BANGKOK, 9 March 2012 – The Friends of Women Foundation has revealed that up to 27,000 women received medical treatment as a result of sexual harassment or domestic violence in 2011.
As March 8th of every year marks the International Women’s Day, groups of women yesterday staged a campaign to protect women’s rights and report the situation on violence against women.
According to the Foundation, the number of violence against women cases has been increasing over the past five years. It said over 500 women have sought help from this sort of violence this year so far. Eighty percent of the cases are related to domestic violence, while the other 20 percent involved sexual harassment. In 2011 alone, 1,300 women altogether asked for help from the foundation.
The organization added that there are many more cases that have not been reported because many women are too humiliated to do so, or afraid their families will not be able to accept the truth. Some have been threatened not to report to police, whereas many officials consider the cases as family matters.
The Foundation has compared the figures, saying 27,000 received medical attention in 2011, while only 1,300 reported the violence to authorities, which means only a small percentage of the women dare to report the incidents.
The Foundation is also asking Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra, who is the first female prime minister of Thailand, to urgently find effective measures to protect the women.
