LGBT rights in Thailand

LGBT rights in Thailand Thailand
Same-sex sexual intercourse legal status Legal since 1956:
age of consent equalized in 1997
Gender identity/expression Sex changes are legal
Military service Yes, since 2005
Discrimination protections Yes, sexual orientation and gender identity protections since 2015
Family rights
Recognition of
relationships		 No

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Thailand may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBT residents.[1] Both male and female same-sex sexual activity are legal in Thailand, but same-sex couples and households headed by same-sex couples are not eligible for the same legal protections available to opposite-sex couples.

In 2013, The Bangkok Post said that "while Thailand is viewed as a tourist haven for same-sex couples, the reality for locals is that the law, and often public sentiment, is not so liberal."[2] The largest organization campaigning for same-sex marriage is Anjaree. A 2014 report by the United States Agency for International Development and the United Nations Development Programme said that LGBT people "still face discrimination affecting their social rights and job opportunities",[3] and "face difficulty gaining acceptance for non-traditional sexuality, even though the tourism authority has been promoting Thailand as a gay-friendly country".[3]

Changes in attitudes and public policy towards LGBT issues began to occur in Thailand during the 1990s and, in particular, the early part of the 21st century. In 2015, Thailand enacted comprehensive anti-discrimination law covering sexual orientation and gender identity. As of 2018, a civil partnership bill is being discussed by the Thai Parliament, which, if passed, would grant same-sex couples several of the rights of marriage including adoption rights.

In 2017, Bangkok was named the second-most gay-friendly city in Asia, after Tel Aviv, Israel, due to its LGBT dating scene, nightlife, openness and safety.[4]

Legality of same-sex sexual activity

Private, adult, consensual, and non-commercial sodomy was decriminalized in Thailand in 1956.[5] However, same-sex attraction and transgenderism were still seen as socially unacceptable. Through the Penal Code Amendment Act of 1997, the age of consent was set at fifteen years regardless of gender or sexual orientation.

In 2002, the Ministry of Health announced that homosexuality would no longer be regarded as a mental illness or disorder.[6]

In 2007, the Thai Government expanded the definition of a sexual assault and rape victim to include both women and men.[7] The government also prohibited marital rape, with the law stipulating that women or men can be victims.[7]

Recognition of same-sex relationships

Thai law currently does not recognize same-sex marriages, civil unions, or domestic partnerships. Despite the lack of formal legal recognition, Thai same-sex couples tend to be publicly tolerated, especially in the more urban areas such as Bangkok, Phuket, or Pattaya.[8]

In September 2011, the government's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Sexual Diversity Network, an NGO, proposed draft legislation on same-sex marriage and sought the Thai government's support for the law.[9][10] Instead, in December 2012, the government formed a committee to draft legislation providing legal recognition for same-sex couples in the form of civil partnerships.[11] On 8 February 2013, the Rights and Liberties Protection Department and the Parliament's Committee on Legal Affairs, Justice, and Human Rights held a first public hearing on the civil partnership bill, drafted by the committee's chairman, Pol Gen Viroon Phuensaen.[12]

In September 2013, The Bangkok Post reported that an attempt in 2011 by Natee Teerarojjanapong, president of the Gay Political Group of Thailand, to register a marriage certificate with his male partner had been rejected.[2]

By 2014, the civil partnership bill had bipartisan support, but was stalled due to the political crisis in the country.[13] In the second half of 2014, reports emerged that a draft bill called the Civil Partnership Act would be submitted to the junta-appointed Thai Parliament. It would give couples some of the rights of heterosexual marriage, but was criticized for increasing the minimum age from 17 to 20 and omitting adoption rights.[14]

In 2015, an opinion poll by the National Institute of Development Administration found that 59.2 percent of respondents supported same-sex marriage, while 35.4 percent disagreed.[1][15]

In 2017, following a ruling in favour of same-sex marriage by the Constitutional Court of Taiwan, the Government of Thailand responded favourably to a petition signed by 60,000 people calling for civil partnerships for same-sex couples. Pitikan Sithidej, the Director-General of the Rights and Liberties Protection Department at the Justice Ministry, confirmed he had received the petition and would do all he could to get it passed as soon as possible.[16] The Justice Ministry convened on 4 May 2018 to begin discussions on a draft civil partnership bill, titled the Same Sex Life Partnership Registration Bill. Under the proposal, same-sex couples would be able to register themselves as "life partners" and will be granted several of the rights of marriage, including full adoption rights.[17][18] The bill is expected to be introduced to the Cabinet in September 2018.[19]

Adoption and parenting

Only married couples may adopt in Thailand. If the proposed civil partnership bill is approved by Parliament, life partners would be able to adopt.

