When a Thai government official told women to dress carefully to prevent harassment at the Songkran festival, it brought back painful memories for model Cindy Sirinya Bishop.

The Thai-American was just 17 when she was sexually harassed at the New Year celebrations. Dressed in a loose black t-shirt and three-quarter shorts, Ms Bishop found herself cornered by five men after she was separated from her friends.

"They surrounded me and tried touching me. I just ran and managed to get away from them. I haven't been to Songkran since," Ms Bishop told the BBC.

The three-day festival, which begins on Friday, is marked by the pouring of water to symbolise washing away misfortune from the previous year.

Last month Sutthipong Chulcharoen, Thailand's director general of the department of local administration, encouraged women to dress appropriately to prevent sex crimes during the water festival.

#DontTellMeHowToDress
It wasn't long before other women began sharing their own stories.

"I was out with a friend and a female cousin [during Songkran], wearing a turtle-necked top, sweat pants and a sweater because I get cold easily," said one user on Twitter.

After losing track of her friends, she quickly found herself surrounded by a group of boys.

"They started to corner me... one of the guys grabbed my arm. I burst into tears. Thank god my cousin and friends came back so everything was alright. Since then, I've never gone out on Songkran."

"A lot of times you hear people asking women what they were wearing when [sexual harassment occurs], not just during Songkran," said Ms Bishop.

"Across the globe, you have the feminist movement, the #MeToo movement, conversation on this topic is growing and in the same way, I hope in Thailand this movement continues beyond Songkran."

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-43627113