A report in a Thai newspaper has said that the number of victims seeking treatment at hospitals of domestic violence has risen from 36 per day two years ago to at least 50 per day now.

The article also stated that household violence has reached a critical level as abusers are becoming more sexually perverted, particularly those from wealthy families and high society, according to a senior psychiatrist.

He said domestic violence among wealthy people or those in high society was alarming. Wealthy men were prone to sexual perversion, he added.

For instance, one wealthy husband forced his wife to watch him having sex with another woman at home.

In some cases, married men like to sexually abuse their maids.

He admitted the causes of domestic violence among wealthy people were very complicated. Financial stress, which is often blamed for domestic violence among low-income earners, did not apply to the rich.

Some wealthy men were socially accepted, but their married lives failed, he said. In other cases, wealthy men liked to beat their wives and family members.
He said domestic violence among wealthy people was mostly caused by a lack of parental care and accumulated stress.

My rant. Domestic violence is an accepted thing here in Thailand; Thai men see themselves above women and act in this way. The majority of Thai men like to be known as playboys or as they are known here “butterflies” because they like multiple partners. This is often accepted by Thai wives. It is common for a Thai man to have Mia Lek or Mia Noi which means “small wife” or “second wife”. The minor wife is usually a young and beautiful lady who isn’t married by law but is supported by the man. Mia Noi’s are often young university girls who get looked after well, good food, clothes and also tuition fees usually paid for them.

This has to bring tension at times to a marriage; they can turn a blind eye so many times until one too many late nights or coming home drunk finally pushes them too far. Thai men don’t take well to criticism; they don’t like being told what to do by someone who they perceive is under them.

Thai women usually won’t leave their husbands as the divorce laws here are nothing like in a western country, the woman here will more than likely get a small payout. This being the case the wife would rather live in an unhappy or abusive relationship than venturing into a world of unknown and where the next few Baht or meal would come from.

Thai men who have money can be very ignorant, I play golf with some very wealthy men and they are fantastic to me, just a normal guy but the way they act to women I don’t like. They never say thank you for anything they receive from a woman.

I sat at a table with some high society guys in a nice restaurant; the girls would hope onto their knees when they bought drinks to our table or food, they wouldn’t look at you and kept their heads bowed. I hated it, I felt like a pig being there.

The problem is that Thai TV shows depict women as the weaker sex, shows them being belittled, raped and of course domestically abused. Thai teenagers watch this and believe what they see as being real.

I actually thought that the numbers would be a lot higher and I am sure they are. Many women wouldn’t report the attacks by partners as this would be a loss of face and humiliating to them.

If stricter laws and more severe punishments were passed by the government it might do a little to curbing the rising trend of domestic abuse cases in Thailand.