Thailand had long been a popular destination for surrogacy arrangements. In 2015, however, the Thai Parliament passed a law banning foreigners from travelling to Thailand to have commercial surrogacy arrangements. Only married couples as Thai residents are allowed to make commercial surrogacy contracts. In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is restricted to married couples.[20]

Discrimination protections

LGBT flag map of Thailand

None of the various Thai constitutions has mentioned sexual orientation or gender identity. Natee Theerarojnapong, of the Government's Human Rights Commission, and Anjana Suvarnananda, a lesbian rights advocate, campaigned unsuccessfully for the inclusion of "sexual identity" in the Interim Constitution of 2006 and the Constitution of 2007.[7] The 2007 Constitution did contain a broad prohibition of "unfair discrimination" based on "personal status" and promises to respect various civil liberties in accordance with "state security" and "public morality".

The Gender Equality Act B.E. 2558 was passed on 13 March 2015 and came into force on 9 September 2015.[21] This act bans discrimination according to gender identity and sexual orientation, and was the first law in Thailand to contain language mentioning LGBT people. Under this law, discrimination against a male, female or "a person who has a sexual expression different from that person's original sex" is punishable by up to six months in prison and a fine of up to 20,000 baht.[22][23] However, the law specified an exception for "education, religion and the public interest", which was strongly criticised by women's rights groups.[24]

Gender identity and expression

Sex reassignment operations have been performed in Thailand since 1975, and Thailand is among the most popular destinations globally for patients seeking such operations.[25]

Transgender people are quite common in Thai popular entertainment, television shows and nightclub performances, however, transgender people lack various legal rights compared to the rest of the population,[26][27] and may face discrimination from society.[2][28]

Transgender people face substantial barriers to employment, including full-time work, executive positions or promotions, according to 2015 research for the International Labour Organization.[29] Discrimination in job applications also often discourages transgender people from seeking further employment opportunities or entering the job market. The research also found that they are faced with "daily discrimination and humiliation" which often cuts short their careers.[29] An editorial in The Bangkok Post in 2013 noted that "we don't find transgenders as high-ranking officials, doctors, lawyers, scientists, or teachers in state-run schools and colleges. Nor as executives in the corporate world. In short, the doors of government agencies and large corporations are still closed to transgender women."[26]

In 2007, the Thai National Assembly debated allowing transgender people to legally change their names after having a sex change operation, but as of 2014 this change had not been passed.[3] Post-operation male-to-female transgender government employees are not granted the right to wear female uniforms at work,[30] and are still expected to perform military service.[3] Specific cases of inequality include a hospital which refused to allow a transgender to stay in a woman's ward, even though she had undergone sex reassignment surgery.[3]

In 2014, a Matthayom 1 textbook was criticized for discrimination and lack of gender sensitivity, due to a description of transgender people as suffering from gender confusion, khon long phet (คนหลงเพศ),[31] and illustrations in the textbook featuring performances by transgender dancers.[31] Critics argued that the word long (หลง: 'confused') had negative connotations, and that "transgender" or kham phet (ข้ามเพศ) was more suitable.[31] It was reported that officials at the Ministry of Education would investigate the matter.[31]

Military service

In 2005, the Thai Armed Forces lifted their ban on LGBT people serving in the military. Prior to this reform, LGBT people were exempted as suffering from a "mental disorder".

Blood donation

In May 2009, the Thai Red Cross reaffirmed its ban of men who have sex with men (MSM) becoming blood donors, despite campaigns to change this policy.[32]

Living conditions

Terminology

Two kathoey dancers in Pattaya, December 2011

The Thai word for "gay" or "queer" is key̒ (เกย์). The term katoey or kathoey (กะเทย) refers to transgender women or effeminate gay men. Thai society perceives kathoeys as belonging to a third gender alongside male and female. The term dee (ดี้) alludes to homosexual or bisexual women. In addition, Thai has also incorporated the word "lesbian" from English: les̄ beī̂y n (เลสเบียน).[33]

The Thai language recognises several other gender and sexual identities, including tom (ทอม), from the English "tomboy", which refers to women who dress, act, and speak in a masculine fashion. Toms are not necessarily lesbian or bisexual, but may be perceived as such by others. Other identities include angees, kathoeys who are attracted to toms, and adams, men who are attracted to toms.

