SEXUAL HARASSMENT AND SEXUAL ASSAULT OF WOMEN FROM NOVELS IN SOCIAL CHANGE

Abstract

          This qualitative research aims to study the sexual harassment on female characters both in Thai novels and translated novels between the year B.E. 2561-2562. The research also studies on background and characteristics of sexual harassment, techniques for survival from harassment, including the effects and resolution of female's sexual harassment which is based on the novels in a changing society.

          The study found that the backgrounds leading to be the victim of sexual harassment on female characters in novels in a changing society are causes from familiarity, intimacy respect, trust and faith with those people closest to. In the case of emotional victimization of the sexual harassment dealt with both the strangers and men who the victim had known before. For the background relationship between victim and perpetrator, it was found that those who sexually harassed were those closest to family members, close people but outside family and the strangers. For the background of places, it was found that sexual harassment can occur in many various places; victim’s houses, perpetrator’s houses and public places. The timing and chance to be a victim can take place when she is alone and in public surrounded with amount of people. The characteristics of sexual harassment include: coercion, bullying, following, touching, staring, peeking, slanderous speech, forcing to watch genitals and masturbate. There are also the way to discrimination by giving victim the drunken liquid expected to have sexual relationship. Effects of sexual harassment have bad physical impacts on victims. The survivors who struggled to survive and received severe sexual violence were brutally beaten. They were also suffer psychological effects. Some of them became the sexual objects and leading to be a prostitute and some became a sex slavery. The victims felt that their life were worthless. They are addicted to sex and depressed. The victims felt that they are hopeless and they don’t have the goal in their life. Some people even want to suicide themselves. Some of the surviving victims became promiscuous and having sex with others to exchange for benefit of being comfortable.