“According to a concept on gender inequality and male dominance, our case studies affirmed that men view alcohol drinking as symbols of masculinity,” said Jadej Chaowilai, chief of the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation (WMP).
Photo 1: Jaded Chaowilai
Changing unhealthy social norms regarding genders is among the key goals of the WMP.
Having interviewed many men who were addicted to alcohol and whose wives sought help from the Foundations, Jaded and the team of nine social workers finding that these men felt superior to women when drinking alcohol and led to violence. However, with experience in running the foundation for 10 years and working with more than 100 cases, Jaded is certain that the root causes of alcohol-related domestic violence were also due to structural factors, including unfair social policies.
Established in 2011, the foundation’s primary purpose is to promote gender equality in Thailand. The foundation has also extensively addressed alcohol consumption in the community after found that domestic violence cases usually involved males drinking. The WMP provides support and helps not only female clients who are victims of violence, but also male clients who might be alcohol addicts, and former violent husbands of female clients, and fathers of children in the families. The WMP has a hotline, served by social workers or trained counselors, which is aimed to be a safe and empowering space for all victims where they are able to speak their minds and express their feelings. For male clients, there have been many successful cases of quitting alcohol and turning out to be a good household leaders. Some of them have even become active members of WMF and worked voluntarily in the communities to promote alcohol-free families and gender equity.
Photo 2: Press conference of www. Donttellmehowtodress.com which the WMP developed with the ThaiHealth organization Source: https://www.wmp.or.th/content/28865
Raising awareness of patriarchy, women’s rights, and LGBTIQA+ is equally important. As people will not objectify and be violent towards others when they see every human as equal. The victim mentality, such as a belief of there is no control over things that happen to oneself, should be eliminated; while empowerment among victims of gender-based violence and discrimination, women, and LGBTIQA+ , especially the poor ones, should be widely promoted. This will also prevent potential violent offenders from considering alcohol as a source of power to harm others. Furthermore, the WMP has also joined network in advocating relevant public policies that promote gender equality, economy, and health. WMF believes that the better quality of life becomes, the safer society becomes. For example, they recently joined the pride parade in Bangkok and supported the advocacy for the draft Marriage Equality Act.
The WMF is also interested in the socio-economic agenda of the community. Poverty, alcohol addictions and many other social problems in Thailand are somewhat caused by ineffective and inadequate social protection policy, further said Jaded. Poor people are always left behind in society. With limited choices for coping mechanisms of their life and family problems, they tend to use alcohol or other substances. Thus, in parallel to core activities, WMF has initiated the project, “Vegetable Gardens in the City” with aims to build capacity and create jobs for WMF’s clients.
As for the future of the foundation, Jaded hopes the WMP will be full of young leaders who understand the complexity of violence, as current staffs do, and the foundation will join hands with other networks to take the journey towards achieving social justice and gender equality in Thai society together.
Kamonkorn Buangsoong (Writer)
A content creator who is passionate about literatures, cultures, and cutting-edge technology.
Apichaya Yenjai (Editor)
Plan to build a different future and seek to develop herself consistently through various kinds of activities
Orratai Waleewong (Advisor)
Researcher at International Health Policy Program (IHPP), Thailand
Stop Drinking on Buddhist Lent Day: Family behind the scene
Alcohol is one of the factors of domestic violence, especially towards women. The Thai government then attempts to solve this problem by applying alcohol ban
What ASEAN could do to address drink-driving for safer lives?
Road traffic accidents, drinking-driving, and their consequences in ASEAN Over 90% of deaths from road traffic accidents occur in low-& middle-income countries. Six
A decade of the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation (WMP) who has addressed alcohol-related domestic violence and fought for social justice and gender equality in Thai society
“According to a concept on gender inequality and male dominance, our case studies affirmed that men view alcohol drinking as symbols of masculinity,” said Jadej
Multisectoral Collaboration in Action for Alcohol-free Festivals: A Case Study of the Loy Krathong Sai Festival in Thailand
Loy Krathong festival is a Thai tradition taking place on a full moon night of the 12th month in the traditional Thai lunar calendar.
“Stop drinking, start going to the temple”: a successful case study of community coalition for alcohol rehabilitation in Surin Province, Thailand
Located in Prasat Thanong Sub-district, Prasat District, Surin Provinces, Thailand, Sawang Arom Temple, a simplistic and small temple with 6-7 monks has served as a
Alcohol control policies in China: Review and recommendations
Alcoholic beverages have been consumed in China throughout recorded history. In the present day, drinking alcohol is customary at many social gatherings, especially events such