By Kris Herbst

Two years ago, Montri Sinthawichai's efforts to help children in Thailand who are abused or sexually exploited made him vulnerable to threats from the abusers, some of whom wielded political clout. Threats were an everyday occurrence as he pressed for legal action against "high-ranking government officials, even policemen, monks, and teachers who are powerful," he said. "They have friends. So each year I created more and more enemies."

Montri Sinthawichai with some of the children he has helped

Today, Montri has fewer threats to worry about because he was elected to the Thai Senate last March. "The nature of Thai people is to be afraid of high-ranking officials," Montri said. "They don't care what you do, but they care who you are."

Asking a Colleague to Resign

Unfortunately, this attitude contributes to tolerance of child abuse in Thailand, and is the subject of headlines concerning a national scandal that erupted last month: the first deputy speaker of the Thai Senate, who was just one step away from holding the most powerful post in Thailand's bureaucracy, has been arrested for having sex at a motel with four junior high school girls, aged 13 to 16.

In the wake of the charges, 64-year-old Chalerm Promlert resigned his post on Jan. 23. But Chalerm is retaining his Senate seat, and critics charge that he is refusing to relinquish it so that he can use his political power to avoid punishment.

Fellow lawmaker Chalerm should resign from the Senate to avoid using his position to shield himself from the charges, Montri told the Bangkok Post, adding that he should be "treated as an ordinary person, not someone of high status . . . . I'm worried the legal process will stall because the accused is powerful and may use influence to have the charge against him dropped."

The current scandal illustrates one of the reasons sexual exploitation and abuse of children often go unpunished in Thailand: the perpetrators and their allies resort to threats, intimidation and social stigma to silence their victims and scare off their accusers. It has been alleged that a 17-year-old, who is said to have procured the young girls for Senator Chalerm, was told by the director of her high school not to testify to police.

"Another case in which I have been involved illustrates this issue," Montri said. "There was a male teacher who abused boys between the ages of 11 and 12, and we learned later that 17 children altogether had been abused by this particular teacher. The villagers, community members, and the principal of the school knew about this thing – they all knew, but they kept their mouths shut. When we got involved and tried to review the situation, that teacher was supported, and helped to run away, by other teachers."

Safe Haven for the Alleged Victims

To protect the girls – who have admitted to having sex with Senator Chalerm – from intimidation, their parents have decided to remove them from school and place them under the care of the Child Protection Foundation, which Montri directs. He lives with his wife and 11-year-old son at the Foundation's home for abused children, where he is a father-figure to some 100 children who find refuge and help there.

Through the Foundation, Montri has built a network of concerned citizens, police officers, public officials from the national Department of Social Welfare, community leaders, and doctors, who can respond to individual cases of children in trouble, as well as the larger issues that affect society as a whole.

He has established a training program for police officers to develop the proper skill and attitude needed to work with child abuse cases. And he has gotten the government to establish a special agency that set up a "hotline" and special postal box for reporting child abuse.

Montri said he is gratified to see Thai lawmakers beginning to create a legal framework that effectively protects children. "Even though the problem is still serious, Thai society is more aware of it," he said in a recent interview.

Nevertheless, the problem of child abuse in Thailand shows no sign of abating. The Center for the Protection of Children's Rights reported a 50 percent increase in reports of child sexual abuse in Thailand last year. The child sex trade is growing, with child prostitutes accounting for 40 percent of sex workers, according to Chanpen Chuprapawan, a researcher with the Health System Research Institute.

Senator Wanlop Tangkhananurak told the Bangkok Post last month that crimes and violence against children in Thailand increased last year, forcing more children to runaway from home. "The cases range from physical assault to sexual abuse," he said. "And the nature of such crimes is getting more violent, like rape and murder."

Confronting Cultural & Economic Roots of Child Abuse

A number of factors exacerbate these problems. An affluent parent who is suspected of abuse can resort to bribes and political pressure, so that the whistle blower is far more likely than the abuser to end up in jail. Children often are viewed as their parents' possessions, and there is a cultural taboo against intervening in private family matters.

