Noon – Hotline counsellor
I started working as a counsellor with Tamtang two years ago. I’m an artist and I was looking for part time work so some of my friends sent the advert to me, thinking I might be interested. I saw that there was a workshop as part of the interview process, and I was excited to learn more about abortion rights. As I address social issues in my art, I thought taking part would be helpful even if I wasn’t successful in getting the job. In my day-to-day life people weren’t really talking about issues like this. I’ve always supported the right to abortion and as a feminist my values are aligned with the goals of the organisation, but I wanted to learn more.
I found that working with Tamtang felt like a safe space. It makes me feel like I’m doing something for other people, and for my country.
We support so many people on the hotline.
I remember speaking with one woman who worked as a housekeeper at a hotel. She had asked for sterilisation but the doctor refused as she was still young. So she came to us seeking an abortion, but she didn’t have much money for the procedure. I had calls with her, and her voice and her story stayed with me. She was a responsible person, and I could see the effort she’d made – I really felt for her that she had been denied access to the contraception she wanted. She went to the hospital to have an abortion, but they turned her away, so she came to us. She came later in pregnancy due to these delays and luckily, we were able to support her to get the service as we have access to a fund for women who are in emergency situations.
I submitted for a grant on her behalf and spoke to her when she was worried. She managed to have the abortion and we helped her to change to a different hospital where the sterilisation procedure could be covered by insurance. I feel angry that she had to face these difficulties without the support she deserves from the state, that she had to struggle to make her choices.
Sometimes I wonder why I need to do this job – when abortion is legal.
Even though we are supposed to have a right to abortion, people can’t just go straight to the hospital, they have to go through us first. Along with one other hotline, we are the only organisations that can make these appointments through the booking system. We shouldn’t need to exist as the government should just be providing the services people need.
My ideal situation would be that the government would ensure that at least one hospital per province is providing abortions. People often have to travel as there are no services nearby. I would like to see services be walk-in or at least easier for people to make an appointment themselves directly. I wish abortion could be like other procedures in this way. We hope that someday we don’t need to provide this support and the system can serve people as it should.
Every time I go to exhibit my art, people usually ask what else I do as most artists also have another job. I always say I’m a counsellor at Tamtang and we work on abortion. They often don’t know that abortion is actually legal in Thailand, or how abortion works. I’m happy to give them more information and let them know about the hotline if ever they have a friend in need.