When Patriarchy Hides Behind “Faith”: Sexual Violence and Victim-Blaming in Thailand 🇹🇭

On 13 February, a self-proclaimed spiritual healer known as “Lung Sanom” from Angthong, Central Thailand 🇹🇭 was caught sexually harassing several women who sought him out for healing. But what is equally disturbing is the wave of victim-blaming that followed.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗼𝗿𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗱 𝘃𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝘄𝗶𝗰𝗲:

first through the shaman who exploited them,

then by the public who blamed them for their beliefs.

Instead of holding the perpetrator accountable, public discourse has fixated on blaming the women for believing in spiritual healing in the first place. Saying they deserve their sexual violence for their cultural beliefs. 👎

‼️ 𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙪𝙨 𝙗𝙚 𝙘𝙡𝙚𝙖𝙧: 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙛𝙤𝙡𝙠 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙛. 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙞𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙥𝙤𝙬𝙚𝙧.

This case reveals how patriarchal authority weaponizes spirituality to control women’s bodies, especially in moments of vulnerability.

Colonial thinking has also long framed Indigenous and local spiritual practices as “backward” or “irrational.” Today, that same logic resurfaces in victim-blaming narratives: women are mocked for their beliefs rather than protected from violence. This shifts accountability away from male perpetrators and reinforces misogyny under the guise of “rationality.”

📢 We must break this cycle. Shift the narrative by:

→ Stop asking why survivors believed. Start asking why men feel entitled to exploit belief.

→ Challenge structures that shield male authority, whether religious, spiritual, or institutional.

→ Protect community-based faith practices without allowing them to be distorted into tools of abuse.

✊ Survivors deserve dignity, not ridicule. As Decolonial & Intersectional feminists, we stand in solidarity with all survivors. Faith and cultural discrimination should never be a doorway to violence.

#WeAreManushyan ♾️ Equal Human Beings

#WhatsHappeningInThailand #DecolonizeJustice #JusticeForSurvivors #EndViolenceAgainstWomen