12 images Created 17 Sep 2020
Domestic violence at the Thailand-Myanmar border during Covid-19
Sandar (a pseudonym) is an illegal Burmese migrant living in Mae Sot, at the Thailand-Myanmar border. She has been in an abusive relationship for 11 years. Her husband beats and sexually abuses her. The situation at home got worse since the Covid-19 outbreak. Sandar's husband lost his job so they were arguing about money all the time. Sandar is one of the ~200,000 Burmese migrants living in the Mae Sot region. Many of them are undocumented and work in precarious conditions. Since the Covid-19 outbreak, they have no job, no support from the Thai government, and no chances of returning to Myanmar due to the closure of borders. According to the United Nations, cases of domestic violence have globally increased by 30% in 2020. This reportage has been published by El País.
![Sandar's sons, 9 and 3, play in the street in front of their house. Sandar has endured domestic abuse throughout her life. Her aunt, who hosted her at her arrival in Thailand, beat her regularly. “She beat me with wires,” she recalls. She never went to the hospital or called the police. “I did not know where to go. I did not speak the [Thai] language. And my aunt locked me up at home, so I could not go out.” She got married at 17, two years after she arrived in Thailand. According to the UN, less than 40% of women who are physically abused at home seek any kind of help.](https://www.valeriamongelli.com/img-get2/I00009H.XaBo2DHE/fit=180x180/fill=/g=G0000XeWwh5X09uY/I00009H.XaBo2DHE.jpg)
![Sandar's son, 9, runs in a field close to his house, in the outskirts of Mae Sot. He stays at home while his mother and his younger brother go to the detention center. The Freedom Restoration Project organizes parenting classes to teach alternative education methods to the victims of domestic abuse. “We show them that there are other ways [of educating kids] besides yelling and beating,” says Watcharapon “Sia” Kukaewkasem, the founder and director of the Freedom Restoration Project. “When we talk about domestic violence, it is not only the partner's violence but also [the violence] of parents to the children. [...] We try to create prevention.”](https://www.valeriamongelli.com/img-get2/I0000lG8kte4_KhU/fit=180x180/fill=/g=G0000XeWwh5X09uY/I0000lG8kte4_KhU.jpg)
