Women's organization opens forum for sexual harassment victims
A women's organization has opened a public forum to tell a story of woman victims of harassment which may result in an increased number of cases of unwanted pregnancy and HIV infection.
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Social Welfare at the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women (APSW) Director Natthiya Thongsrikate told the story of sexual harassment and domestic violence and the assistance which the APSW's Don Muang Emergency Home has provided to some 300 women are in a range of ages from newborns to 50 years and encountered problems of sexual harassment and violence.
She said the emergency home handles all cases of violence, be it physical violence, sexual violence, and domestic violence, all of which lead to unwanted pregnancy which is the most common case, HIV infection, and the transmission of HIV from mother to newborn children.
The number of cases is constantly increasing, requiring social measures and government policies to help combat the issue.
The APSW has expressed its readiness to submit proposals to end domestic and sexual violence to the Department of Women's Affairs and Family Development with the hope to see concrete improvement.
According to the APSW, most victims of violence are left untreated as they lack a safe shelter and have no access to the justice system.
Many of the women felt shamed or being threatened, forcing them not to press charges at the police station, only for the incident to repeat itself.
The APSW is calling upon the government and related agencies to acknowledge the issue in order to address it, and to provide better help and welfare to the victims without any discrimination or prejudice.