SOCIETY / ABAC POLL

Govt hails resilience of the Thai family unit

Anjira Assavanonda

The Thai family unit remains as strong as ever despite the growing pressures of modern society, including the rising cost of living and increasing personal debt, Deputy Prime Minister Paiboon Wattanasiritham said yesterday.

Mr Paiboon made the assertion while citing results from the latest Abac poll, which was conducted between March 30 and April 3 among 1,845 people in Bangkok and nearby areas.

The minister used the poll as a platform to campaign on the importance of the family unit at a Family Day event organised yesterday by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security and the Thai Health Promotion Foundation.

The poll showed that two-thirds of respondents still maintained a healthy interaction with other family members on a daily basis. The top family activities included watching television (83%), eating (80%), and doing household chores (72%).

Almost every respondent (95%) said family members showed each other they loved each other on a regular basis. Such signs came in the form of taking care of someone when they were unwell (56%), the giving of gifts on special occasions (49%), spending time together (45%), and consulting one another (95%).

"The survey results show that Thai families still have good ties, but they have worrying problems about their living conditions and finances," said Mr Paiboon, who is also minister for social development and human security.

According to the poll, their financial situation was the most common topic for discussion in families (64%), followed by health problems (36%).

About 34% said they needed to increase their monthly income by 5,000-10,000 baht to survive. Some 43% of those who felt they weren't making enough to live in the way they wanted said they borrowed money from relatives, compared to 23% who borrowed from loan sharks and 13% who took out high-interest loans from private lending companies.

Mr Paiboon said the common health-related discussions were centred around the lack of health insurance (20%), and a lack of nutritious food (31%).

He said Thai society was full of temptations and that a family's love and warmth was not necessarily enough to protect children from social ills.

"To strengthen families and to care for our children, we need cooperation from all social sectors," Mr Paiboon said.

"The families themselves, local administration organisations and the government need to have a strong commitment in promoting the family institution, and the legislative body to issue relevant laws to solve family problems."

Meanwhile, Suwit Kuntaroj, director of the Office of Women's Affairs and Family Development, said the agency's proposed anti-domestic violence bill has already passed the first reading by the National Legislative Assembly.

A panel has been set up to scrutinise the bill before returning it to the assembly.

"If there aren't any problems, this bill, which we have been pushing for for five years, should be endorsed by April or May," he said.

The bill, he said, is aimed at protecting all family members, including children and domestic helpers, from all forms of violence. It allows authorised state officials to intervene when a case is filed or if they have proven evidence of violence within a family.

Bangkok Post

Friday April 06, 2007