The report, which finds that Thai children have easy access to pornography in the form of magazines, websites and DVDs, prompted Kittisak Sinthuvanich, deputy secretary-general of the NESDB, to claim that pornography is to blame for an increased number of school dropouts. He also went on to predict that access to pornography among children, if left unchecked, would lead to increases in sexual abuse, sex offenses, drug abuse and STDs.
A recent Thai government crackdown on pornography netted 8,243 porn magazines and 20,000 DVDs. According to government estimates, at least 6,000 adult websites were blocked. The crackdowns come amid rises in youth crimes and drug rates. While the NESDB is quick to blame pornography for Thailand’s social problems, the report offers no real details on the correlation between pornography and crime.
According to the Bangkok Post, the Thai government wants parents to do more to protect their children from pornography. However, the NESDB also called for the government to take decisive action against pornography.