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Published on November 16, 2007

Dr Surat Sukprasert, director of Pathum Thani Hospital, said incidents of domestic violence had increased significantly from 118 cases in 2004 to 264 cases this year.

He said most of the violence was caused by drunken husbands who beat their wives or other family members.

To reverse the trend, the hospital has initiated a project to train healthcare volunteers and community leaders to recognise domestic violence, stop the abuse and treat the victims.

Surat said that after the training, the volunteers would be responsible for treating the victims of violence and reporting cases to the hospital. This will help medical staff to analyse the condition of victims and provide advance treatment.

"Most domestic violence victims cannot access treatment when they are beaten by their husbands or other family members," Surat said.

"We expect healthcare volunteers and community leaders to be part of the mechanism to help victims because they have a closer relationship to villagers than us."

Surat said the plan was part of the hospital's One Stop Service Crisis Centre.

Pongphon Sarnsamak

 The Nation

Pathum Thani