Philip Bradley
philipb@isb.ac.th
I want to advise you of a disturbing event that happened earlier in the semester. Whilst enjoying a night out with friends at a down town venue one of our female students was raped. This was not an incident of date rape or sexual assault. The perpetrators were completely unknown to the victim; they watched carefully, added a substance to the drink she was consuming and then attacked her when she was momentarily isolated. They have been described as very sophisticated and professional and have not been brought to justice. Our immediate concern has been to support the victim and family through this horrific event.
As chilling as such news is, the belief that this always happens to someone else and that “I am always careful, so don’t worry” is at times hard to get passed when talking with youngsters. Regardless, I am sure that some good can come from this incident if you engage in an honest conversation with your child/ren. Here is the advice/reminders we would give them:
General Guidelines for Student Safety in Thailand
Students
- Should always travel with your mobile phones and call your parents to let them know where you are
- Make sure that your mobile phones are charged up and switched on and that you have contact numbers for all of your friends’ families
- Should remember the strategies to help you say no to substance misuse
- Never leave your drink unattended, ask one of your group to look after it if you have to go to the toilet
- Any drink, not only alcoholic ones may be ‘spiked’ (tampered with) by someone who may wish to harm you
- Always stay with your group when you go out and keep a close eye on each other’s behaviour (in case their drink is spiked)– if it works for your group designate a ‘responsible person’ each time you go out
- Pay close attention to ‘outsiders’ to your group and frequently check up on the person that they are talking to
- Have an understanding in your group beforehand that if one of you is behaving strangely and irrationally then the others will take them home
- If a member of the group, especially a female is behaving irrationally or seems unusually disoriented whether by alcohol or something else stay with them at all times, contact the rest of the group by mobile phone and immediately take the person home
- Check in with your parents while you are out and if you are moving from place to place – do this by text if you don’t want to keep talking to them
- Go where you told your parents you were going
- Text your parents to call you with an excuse why you should go home if you feel you need to get away from a situation
Parents
- Always ensure that you know where your child is outside school time and what time they will return home
- Many parties are mis-characterised as ISB parties, this may give you a sense that ISB is supervises the event and that it is safe, if you are told an event is an ISB event it may simply mean there are lots of ISB student attending – always check, start with the official calendar
- If your child is going to a friend’s house then always call the other parent beforehand to ensure that you are happy with the arrangement and call again during the visit to ensure that your child is there
- Make sure that you know the mobile numbers of your child’s friends so you can contact them if you need to
- Keep your mobile phone charged up and switched on when your child is out in Bangkok
- Check your child’s health when they arrive home –often a hug and sniff is all that is needed.
These additional points refer to alcohol related / legal matters in Thailand
- It is illegal in Thailand for anyone under the age of 20 to enter a bar or night club
- It is illegal in Thailand for anyone under the age of 18 to purchase alcohol
- It is illegal in Thailand to be in possession of substances such as marijuana, ecstasy, opiates, etc
- It is illegal in Thailand to use fake identification papers or ID cards
- No ISB events allow alcohol
- After Graduation and After Prom parties are not organised by the school and we can not take responsibility for them
- Many bars in Bangkok will willingly permit students who are clearly under 20 years of age to enter them and sell alcohol to them
- There are extremely harsh penalties under Thai law for substance misuse (drugs) and such use is viewed as an adult crime even if committed by a student
- Illegal substances such as marijuana are easily available in Bangkok and young people out at night (and even in daylight) are seen as a potential market by drug pushers