Thai Transgender people and their right to found a family

According to the international human rights principles, the right to found a family is considered one of the basic human rights, whether it is an adaptive or non-adoptive family. Such right is clearly recognized in Thailand and by many international human rights conventions of which Thailand is a state member, such as, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights 1966.

The Yogyakarta Principle 24 states that;

“Everyone has the right to found a family, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. Families exist in diverse forms. No family may be subjected to discrimination on the basis of the sexual orientation or gender identity of any of its members. States shall: a) Take all necessary legislative, administrative and other measures to ensure the right to found a family, including through access to adoption or assisted procreation (including donor insemination), without discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or gender identity;”

The study on what gender variant people need for their relationship9 in 4 regions of Thailand shows that legal recognition of their relationship is the most needed element, without it, they are not entitled to the same rights and benefits that applied in legally married heterosexual couples, such as right to tax allowance and exemption, right to be a life insurance beneficiary, right to guarantee their partner’s credit or make a joint loan application.

Regarding life insurance, even though it is not particularly stated by law that only legally married couples are allowed to form such documents together, due to the related insurance law, the insurance companies will not allow people to have a non-family member as their beneficiary. Nonetheless, insurance companies would allow unmarried heterosexual couples to do so if they are listed in the same house registration book, while this is not the case for gender variant couples. Banks are also in favor of a credit guarantee or joint application made by family members rather than couples who are not legally recognized by law. Therefore, gender variant couples are restricted to make these important financial agreements.

For legally married heterosexual couples, if one of them serves as a government official, the spouse will be automatically entitled to medical coverage, social welfare and benefits provided by the government. This, however, does not apply with gender variant couples. Other family benefits that are excluded from gender variant people who serve in a government agency include, housing, education loan for their children, spouse leave (to accompany their spouse should they be required by work to travel or go overseas), etc.

The movement to push forward the legal right to marry and found a family for gender variant people currently consists of two approaches. The first approach is to propose the Civil Partnership Bill, which is a new law. However, it is still under debate on how practical it is, and how it has different definitions for "partner" and "spouse". It also does not cover some key rights, such as the right to adopt children. This proposed bill could also indirectly inflict discrimination and contradict with the Gender Equality Act B.E. 2558. The second approach is a proposal to make an amendment to the Civil and Commercial Code, Book, Section 1448, of the Family Registration Act B.E. 2478, which states that legal marriage could only be formed between male and female. This specific clause has restricted gender variant people from entering legal marriage, and obstructed their right to found a family and be protected by law.

Refer: Social, Legal and Cultural Perspectives on Transgender People in Thailand, The Thai Handbook of Transgender Healthcare Services, Center of Excellence in Transgender Health, Chulalongkorn University