Some believe that a child who suffers is paying for sins he or she committed in a past life. And some men believe that sex with very young women or children rejuventes them, increases their virility, and allows them to have safe, unprotected sex.

Montri, now 42, began studying the causes of child abuse after receiving a B.A. in education and taking a teaching job at an exclusive private school. The school was located near temporary settlements for migrant construction workers where he observed tragic neglect and abuse among their children.

Montri noticed that, although most families want the best for their children, parents struggling to survive by working two or three jobs sometimes left their children unattended. The children were vulnerable to sex and drugs.

"I saw the difference between the richer kids and the poor kids, because the school that I was teaching at was a school for rich kids," Montri said. "That is why I formed a group of friends – my former classmates – to work and get close to the kids who were abused runaways and would hang out at one of the public parks."

Montri now collaborates with other organizations to study the abuse affecting children in a variety of situations, such as those living in urban slums or who have immigrated into Thailand from neighboring countries and have been locked up by the Division of Immigration. But, as someone who grew up in the countryside, he is particularly interested in how the economic forces that encourage migration from rural areas to cities are a key contributor to the problems of child abuse in Thailand.

Families often split apart when a father moves to the city to better support his family. Or when an entire family moves to a city, parents work several jobs to survive and may be exploited by employers. It may be difficult for them to earn enough to support an urban lifestyle that creates pressure to consume more goods and services.

These stresses and separations can destabilize families, creating broken homes and unwanted children, and depriving children of normal relations with their parents. Sometimes children are forced to work as laborers or prostitutes to help support themselves and their families.

The Grim Reality

Frustrated and ashamed, parents may become depressed or seek solace in drugs, alcohol, or gambling. Some patronize prostitutes, some of which are children. Some turn on their children, committing mental, physical or sexual abuse, and sometimes even slavery and murder.

"I was shocked," Montri said. "Repeatedly – over and over again, shocked. Even now, to see the things that happen to children. From when I started my work to the present day, I hear, I see, and I learn about things that should not have happened to children in Thai society, or anywhere else in the world."

"Many times, I have had to go to the hospital to visit a child or children who were sexually abused by either a stepfather, male relative, or their biological father. When one particular child was the victim of incest, the mother was there – right there at the scene."

An Abuse of Trust From April to October, 1997 the Child Protection Foundation responded to urgent requests for help in 35 cases of child sexual abuse, 26 cases of serious injury to children, and 11 cases of children's rights being violated. In all but 17 percent of these cases, the abuser was a relative or person of authority who should have been protecting the child: 24% relative 14% parents 11% stepfather 11% stranger 8% father 8% monk   7% policeman 4% stepparents 4% teacher 3% employer 6% other

"In rural areas, the situation is even worse. Once I visited a child who was sexually abused by a public official, and she was only three years old. Her mother was a farmer and she didn't know what to do. She was not confident that she was able to do anything about it."

Montri tells the story of a girl who came to live at his Foundation home – a case that particularly bothers him: "There was a girl who was seven years old. She was suffering ongoing sexual abuse by eight adults, and one of them was a policeman. She actually tried to tell adults about what was happening to her, but nobody listened, and some of them took advantage of her – continuing to abuse her. I learned later that the mother took part by receiving money from those people."

Finding a Safe Exit

Today, Montri's position as Senator gives him more influence, and it confers a protective aura of visibility. Two years ago, he was little known, and more vulnerable.

He discussed this vulnerability in an interview in November 1998, noting that people he identified as abusers could become dangerous, especially when they had a position of status in society. "Some high-ranked monks have money and power," he said. "They fear that they will lose their benefits, so they threaten to attack me. These people that I named, the monks, are very dangerous to mess with at this point in time. Previously it was the police."

"This job is extremely difficult," he continued. "Sometimes I feel it's contradictory – you really have to feel, or care for the children, but on the other hand you really have to have your mind set so you can get out of a situation."

