Thailand is known for its image of tolerance to sexual diversity and the place with the best results from sexual reassignment surgery, sex change. However, as reported by the EFE agency, the reality is very different for LGBT Thais.
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The activist Pathompong Serkpoikiaw stated that although Thailand is seen as a welcoming place for homosexual and transgender tourists, the laws are not egalitarian.
"As a general rule, Thai society and parents do not accept their children's homosexuality and, in some cases, expel them from home", he states, noting that more than half of LGBT students have suffered physical or verbal harassment from other classmates. .
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According to the first study on LGBT in Thailand, carried out by Mahidol University, 23% of people who suffered harassment due to their sexual orientation were treated for depression and almost 7% of victims attempted to commit suicide.
Among the repressions against LGBT people are the rules of the Thai educational system, which force young people to cut their hair and wear uniforms based on their birth genitalia. "Those who do not follow the rules are quickly flagged and punished accordingly. For example, transsexuals at university, despite having already changed their sex, must wear uniforms according to their birth sex."
Nongni Sansirikit, spokesperson for the Transsexual Association in Thailand, says the group bears a cross as "bad people." "In the books used in schools, we appear as people who should be kept away from. Many have been attacked at school or at home. I even know of cases of rape."
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She states that even works of fiction include homosexual and trans characters as aggressive and villainous.
LGBT rights associations want to ask for greater acceptability and rights guaranteed by the place. Among the recent proposals is the request for the recognition of marriage between people of the same sex, but so far there is no prospect of change.
