Young Thai men taught to respect women

By Chayanit Poonyarat
May 17, 2002

Bangkok - "Before, while reading newspapers, I often asked myself why there are more and more abuse cases in our society," said 19-year-old Therapong Thongkrathok, who comes from the northeasternern Thai province of Nakhon Ratchasima.

"Here, I learned that since we, men, are the main cause of the problems, we can help to stop them," added Therapong, one among 300 young men aged 15-20 from 57 poor communities across Thailand who met in Bangkok last week in a seminar on stopping the exploitation of girls and women. "I have a mother and sister. I sure don't want them to be abused in any way," he said.

Last year, for instance, figures from the Royal Thai Police showed that 3,847 cases of rape were filed and 2,531 people were arrested. Surprisingly, officials say, youth appear as the group of offenders whose numbers have increased the most. Experts say this may well be one indicator of changes in society, such as changing family structures and life in cities, factors that are changing behavior among youth and increasing the risks they take, whether it is in lifestyle, health or sex.

"Today, youth are growing up in environments which easily lead them to misbehavior," said Somphong Chitradub, director of the Education Institute for Underprivileged Students at Chulalongkorn University here. Somphong also referred to an earlier study by his institute that showed that Thai youth first learn about sex when they are 10-12 years old, while the average age for their first sexual experience is 16-17.

"Materialistic values, drugs and sex normally come together. One thing will easily leads to the others," he said. "Teenagers themselves are not the only factor in these problems any more, which makes it harder to solve the problems. Most of the time, they don't know what to do or who to talk to when they have problems."

The small group discussions at last week's seminar, held at Government House, introduced the boys to problems that affect girls and young women that they were not always aware of - sexual abuse by relatives, child abuse by family members, child labor and exploitation. There is also the risk of adoption of wrong values from peer or youth culture and early sex, which are challenges that many young people face.

Through the seminar, "we are trying to get the boys to stand up in defense of girls and fight for them instead of taking advantage of them and seeing them as sex objects", said World Vision Thailand national director Chusak Wuthiwarapas. "We also want to educate boys about girls' rights."

The idea of exposing boys to the problems women face, in order to sensitize them early to avoid gender biases and discriminatory behavior, came from a national conference for girls that World Vision Thailand held last year. "They [the girls] said it is good to have them learn how to protect themselves, but getting the message to boys and men can make more of a difference," Chusak said.

The fact that every woman has dignity and rights equal to men was among the messages that last week's discussion tried to send to the boys, in order to correct misperceptions of women as second only to men as decision-makers, being fit only to be followers, and as sex objects.

"Men usually learn from environments around them that aggression is acceptable," agreeed Usa Lerdsrisuntad of the non-government Foundation for Women, citing examples of the gender messages in movies and computer games, activities that many boys and men indulge in. In commercial advertisements, she says, sexy images of women often unnecessarily repeated to sell products and emphasizes perceptions that women are sex objects.

In Thai soap operas, plots of stories showing men acting aggressively toward women are also often seen. The message is made worse by the fact that despite such behavior, the television series often shows the women accepting such actions and later the couple lives happily together.

"Men and women are socialized very differently," Usa said. "The concept of equality of men and women has never been taught to children. Good men are defined by characters of leadership and decisive, while good women are said to remain calm and devoted," she added, giving common social messages that Thais usually grow up with. Citing another example, she said: "Until this day in rape cases, women are mostly blamed for [the crime] and asked whether they were dressed properly, or consented" to sex.

At the end of the seminar, participants called for, among other things, the creation of shelters for abused girls and women, stricter action against sexual exploitation and relevant sex education taught starting at the elementary school level. These are among the 12 guidelines submitted to Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra. After returning to their homes, the boys will also be encouraged to work in practical ways to reduce exploitation against girls in their communities, to share their insights in schools, and to share their thoughts with friends who might be undergoing abuse, the seminar's organizers say.

"The best immunity against these bad surroundings for Thai youth are caring families and communities," said Orasom Sutthisakorn, author of many best-selling books on child exploitation.

"It is better to start learning these problems while we are young," said 14-year-old Sanya Tammachat from Songkhla, a province 950 kilometers south of Bangkok. "It is hard to change older people's ideas. Sometimes, they just don't listen to problems."

Displaying the eagerness of youth, Sanya and Therapong say they plan to find ways to set up regional and national networks to continue raising awareness of girls' abuse in communities and schools. "It is not enough that we know, but do nothing. We have to get the message across to other men, friends and relatives too," said Therapong.

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