Montri learned to be wary when he noticed that strangers were following him. To this day, he said, he doesn't know how he always managed to escape without harm. "Maybe it could be superstitious, but I really don't know. Sometimes I liked to do things like change the route that I traveled. Many times I felt like, 'Uh-oh, here's a dead end, it's hard to get out of it.' But later we found an exit.

"So, I keep telling my staff that you really have to use your mind. Concentrate on what you're doing and you can always find the exit – the way to solve a problem; as long as you have the dedication to work for children to try to solve the problem. We have a small number of people around, and we are not powerful, but we have determination."

Disturbing Trends

Montri says that the Thai government has responded to pressure for reforms by doing a better job of protecting children, especially in coordinating and supporting enforcement and treatment efforts, and providing follow-up help to children. But serious problems remain today, and some disturbing new trends are appearing.

These include increased sexual harassment by children, especially older children abusing younger children, Montri said. "Children and family have been neglected. You can see that the victims in the past, the former victims, are now becoming the abusers themselves."

"Second, more children are resorting to violence to solve their problems," he said.

Third, the number of girls who turn to prostitution voluntarily is increasing, as they pursue quick money to support a luxurious life-style. "There are children who spend a lot of time hanging out with friends and using luxurious, fashionable things," he said. "They go out with their friends and are persuaded to earn money by having sex with men so that they can afford their favorite things. I think this will continue to be a serious problem."

Male children who have been prostitutes require the most time and treatment for recovery because "they are spoiled by the money they make," Montri said. "It's hard to pull them away. Some don't feel like they're being rescued – they have a big stake in consumerist society."

When the government responds, the Department of Social Welfare's treatment centers are not able to provide adequate services to children, Montri said. They are staffed by poorly paid government workers who are ill-equipped and not motivated to take on the challenging task of working with families.

The government is putting "too many children in a house – they are really packed in there," he said. "It is better if they can live in a house without so many children. And they should be treated as a family. There should be specialists close to them, and each child's case should be treated individually. It is impossible to treat them all in the same way."

The Foundation's home for children and its headquarters is a three-story house that fills an eighth of an acre plot in the Thongland subdistrict of Bangkok. Montri has trained the staff members and many volunteers who work there to create a warm, safe atmosphere that is as much like a traditional family as possible, with children and adults living together and sharing chores.

In contrast, the government homes have "so many rules, everything is so formal," he said. "Children there lose their opportunity to be touched, to appreciate the home environment. So they don't have an opportunity to learn, to become a role model, to know themselves, to know what it is to be loved and to be cared for."

Creating a Home

At the Foundation home, Montri is known as "Por Yoon" (Daddy Yoon) and his wife is Mae Wel ("Mommy Wel"). "The family environment makes the children feel we are their friends, we are their parents, and it will heal up their pains and their fear," he said. "The children will feel that they are also members of the family who are able to have good experiences in place of sad memories of the past."

"It is significant that we don't treat them as if they are patients," he added. "We treat them as if they are normal. The way we live closely together and treat them makes them feel warm and cared for. We don't have a room for a social worker or psychologist – I'm making a home for the children."

Montri grew up in a fairly prosperous fishing family that owned five boats and had several employees. "I'm lucky," he said. "I was born in a rural area, far away from town, and grew up in a family where family members lived together and loved each other. It was an extended family where there were a lot of brothers and sisters and relatives. I had great role models. My father was a fisherman, so he stayed in the village and we lived in the same family and worked together. So I think this is the way it should go. Children should live with their parents, the adults – learn to live together.

"I have always said to those people who criticize me, 'Well, it's not only my family that is living this way. In the past, almost all families of farmers, gardeners, and fishermen lived the same way I do right now.'"

At the front of the ground floor of the Foundation home, a large, open court fills with dozens of children who gather in knots, chattering, playing games, and doing chores. The children are trusted, Montri said, there is no enclosure or locks to keep them inside – they can come and go anytime with permission.

12-year-old Panudit, a resident of the Foundation home (left) created this peaceful picture of two monks with two temple boys receiving alms in the morning. Panudit says about himself: " I have a sister and a brother. I am the second child. When I have free time, I like to play football. I want to be on the national football team."