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BMC Public Health

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Open Access 01-12-2021 | Research article

LGBT+ inclusion and human rights in Thailand: a scoping review of the literature

Authors: Peter A. Newman, Luke Reid, Suchon Tepjan, Pakorn Akkakanjanasupar

Published in: BMC Public Health | Issue 1/2021

Abstract

Background

Globally, LGBT+ people continue to struggle to achieve full realization of their human rights. Amid reported health and mental health disparities, and economic insecurity, we conducted a scoping review to explore the breadth of the literature, map and summarize the evidence, and identify knowledge gaps on LGBT+ inclusion and human rights in Thailand.

Methods

We conducted a scoping review in accordance with the methodology developed by the Joanna Briggs Institute and PRISMA-ScR guidelines. We systematically searched 16 databases for peer-reviewed literature, and government and nongovernmental organization websites for grey literature, published in English or Thai from January 1, 2000–August 21, 2020. Two reviewers independently screened studies according to pre-set criteria. We abstracted and analyzed data on publication characteristics and focal populations, and synthesized findings in six domains of LGBT+ inclusion: political and civic participation, education, family, personal security and violence, economic well-being, and health.

Results

The review captured 3327 results in total, which was scoped to 76 peer-reviewed articles and 39 grey literature sources, the majority published after 2010. Gay men and transgender women were the primary focal populations in the peer-reviewed literature, LGBT+ people as a whole in the grey literature. Health was the predominant domain across publications. Key findings include the absence of generalized antidiscrimination legislation for LGBT+ individuals and lack of recourse for transgender individuals to change their legal gender; multifaceted stigma and discrimination in the educational system; social isolation and exclusion in families; disproportionate prevalence of sexual violence and reluctance to report to police; discrimination and marginalization in employment; and LGBT+ disparities in health and mental health.

Conclusions

Future research and programmatic initiatives on LGBT+ inclusion in Thailand should aim to address: 1) understudied populations—lesbian and bisexual women, transmasculine persons; 2) underrepresented topics, including constraints to LGBT+ advocacy; 3) strategic policy initiatives around anti-discrimination laws and legal recognition of same-sex marriage and families; and 4) the need for consistent collection of disaggregated data on LGBT+ persons in education, family, economic, personal security/violence, and health domains in order to assess indicators of inclusion and progress in advancing human rights for LGBT+ people in Thailand.

Available only for authorised users

Article 5.6 of the Thai Labour Standard (TLS 8001–2010) does purport to prohibit discrimination with respect to employment, promotion, termination, payment of wages/benefits, and training opportunities based on the “personal attitude on gender or sexual orientation”; however, this is a voluntary standard and does not carry the force of law. Other statutes, like the Civil Service Act, actually appear to create significant opportunities for discrimination during the hiring process. Section 36 provides that individuals who are “morally defective to the extent of being socially objectionable” are prohibited from employment within the civil service. (See: Suriyasarn, 2015 [17] & NATLEX – ILO Database of International Labour, Social Security and Human Rights Legislation; https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.home)

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Title: LGBT+ inclusion and human rights in Thailand: a scoping review of the literature
Authors: Peter A. Newman
Luke Reid
Suchon Tepjan
Pakorn Akkakanjanasupar
Publication date: 01-12-2021
Publisher: BioMed Central
Published in: BMC Public Health / Issue 1/2021
Electronic ISSN: 1471-2458
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-021-11798-2

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

LGBT+ inclusion and human rights in Thailand: a scoping review of the literature

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Background

Methods

Results

Conclusions

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