Domestic violence in border villages continues to put women and children at risk

May 3, 2013

HURFOM: Many women and children living on the Thai-Burma border are at serious risk as a result of domestic violence at the hands of a husband or other family member. The impact of domestic violence is deep, affecting both its direct victims and the children of families plagued by domestic violence. Where mothers are the victims of abuse, their children are frequently put in unsafe situations as a result of either living with an abusive family member, or living with a mother who has left an abusive situation and is struggling to survive alone.

The case of Daw P— tells a story common to many women living in border villages. Daw P– is from Japanese Well, a village near the Thai-Burma border. After her first marriage ended in divorce, she was left with two children to care for. She remarried, and worked with her new husband producing and selling coal. With three more children born from this marriage, Daw P’s husband told her that he could not afford to support the two children from her previous marriage, and forced her to take them to a nearby monastery to be cared for by nuns. Daw P’s husband drank heavily and regularly beat her. Often he would drive her out of the house, convinced that she had another husband that she was keeping a secret from him.

Whilst she knew it would mean a struggle to support her children, Daw P finally decided to leave her husband. Speaking now, she says: “I am worried for my children, and I have tried to stay with him in the past, but even though I pitied my children I could not live with him anymore.” Like many border villages, Japanese Well has an active women’s group, who offer assistance to women in situations of difficulty. Daw P contacted the Japanese Well women’s group, who offered her a place to stay in the village’s safe house. For a while, the safe house offered a stable and secure living situation for Daw P and her children. However, difficulties arose again after they left. Whilst Daw P worked hard to earn an income (taking on jobs such as washing, cooking and broom-making), this was often not enough to support both herself and her children.

Daw P’s children regularly ended up in unsafe and sometimes abusive situations. Due to Daw P’s limited income they were unable to attend school, and were often left alone during the day while Daw P was struggling to earn an income for her family. One of her twin girls later told Daw P that when they were left alone to play, other children from the village would take off her clothes and pretend to have sex with her. When Daw P went to look for plants to use to make brooms, she would leave her children with their father. However, the children were equally at risk in his care. He continued to drink heavily, and would often leave the children to sleep outside the house. Sometimes the children became victims of sexual abuse, with their father’s drunken guests touching them inappropriately.

Eventually, Daw P decided to borrow money and move to Bangkok with her five children. Whilst Daw P has found employment, her children remain outside education; she is unable to afford the 250 baht per month required to transport each child to school.

Daw P’s story is just one of many similar cases reported in villages along the Thai-Burma border. Tha—, a 22 year old woman from Kyone Kwee, is another victim of severe domestic violence. Last year she married a man from the village of Kalodkhane. He was already married, but kept this from Mi Tha—. After their marriage, Mi Tha— left the house she shared with her mother in Kyone Kwee and moved to Kalodkhanee to live with her husband.

Mi Tha— was beaten repeatedly by her husband. Eventually she ran away, seeking refuge with her mother in Kyone Kwee worried that her husband would come to take Mi Tha— back to Kalodkhanee, her mother moved with her to the Thai-Burma border township of Three Pagodas Pass. However, Mi Tha— returned to her husband shortly afterwards.

The violence intensified when Mi Tha—‘s mother came to Kalodkhanee to ask her to come with her to the hospital. M Tha—‘s husband refused to let her go. He abducted her and took her to the mountainside, where he beat and strangled her. Worried for her daughter, Thazin Son’s mother alerted the village leader and, together with other village officials, they followed Mi Tha—‘s husband. When they arrived, he fled the scene.

After this incident Mi Tha— divorced her husband. She returned with her mother to Kyone Kwee, where the village women’s group took her to the Japanese Well safe house to seek assistance. Mi Tha— was taken to hospital, where medical tests confirmed that she was pregnant. She remains in hospital and will be given a secure home in the safe house on her discharge.

Both of these cases are typical of the severe domestic violence faced by women living on the Thai-Burma border, and show its deep impact on the lives of women and their children. They also show the key role of community women’s groups in helping victims of domestic violence to escape abusive situations. A member of a women’s group near Three Pagodas Pass claims that assistance offered by women’s groups in the region has caused a decrease in instances of domestic violence. However, she also emphasized: “women and children continue to suffer from domestic violence. We are trying to save the lives of women and children; we want the violence in the family to end.”

Written by HURFOM · Filed Under News