Will Flooding in Thailand Increase Domestic Violence Against Women and Children?

BANGKOK -- Up until a few years ago, you'd never know domestic violence occurred in Thailand. Thais didn't talk about it. But recent reports by the UN, and Thai governmental agencies, show domestic violence is a huge problem in the country. With the devastating floods Thais have experienced in the last three months and, in many areas, are still going through, many in the non-profit community are concerned domestic violence will increase.

Tempers are flaring all over Thailand's flooded areas, as families have been stuck either living in flooded houses for more than two months, or in community shelters. Initially, anger was directed against the government, for its inept flood management, but it's likely, as flooding continues and Thai men feel powerless to fix it, that anger will be turned inward - to the family, and the wife and children in it.

Just last month, one of my close Thai friends witnessed an incident of domestic violence in the sub-division in Bangkok she lives in. As people were getting ready to evacuate with floods moving closer, one young Thai guy living across the street must have snapped. Screams erupted from his yard, followed by shouting and swearing.

My friend rushed outside to see the man pulling his girlfriend around the yard by her hair, and slapping her face. Of course, this being Thailand, nobody intervened, and although the girl almost immediately left, she was back just two days later.

Another Thai friend, Tuk, was a victim of domestic violence herself. She's in her late 50s, but lived with her husband for more than 30 years before she finally left him. She told me she grew up being hit by her father and then by her boyfriend. So, when she married him, and he hit her and the kids, to her, she'd just moved from "normal" to "normal".

It was only when the Thai government passed the Domestic Violence Act in 2007 she realized how wrong it was. She left her husband soon afterward.

She told me last week, now she's worried about her daughter and grandchildren. Her daughter's husband is becoming increasingly angry about their flooded home in the Laksi area of Bangkok. She feels it may only be a matter of time before he begins to take that anger out on his family.

In November 2011, twenty-five districts in Bangkok are under water. They've been that way for one to two months now. Outside Bangkok, 16 provinces are still dealing with flood water, and they've been flooded even longer.

In many of these areas, families remain living in their flooded houses, often without running water, workable toilets or electricity. A situation this stressful, and it won't be surprising if Thailand's domestic violence rate skyrockets.

That's why The Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation is urging those who feel stressed out, because of flooding, to seek counseling help. They're also asking the government to move quicker on rehabilitation measures and to make sure everyone is helped.