Sudarat urges sex crime victims to speak out so culprits punished
Veteran politician Khunying Sudarat Keyuraphan on Friday urged women who suffer sexual harassment or assault to speak out against the perpetrators so they are punished. Sudarat said she herself had experienced sexual harassment when she was young.
She said society must condemn those who commit sexual offences, while law enforcers must punish the culprits regardless of their status.
“I am not referring to any individual in particular, I am just speaking in principle,” she said, denying that her move was politically motivated.
Her comments came after Democrat Party deputy leader Prinn Panitchpakdi was accused of sexual harassment and sexual assault, reportedly by multiple women.
The 44-year-old politician, son of former deputy prime minister Supachai Panitchpakdi, on Thursday denied the allegations and resigned all his party positions — including as head of the coalition party’s campaign for the May 22 Bangkok governor election.
Sudarat, chairwoman of the new Thai Sang Thai Party and a former public health minister, said she had had personal experience of sexual harassment.
“Luckily, I was not easily intimidated, so what [the women allegedly] suffered recently did not occur to me,” she told reporters on Friday.
Sudarat said women are not weak although their physical strength may be inferior to men’s.
“Any man who oppresses women, regardless of their power or wealth, must be punished. Men must not treat women as their toys. As a woman, I can’t tolerate this,” she said.