Homophobia and violence

In 2016, Paisarn Likhitpreechakul, a board member of the Sogi Foundation, wrote an op-ed in the Bangkok Post warning of so-called corrective rape being widely used to "cure" lesbians of their sexual orientation, highlighting the case of a father in Loei who confessed to raping his 14-year-old daughter for four years to stop her from socialising with tomboys. Paisarn expressed further concern that such practices were being normalised in Thai society, and that the true number of such cases was far higher, as many murders of Thai LGBTs are categorised as crimes of passion, because the Thai legal system does not include the concept of "hate crimes". The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights identified murder, beatings, kidnappings, rape and sexual assault against LGBT people as examples of homophobic and transphobic violence and noted that violence against LGBT people "tends to be especially vicious compared to other bias-motivated crimes".[34]

Education

On 26 December 1996, in a report in the Bangkok Post, the Rajabat Institute Council, the collective governing body of all of Thailand's colleges, declared that it would bar homosexuals from enrolling in any of its teacher training schools, the idea of Deputy Education Minister Suraporn Danaitangtrakul.[35] The announcement was strongly criticised by human rights groups and many others, who urged the repeal of the policy. On 25 January 1997, Danaitangtrakul proposed that the Institute set new criteria to bar people with "improper personalities", but not specific groups such as homosexuals.

Prisons

For several years, the official policy of Thai prisons has been to respect and recognize sexual diversity, placing inmates in cells based on their stated gender and sexual orientation.[33] Homosexual male prisoners, like all male prisoners, have their heads shaved. Female inmates are not allowed to wear make-up, but gay male inmates are.[33] According to the Department of Corrections, there were 4,448 LGBT prisoners in the country in 2016. Of these, 1,804 were katoey (transgender women or effeminate gay men), 352 were gay (เกย์), 1,247 were tom (ทอม; female with masculine characteristics), 1,011 were dee (ดี้; female homosexual with feminine characteristics), and 34 were male-to-female transgender people.[33]

LGBT life

Participants at the 2006 Bangkok Pride parade

Thailand had long had a reputation of tolerance when it comes to LGBT people; there are many LGBT nightclubs and bars in the country and the first Thai LGBT magazine, Mithuna, began publication in 1983.[36]

However, in 1989, LGBT activist Natee Teerarojjanapongs described the situation as more complicated, as although LGBT citizens do not face direct repression from the state, instead "it is a question of subtle negation through invisibility and a lack of social awareness about homosexual people", and although people acknowledge the existence of homosexuality, "they are still not used to the idea of openly gay people. Even fewer have any understanding of the notion of lesbian and gay rights".[37]

This began to change in the 1990s with more public events, such as LGBT pride festivals that were held every year from 1999 to 2007 in Bangkok, until internal disputes within the LGBT community and arguments with the festival's financial backers prevented future events from being held.[38] Bangkok Pride was expected to take place again in November 2017, the first time in 11 years, but was postponed due to the national one year mourning of King Bhumibol Adulyadej.[39]

A parade in the northern city of Chiang Mai in 2009 stirred such hostility that it had to be canceled. As participants were preparing to march, a local political group surrounded the compound where they had gathered, shouting insults through megaphones and throwing fruit and rocks at the building.[40]

Media

The entertainment industry accepts us with open arms because we poke fun at ourselves and make people laugh. But if we want to be taken seriously in a field like medicine we are not afforded the same courtesy.

— Prempreeda Pramoj Na Ayutthaya, transgender rights activist and programme officer at UNESCO

Since the 1980s, many LGBT-themed publications have been available in Thailand. LGBT characters in Thai films have also been common since the 1970s, often as comic relief, although it was not until the new wave of Thai cinema in the late 1990s that Thai films began to examine LGBT characters and issues in more depth.

Censorship does not affect LGBT-related media directly, but pornography and sex toys are illegal in Thailand.

Public opinion

According to a 2015 opinion poll, 89% of Thais would accept a colleague who is gay or lesbian, 80% would not mind if a family member was LGBT, and 59% were in favour of legalizing same-sex marriage.[1][41]

Summary table

Same-sex sexual activity legal (Since 1956)
Equal age of consent (Since 1997)
Anti-discrimination laws in employment (Since 2015)
Anti-discrimination laws in the provision of goods and services (Since 2015)
Anti-discrimination laws in all other areas (incl. indirect discrimination, hate speech) (Since 2015)
Same-sex marriage
Recognition of same-sex couples (Pending)
Stepchild adoption by same-sex couples (Pending)
Joint adoption by same-sex couples (Pending)
LGBT people allowed to serve openly in the military (Since 2005)
Right to change legal gender
Right to change sex surgically [42]
Conversion therapy banned on minors
Homosexuality declassified as an illness (Since 2002)
Transsexuality declassified as an illness
Access to IVF for lesbians
Commercial surrogacy for gay male couples
MSMs allowed to donate blood

