There were about 82 women or children raped every day between 2009 to 2013, according to a study by The National Research Institute and the National Police Bureau.
In that period, there were about 30,000 reported rape cases against women and children per year. Another study, from Paveena Foundation, a group that works to protect women and children, said the age range of rape victims was between one year and eight months to 81 years old, according to ThaiVisa.
In most cases, the rapists are family or acquaintances of the victims. Among the 656 cases reported to Paveena Foundation last year, victims were raped mostly by their stepfathers, friends and neighbors.
The foundation also cited several reasons for someone to commit rape, which include male dominance in society over women, mental illness, influence of drugs, and the television soaps which often feature scenes of women getting assaulted for ratings.
Last month, officials took action against a television soap “Club Friday to be Continued” for showing a scene where a female villain was raped while another watched and took a video.
According to Thai law, the highest punishment for the crime of rape-murder is the death penalty, but since 1999, rapists who confessed to their crimes were given only life imprisonment.
In the past few years, the public has been calling for the death penalty to be mandatory for rape-murder cases, but some argued that the fear of the death penalty might drive more rapists to kill the victims to attempt to cover up their crimes.
Last week, a Cambodian baby of one year and five months old was raped in Chonburi by her Thai stepfather. The child remains in a coma from injuries sustained in the rape.
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