Help 5,000 Thai Girls Protect Themselves

Since 2011, we have operated a branch office in Ubon Ratchathani to offer training to high school girls at risk in northeast Thailand, one of the poorest regions in the country. From our observations over the years, most of the girls we have trained have a poor understanding of sexual abuse and domestic violence. We were shocked to learn from them that acts they had witnessed or experienced which were clearly domestic violence were, in their eyes, normal and tolerable behaviour, even when they were the ones being abused. They were equally clueless about sexual harassment, and did not know that abuse can be both physical and mental. Sadly, there are tens of thousands of high school girls in similar risky situations in this part of the kingdom. Our aim is to raise awareness and arm them with the tools to protect themselves through our training workshops. Our outreach to them will include:

• raising awareness of a range of risks (including relationships, harassment, financial dependency, pregnancy, and online grooming), as well as teaching tactics for avoiding different types of danger and ways to deal with incidents that may arise;
• training in basic self-defence moves such as wrist grabs, lapel grabs, and protection on the ground;
• and raising awareness of the Thai laws relevant to women, such as procedures in reporting domestic violence or assault to the police.

We will also help the girls to create a plan for their future, be it educational or professional, so that they do not end up in the informal sector being paid below minimum wage, and worst of all, being abused and trapped in a vicious cycle like so many northeastern Thai girls who end up in the capital as sex workers.

If you think what we do is a cause you are passionate about as well, please support us. We are nearly $25,000 short in our fundraising target of $26,000 which will enable us to train 5,000 underprivileged high school girls who lack the knowledge and skills to deal with sexual harassment and violence. Do consider gifting to our cause so that more lives can be transformed with your help.

Soft-spoken Kanjaree Sirimakakun (Kik) hails from Nakhon Si Thammarat, a southern province in Thailand. The 20-year old is a teaching assistant and student at Pratthanadee Foundation in Bangkok. These days, Kik is far more confident than when she first joined the award-winning NGO carrying with her the weight of her backstory of an abusive stepfather.

Recounting that painful episode which she speaks up freely now, Kik said: “It was a three-room house. My mom and step-dad stayed in separate rooms. I had my own room and my younger sibling liked to sleep with my mom.

“One night, I suspected that my step-dad was still awake but didn’t think he would dare enter my room. He did. He came into my room and touched my body.” She added it was not a one-off. Kik said the training at Pratthanadee Foundation helped her get her life back together, and more importantly, gave her the confidence to speak up and speak out against violence and abuse.

Sadly, there are tens of thousands of girls with a backstory similar to Kik’s, especially in the northeast, in Ubon Ratchathani - one of the poorest regions in Thailand. We have been training girls at risk in that province, since 2011, to recognise and ward off sexual harassment and abuse, and to seek help. We also equip them with life skills that enable them to make better choices after they leave school, as many end up in Bangkok in demeaning and abusive workplaces. However, our impact is only as deeply felt as the funds we are able to raise to run our workshops for girls like Kik. So for 2019, we are appealing for your help to expand our work in Ubon. If you plan to support an organisation that helps underprivileged girls and women this year, remember us, we help change lives!