JP/7/NATION

The Nation Asia News Network Bangkok

Wife-beating is Thailand's shame

The recent Criminal Court verdict on Pipat Lueprasitkul, the university lecturer who killed his wife in a jealous rage, reflects one of the major problems in Thai society which has traumatized women for too long: Domestic violence. A survey in 2000 involving 2,078 women aged 15 to 49 in Bangkok and Nakhon Sawan by the Foundation for Women and Mahidol University's Institute of Population and Social Research, found 44 percent had experienced physical harm including sexual violence. Of these, 12 percent said they were harmed while pregnant.

The study found 35 percent of those who had experienced physical harm said the violence happened when their husbands or partners were drunk -- 27 percent cited jealousy and 10 percent said they were attacked because they disobeyed their husbands.

However, domestic violence is closely related to cultural and social beliefs with regard to women's bodies. This might explain why the problem receives little attention from law enforcement officials as well as the general public.

In culture and in law, women and men are made to believe that the husband has full rights over the woman's body. Therefore, a husband can do whatever he likes with his wife, including beating and rape.

Even though society denounces a man physically attacking a woman, people in general are reluctant to intervene whenever such violence takes place in the family. This is because they have learnt or have been told that it's better for them to stay away from issues that concern husband and wife.

Ironically, in a number of these crimes, the men have made use of this cultural belief and got off rather comfortably by simply saying it was a "husband-and-wife-affair" and that "outsiders should not intervene".

In some cases the male partner has not been legally punished because law officials hold a similar view. Many women who have experienced domestic violence say the police refused to record their complaints. In most instances they were told to settle the case with their husband.

In the case of rape, the issue is much more complex. The deep- rooted perception in this society is that a husband "cannot" rape his wife because it is the wife's duty to have sex with her husband regardless of whether she wants to.

For too long women and children have suffered from domestic violence, partly because society remains silent on this problem. Pipat's case might be useful in that it could be the spark to correct this social injustice.

Domestic violence is a crime and should be treated as nothing less. There is a need for clear regulations on the handling of this crime by police and prosecutors. It can no longer be treated as a domestic issue.