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A survey conducted by the Community Soul Foundation and Thailand Health Promotion Foundation revealed that up to 59.3 per cent of women aged between 25 and 60 living in rural areas in the Northeast consumed alcohol, with many saying they had started drinking when they were 16.
The survey learned that many of these women drank because they wanted to socialise, keep up with friends or experiment. Another reason is because it is easy to buy alcohol at any hour of the day.
"The drinking habit doesn't just encourage alcoholism, but is also a key reason for road accidents. It can also be blamed for up to 47.7 per cent of domestic violence," Supaporn Thong-suk, director of the Commu-nity Soul Foundation.
"Rural women lack opportunity to raise their voice when they have problems, so drinking can be a kind of relief," Jaded Chouwilai from the Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation said. "Even urban women tend to drink more and we need to find the root cause for this problem. Women's organisations should find a way to help women who are alcoholics and Tambon Health Promotion Hospitals should provide them some space."