Many Sex Abusers in Thailand are Politicians and So-Called Respected Men by Phairath Khampha 14 November 2001 Many of the men who abused the women in Thailand seeking shelter at the Women's Rights Protection Centre in Nonthaburi have one thing in common - they are politicians and senior government officials. In fact, there are so many of them that they comprised one of the centre's three distinct groups of abusers, said a lawyer with the centre. Sanchai Anuphan said his centre, which is under the auspices of the Friends for Women Foundation, categorises sexual abusers and wife beaters into three groups. The first comprises local politicians and senior government officials. The extramarital relationships of men in this group tend to follow a similar pattern, Sanchai said. First, they rape their victims. Then they either threaten to expose the relationship - which would subject the women to social stigmatisation - or promise long-term support in order to continue the relationships. The abuser later abandons the victim, particularly if she becomes pregnant. The majority of abusers in this group are senior police officers. The second group consists of middle-class men. Most abusers in this group have at least a bachelor's degree. Usually, they physically abuse their wives. Most are engineers, he said.The third group comprises men who get unmarried women pregnant. Most are college students, Sanchai said. More women flee 'respected' men as abuse awareness rises An increasing number of women seeking refuge from abusive husbands in the Thai capital are running away from politicians, senior officials and military officers, according to the director of a leading shelter. "Status, class and wealth don't have to mean anything when a man is angry. You'd be surprised what sort of women need a refuge," said Sanchai Anuphan, of Bangkok's Women's Rights Protection Shelter. Many of the victims appear to be women persuaded, or forced, by a man of social standing into becoming his mistress, but who later resist his demands. "Many of the abusers are just plain greedy. They see women as fruit to be plucked by the tallest man around and get angry when they [women] exercise their individual rights and decline to have forced into a sexual relationship," said Mr Sanchai. Many women's groups in Thailand had complained for years about rampant wife-bashing, but their focus has been on poor households, especially where male aggression was fuelled by drink. In part, this was generated by social pressures, which in Thailand prohibit pointing the figure at so-called respected men or men of social stature, even when their behaviour is definitely anti-social, abusive and even downright criminal. The expanding ambitions of Thai women for a life beyond that of a man's doormat, combined with wider awareness of what is acceptable, appears to be behind a rise in reported abuse cases. Popular TV soap operas regularly feature violent men and their cowed women never, these days, to the male character's advantage, as used to be until the recent past. In one recent prime-time serial, an HIV-positive patriarch forced himself unprotected on to his young mistress. "In the old days, many women might have accepted it as their fate as the `weaker' sex to be pushed around. This still happens but only very, very few women of stature can still think this is normal or acceptable," Mr Sanchai said. "They are much more ready to run away now ... So they come to us. But poor women, who make up the majority of the country's female population, still feel they must submit to men's demands or fear being physically abused. Most seductions and even so-called mutually agreed relations are nothing more than socially-condoned rapes." The practice of taking a mistresses is so widespread, Interior Minister Purachai Piemsomboon recently asked wives to ferret out mistresses' financial details to protect the wives' property and help the Government stop the laundering of illegal gains. "I think some men are terrified about permitting women greater freedom. They like the control and the ability to try whatever tempts them," Mr Sanchai said.