This thesis is an exploration of perceptions of sexual harassment in Thailand, together with policies and measures against the practice. My main research questions are: How do Thai people perceive sexual harassment? And what can be done to combat and address sexual harassment in Thailand? My research also provides recommendations for measures against sexual harassment in Thailand. The Thai term " kan kukkam tang phet " is used to convey ???sexual harassment??? in this study. The participants in my study understand kan kukkam tang phet as a broad term covering sexual behaviors that range from verbal harassment to rape. In general, the participants consider that sexual harassment is a big problem in Thailand. However, my research found that there are some perceptions and attitudes of Thai people that need to be dealt with as obstructions of measures against sexual harassment, such as blaming women as a cause of sexual harassment, anti-women prejudices, and the use of the excuse of cultural differences in implementing anti-sexual harassment laws. In regard to the question of legislation addressing sexual harassment in Thailand and what can be done to help to counter it, my findings are that Thailand has no clear approach to sexual harassment; no clear legal definition of sexual harassment; no specific authority or organization at the national level to redress sexual harassment; and no statistics on sexual harassment by national surveys. The promotion of awareness of sexual harassment has not yet been the subject of formal campaigns. My thesis presents recommendations to address sexual harassment in Thailand, through both legal measures and social measures. The legal measures proposed are sexual harassment law, a code of practice, and revision of the Penal Code. I suggest that sexual harassment law should be based on an ???anti-discrimination??? approach, to be consistent with the obligations of Thailand to implement suitable measures to give effect to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). Social measures including education, campaigns and surveys on sexual harassment in the Thai community are also recommended in terms of raising the understanding of the concept and awareness of the issue.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/242990 |
| Date | January 2007 |
| Creators | Soonthornpasuch, Pongprad, School of Politics, UNSW |
| Publisher | Awarded by:University of New South Wales. School of Politics |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | Copyright Pongprad Soonthornpasuch, http://unsworks.unsw.edu.au/copyright |
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