Almost half of Thais think scanty clothing and flirting are a cause of sexual violence: poll
Men’s lack of respect for women is the leading cause of sexual violence in Thai society, according to a survey by the National Institute of Development Administration, or Nida Poll. That was followed by men’s lack of understanding of whether women have given consent, and women wearing revealing clothes and flirting.
The poll was conducted on Nov 10-15 by telephone interviews with 1,311 people aged 15 and over of various levels of education, occupations and incomes throughout the country.
Asked whether the following offences could be termed an act of sexual violence in Thai society, most of the respondents said “yes” and the rest thought otherwise:
• A senior male student trying to rape a junior girl student, believing she likes him (97.86% to 2.14%)
• A husband forcing his wife (jobless or without any income) to be a sex worker (91.30% to 8.70%)
• A man persuading a woman online to send him nude pictures of herself and later threatening to expose them publicly unless she sends money to him (84.90% to 15.10%)
• A girl being killed by a boyfriend out of jealousy (83.14% to 16.86%)
• Secretly taking pictures of a woman in revealing clothes and posting them on social media with a comment, causing her to feel ashamed (76.81% to 23.19%)
• A boss making sexual jokes and sharing nude pictures, embarrassing employees (76.81% to 23.19%)
• A husband forcing his wife to have sex without her consent (72.31% to 27.69%)
• A girl being intimately touched by a close male relative (71.32% to 28.68%)
• A husband or wife committing adultery (52.17% to 47.83%)
• A man or woman being tricked into transferring money in an online romance scam (50.88% to 49.12%)
Asked what they thought were the causes of sexual violence, the answers varied as follows:
• 64.15% – Men’s lack of respect for women
• 50.04% – Men’s lack of understanding whether women have given consent
• 47.52% – Women wearing revealing clothes and flirting
• 3.51% – Imitations of inappropriate behaviours shown in the media, such as soap operas
• 1.53% – Drugs and other intoxicants
• 0.69% – Family upbringing
• 0.53% – A sudden loss of conscience
• 0.46% – Adultery
• 0.08% – A belief that men are superior
