Thai Women Start a #MeToo Movement All Their Own

"Don't tell me how to dress." It's a new rallying cry for Thai women and the start of a #MeToo movement all their own.

Transcript

00:00There was some local authorities who came out in a newspaper article warning women,

00:15advising them not to dress sexily or too revealing so as to avoid sexual assault.

00:21It hit a nerve with me and I had to say something.

00:34I was not dressed in any revealing manner, in fact I had a baggy t-shirt on and three

00:41quarter length jeans, yet it still happened to me.

00:44As does almost 60% of women during this time get harassed or assaulted in some way.

00:50This happens to way too many women and it needs to stop.

01:04The reason I think that Me Too hasn't taken off quite so quickly in Thailand and that

01:11Don't Tell Me How To Dress has, is that it's less confrontational, which if you know Thai

01:18people and you know Thai culture, we are not quick to point fingers at any one particular

01:25person.

01:26Perhaps this is a good entry point into the bigger Me Too movement or it's our Thai version

01:32of Me Too.

01:42You know you are not to blame and please don't think that it is your fault or what

01:50you were wearing or how you were behaving.

02:01I hope that in some small way this campaign can provide a platform for you to come forth

02:06and tell your story when you are ready and that it is a way for all of us to look out

02:13for one another and stand up for our rights and stand up for each other and send a message

02:20to the perpetrators out there who think that they can take advantage of women, that we

02:26are not going to stand for it.