The cabinet on Tuesday approved a six-year action plan to prevent and cope with sexual harassment, as proposed by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, government deputy spokeswoman Rachada Dhnadirek said.
The plan is based on opinions garnered from networks of women's affairs, local administrative bodies and other government agencies, for implementation by state agencies in 2023.
State agencies will be duty-bound to change the attitude of society so people do not stay indifferent towards the problem of rape and sexual abuse. Effective mechanisms to monitor and prevent sexual violence must be formulated. Safe areas and channels must be provided for people to lodge complaints about risky or unsafe areas.
To ensure justice, the rights and liberties of victims of sexual harassment must be protected. Sexual offenders must undergo a behavioural adjustment process. There must be a database of sexual offenders. Sexual crime recidivists should get high penalties, including medicine for adjustment of hormone levels.
Laws and legal procedures should be amended to better protect the rights and liberties of damaged parties in sexual violence cases. Government officials who commit sexual harassment should be subject to serious disciplinary action.
According to Ms Rachada, statistics of violence against children and women in 2021 showed that seven women reported being sexually harassed every day, on average.
