by this trend.
"Other areas of concern include serious child nutrition issues and a hike in the percent of young children suffering from stunted growth and obesity, which needless to say can affect brain development and general well-being if not addressed accordingly.''
The Thai family unit also shows dysfunctional trends with children seen not residing with their biological parents.
"Countless children today are growing up without parental guidance, largely due to internal migration. It has come to light that almost one in four children, or around 24%, under the age of 17 (a total of three million), live in a home environment with absentee parents. Interestingly, the proportion is highest in the Northeast, with 36% and it is also the place where children live in impoverished homes (around 39%).
"We can possibly assume that due to this and a decline of our education system, reading and math skills and the school drop-out index also fared poorly."
