Women in the insurgency-plagued far South have called on the government and its opponents to ensure their safety in public places as part of their demands to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women today.
It was one of several demands issued by the Southern Women's Peace Network to Stop Violence, led by Rosida Pusu.
The government and its opponents should come up with extra safety measures for women in public places in the deep South, such as schools, markets, temples, mosques and on public buses, according to Ms Rosida.
This would ward off violence against children and women, she noted.
She said 9,227 children have been orphaned after either their mother or father, or both, were killed in the southern violence since the unrest broke out 13 years ago, adding 3,975 women have been widowed.
The network also wants the government to raise do more to stamp out sexual harassment and assaults in the civil service.
Ms Rosida said sexual exploitation by superiors in state agencies against subordinates is a major transgression, and state authorities must protect victims and proceed with disciplinary and criminal punishment against the offenders.
State officials must enforce laws stringently in sexual assault cases, which must be treated as non-compoundable offences, she said.
The government should also allocate budgets for local administrative bodies and civic organisations to set up funds aimed at alleviating and stopping violence against women and children, the network's chairwoman said.
Also, all parties must stay vigilant and giving immediate assistance to children and women who have fallen victim to attacks, she said.
"The most concerning issue is that [in several cases] state authorities have not apprehended or prosecuted offenders. In the worse case scenario, offenders can commit repeat attacks against children and women," said Ms Rosida.
Angkhana Neelapaijit, a National Human Rights Commission member, said a huge number of women are presently facing direct and indirect violence and it has been a long-standing problem in Thai society.
According to Ms Angkhana, the government should ramp up measures to boost understanding about gender equality among law enforcement and judicial officials.
The government must ensure access to justice for children and women, she said, adding the justice system must be female-friendly.
Ms Angkhana said the government must not delay in rolling roll out mechanisms to protect female human rights activists from lawsuits brought against them for using their freedom of expression.
She said the administration must also increase the ratio of women on decision-making bodies so that they can help identify problems and come up with ways to tackle violence.