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 Villadiego, Laura (16 September 2018). "Land of lady boys? Thailand is not the LGBTI paradise it appears". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  2. 1 2 3 Chaiyot Yongcharoenchai (2013-09-08). "The two faces of Thai tolerance". Bangkok Post.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 Kamjan, Chananthorn (17 September 2014). "Gays still face a battle, report says". Bangkok Post.
  4. ↑ "Happy Pride Month! Bangkok named second-best LGBT city in Asia". Coconuts Bangkok. 2017-06-28. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Khan, Shivananda (February 2005). "Assessment of sexual health needs of males who have sex with males in Laos and Thailand" (PDF). Naz Foundation International.
  6. ↑ Gay Rights in Thailand 2007 Archived 3 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine.
  7. 1 2 3 "Gay Thailand News and Reports 2007". Global Gayz. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  8. ↑ Same-sex marriage a must for nation famed for tolerance, Bangkok Post, 30 April 2018
  9. ↑ "Commission for marriage rights". Star Observer. 13 September 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  10. ↑ "NHRC will support gay marriage rights". The Nation. 5 September 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  11. ↑ Leach, Anna (17 December 2012). "Thai government drafting same-sex civil partnership law". Gay Star News. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  12. ↑ "Hundreds back civil unions for gay couples". Bangkok Post. 9 February 2013.
  13. ↑ Lee, Steve (10 April 2014). "Thai marriage equality bill unable to proceed due to political crisis". LGBT Weekly. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  14. ↑ Mitsunaga, Takato (9 October 2014). "Same-sex marriage may come true under Thai junta". Prachatai English. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  15. ↑ "Nida Poll: Most Thais agree with same sex marriage". Thai PBS. 2015-07-05. Retrieved 16 September 2018.
  16. ↑ Thailand to revive gay rights Bill
  17. ↑ Thailand expected to introduce same-sex civil partnerships, independent.co.uk, 27 April 2018
  18. ↑ Thailand Could Actually Beat Taiwan to Legalizing Same-Sex Unions and Benefits
  19. ↑ Gay union law ready for Cabinet by September
  20. ↑ Thai junta's surrogacy bill to ban LGBT and singles from having their own children
  21. ↑ Royal Gazette: Gender Equality Act B.E. 2558 (in Thai)
  22. ↑ Jitcharoenkul, Prangthong (18 May 2016). "Learn about LGBTI, say activists". Bangkok Post. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  23. ↑ "Thailand's equality laws come into effect". Global Gayz. 10 September 2015. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  24. ↑ "Thai junta expected to pass Gender Equality bill, strongly opposed by women rights groups". Prachatai English. 22 October 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2017.
  25. ↑ Gale, Jason (26 October 2015). "How Thailand became a global gender-change destination". Bloomberg. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  26. 1 2 "Katoey face closed doors" (Opinion). Bangkok Post. 14 June 2013.
  27. ↑ "Sex, drugs, stigma put Thai transsexuals at HIV risk". Bangkok Post. 23 July 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  28. ↑ "Ladyboys lost in legal system". Bangkok Post. 3 February 2013.
  29. 1 2 Thongnoi, Jitsiree. "Trapped beneath the transgender glass ceiling". The Bangkok Post. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  30. ↑ "PAO transgender defends wearing skirt". Bangkok Post. 5 July 2012. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
  31. 1 2 3 4 "Gender labels upset Gene". Bangkok Post. 12 September 2014. p. 12.
  32. ↑ "สภากาชาดปรับเกณฑ์ไม่รับเลือดกลุ่มเกย์-คนสำส่อน หวั่นเป็นแหล่งติดเชื้อ". Manager Online. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
  33. 1 2 3 4 YONGCHAROENCHAI, CHAIYOT (4 December 2016). "A cell of their own". Bangkok Post.
  34. ↑ Likhitpreechakul, Paisarn (14 June 2016). "We need to fight homophobia at home". Bangkok Post.
  35. ↑ THAILAND: GAYS AND LESBIANS BANNED FROM ENROLLING IN TEACHER TRAINING SCHOOLS
  36. ↑ Asian Gay & Lesbian News Archive
  37. ↑ Tatchell, Peter (October 1989). "Thailand: Gayness, Bar Boys and Sex Tourism". Gay Times. Archived from the original on 30 August 2009. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  38. ↑ Ammon, Richard. "No Gay Pride in Bangkok 2010". Global Gayz. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
  39. ↑ Bangkok will hold its first gay pride parade in 11 years
  40. ↑ Liljas, Per (5 March 2014). "Thailand's Intolerance of Its Own LGBT Community Will Surprise You". Time.
  41. ↑ Villadiego, Laura (16 September 2018). "LAND OF LADY BOYS? THAILAND IS NOT THE LGBTI PARADISE IT APPEARS". South China Morning Post.
  42. ↑ "Gender Change". Plastic Surgery Phuket. Retrieved 6 November 2015.
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