Domestic Violence Behaviors between Spouses in Thailand

Abstract

This article aims to review concepts, theories, and research reports related to domestic violence between spouses in Thailand, especially its meanings, types, causes, and effects. It is a documentary research, which concludes descriptive analysis to obtain a body of knowledge using a holistic approach. The outcomes of the research reveal that domestic violence between spouses in Thailand is patterns and ways that individuals use force to hurt others’ health, physically, mentally, and sexually. They force, threaten, injure, detain, delay, molest, ignore, and invade personal rights and freedoms. Domestic violence can be classified into self-violence, violence between individuals, and violence between groups. It can also be classified into physical, mental, and sexual violence. Important causes of domestic violence derive from a belief that men have power to dominate their families, and other causes include environments that contribute to violence, childhood experiences, conflict, stress, and lack of time with each other. These can result in injury, lessons instilled in children, violence absorbed by children, unhappy families, runaway children, and divorces. In addition, domestic violence between spouses can be chaotic and disturbing for the community, and incur expenses to the government in looking after victims, hiring personnel, and campaigning to terminate and prevent the problem. Thus, parents and guardians must realize and give importance to avoidance of domestic violence. Individuals and organizations concerned must cooperate in promoting happy family life, and countering domestic violence between spouses.