thailand: the paradise for trans* people? rena janamnuaysook thai transgender alliance (tga) the 5th...
TRANSCRIPT
Thailand: The Paradise for Trans* People?
Rena JanamnuaysookThai Transgender Alliance (TGA)
The 5th TGEU Council Budapest, Hungary
Thai Trans* Terms•Kathoey or Kathoei•Sao Praphet Song (a second kind of woman)•Phet Thi Sam (third gender)
TGA promotes the original use of “Kathoey"
Thai Trans* Situations
• The gay- and trans*-friendly country• The world hub for medical transition procedures• Promotion of “ladyboys” “shemales” for sex
tourism• The most beautiful and famous trans*
celebrities in Asia• Emerging of trans* man communities
Thai Trans* Situations(cont.)
Thai Trans* Situations (cont.)
“I don’t equate femininity with weakness”
Source:http://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/aug/19/2
Thai Trans* Situations (cont.)
No Legal Gender Recognition
•First intersex person can change gender in 2007
•SRS not the tool to recognise gender
Photo source: http://www.l3nr.org/posts/535784
Thai Trans* Situations (cont.)
•Anti-discrimination laws not addressing SOGIE•No state welfares and private insurances covering medical transition procedures- Trans*women rejected to life insurances- Trans* women denied to donate blood at Thai Red Cross
Thai Trans* Situations (cont.)
Stigma and Discrimination in EducationCaptions on a grade 7 health education textbook: “sexual deviation, people who don’t act according to their sexual orientation”.Flip to another page, you find a statement saying “homosexual relationships often don’t last very long and normally end up with jealousy and violence”
Source: www.change.org
Thai Trans* Situations (cont.)
Rights to Health• Stigma and prejudice in healthcare settings• Trans* women in male hospital wards• Lack of trans*-specific state-run health services• Availability of hormone and injecting substances
on street pharmacies and black markets• Lack of gender sensitivity: public exposure of
male title of trans* woman patients• Increase of morbidity and mortality rate among
trans*people
Thai Trans* Situations (cont.)
Rights to Employment and Workplace
• Denial of employment due to trans* identity• No trans*-friendly policy: medical leave for SRS• Discrimination in job promotion and pay rise• Forced HIV testing in many public, private
companies and service work industries• Criminalised sex work: violence from police, no
social welfares, vulnerable to health risks
Thai Trans* Situations (cont.)
• Prejudices in religion: trans*women prohibited in Buddhist ordain
• Bullying in school• Misunderstanding and misrepresentation by
media and public journalism• Consumerism: trans* identity commodified,
commercialised and reduced to a mere freak of nature
• The catchphrase “We can make men beautiful!”
Thai Trans* Highlight
• Thai trans* women classified as “a permanent mental insanity” by the Thai army conscript
• In 2011, a court ruled that it was incorrect and unlawful
• In 2013, the new term “gender is incompatible with sex at birth” was introduced.
Photo source: www.bangkokpost.com
Thai Transgender Alliance (TGA)
A trans*-led organization working to advance human rights of trans* people in
Thailand through policy and advocacy strategies
TGA Policy & Advocacy Activities
• Advocating for the withdrawal of “mental insanity” from the army conscript
• Developing a national guideline for trans*women in national army recruitment
• Developing a guideline for parents and family members of trans* children
• Developing a survival guide for trans*women in disaster situations
• Advocating SOGIE in Sexual Reproductive Health Act• Research to Advocacy on Legal Gender Recognition
in Thailand• Implementing Transrespect VS Transphobia Project
The National Human Rights Workshop for Miss Tiffany’s Universe 2014 Contestants
BANGKOK IDAHOT 2014
Thai Transgender Allianceand Bangkok Metropolitan Administration
