Lawmakers Push for Domestic Violence Bill, Reject Delays
Lawmakers are pushing Parliament to pass a long-delayed Domestic Violence Protection Act submitted by over 20,000 citizens, rejecting procedural delays that have hindered victim protection for years.
Nathawut Buapraput, a Pheu Prachaachan party list member and chair of the parliamentary committee on children, youth, women, elderly affairs, persons with disabilities, ethnic groups, and sexual diversity, addressed Parliament's agenda for the week. The session includes consideration of the Domestic Violence Protection Act, which was submitted by over 20,000 citizens demanding urgent parliamentary approval and the formation of a special committee. Citizens specifically opposed delaying tactics or claims that the bill needed further study—practices they said had hindered victim protection and efforts to address the mounting domestic violence cases reported daily.
Nathawut noted that the government, particularly the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, had previously declared its commitment to prioritizing the bill. However, the Cabinet's version has stalled for over three years despite maintaining similar principles to the citizen-submitted version from the 2007 law repeal framework.
Meanwhile, opposition parties had also submitted versions. Yotchanan Wongswasdi of Pheu Thai submitted one with other party MPs, and Phassarin Ramvong of Pheu Prachaachan submitted another with party colleagues, both emphasizing victim protection and their interests as the priority. These drafts differ from the citizen version mainly in proposing a protection fund, which classifies the bill as involving state finances requiring the Prime Minister's endorsement—a process that could consume additional time.
Nathawut stressed that financial and procedural concerns should not delay consideration of the citizen-submitted version or cause further postponement affecting daily domestic violence cases. He urged Parliament to dedicate full time on July 8 to consider this important legislation affecting citizens' quality of life, and to establish a special committee for expedited review if the bill passes initial consideration.
"Don't play games by requesting schedule postponements or citing procedural rules to stall the bill for study, as happened in previous governments," Nathawut said. "Citizens will criticize their representatives for wasting parliamentary time."
