The Bhikkhuni institution would alleviate the problems of prostitution
and child abuse. When those less fortunate girls and women
have access to a better life via ordination, the chance that they would
resort to prostitution or be subjected to child abuse would be greatly
reduced. They could obtain an education and training in the bhikkhuni
monasteries and become educated adults. If they so wished, they
could disrobe and have a family. This is allowed in the Thai Buddhist
tradition. If they continued to be bhikkhuni, they could become spiritual
leaders of their communities.
The sexual misconduct and abuse present in the Thai Buddhist religious
institution may be viewed individualistically as a crime caused
by the greed, delusion, or hatred of an individual monk. But from a
structural perspective, the lack of a religious institution for women
themselves—the Bhikkhuni Sangha—is the root cause of the problem.
When women are refused their right of having their own proper religious
institution, they need to rely on the male religious institution for
their spiritual life or their chance in the society. The completion of the
Four Buddhist Sangha, namely, bhikkhu (monks), bhikkhuni (nuns),
upasaka (laymen), and upasika (laywomen), is needed in the modern
time no less than in the time of the Buddha.