How a Brutal Stunt at a Thai Boxing Match Took on Domestic Violence

On February 28th, thousands of boxing fans piled into a Thai arena to enjoy a night of dramatic, visceral sport. But the fight that unfolded would profoundly shake the audience to the core.

Instead of a pair of closely-matched competitors, highly skilled in the art of Thai boxing, duking it out in the ring, the audience witnessed a brutal, uneven display of abuse and cruelty. A man took out his rage on his female partner, outraging the audience with a demonstration of domestic violence.

As the audience were roused to their feet in anger, it was revealed that this was, in fact, a stunt, designed to highlight and change perspectives about domestic violence. The sketch was devised by creative agency Dentsu Thailand in aid of Women and Men Progressive Movement Foundation (WMP), an organization committed to bringing the sexes together to combat gender inequality.

Reports of domestic violence in Thailand are on the increase and according to the WMP, 94.6% of people who witness domestic violence do not intervene. 

It was this lack of agency that Dentsu was keen to tackle. “How do we overcome public apathy towards domestic violence? Dentsu Thailand brought the abuse that usually happens behind closed doors into the limelight. The agency staged a fight in a boxing ring to drive home the point that what is Unacceptable In Public is Unacceptable At Home. The audience wasn’t expecting this,” said the team at Dentsu.

After the staged fight, the audience were shown a video outlining the issue of domestic violence and asking people to call a hotline number if they witnessed it.