The United Nations Development Program in cooperation with the Rights and Liberties Protection Department and Sisters Foundation have written a manual to be given to police stations to improve interaction between officers and transgender people in Thailand.
About 60 officers from Pattaya, Phuket, Chiang Mai and Chonburi attended the Nov. 8 training session at the Mytt Beach Hotel which was run with the assistance of police officers from Holland.
Lovita Ramkuntee of UNDP’s Thailand office emphasized the importance of cooperation to solve problems faced by transgender people.
Although Thailand passed the Gender Equality Act of 2015 to protect transgender people, they still have no documentation to declare their sexual identity.
When they lack legal status certification, these transgender people will be deprived and at risk for being discriminated against and being victims of physical violence.
Therefore, to solve these problems, the UNDP, Ministry of Justice and private sectors have worked closely to promote and protect rights of people of all genders.
The meeting gave an opportunity for all sectors to share operational guidelines relating to transgenders, as well as to share experiences and work with representatives of the Royal Thai Police and civilian sectors.
