Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand

The Empowerment and Capacity Building of Lesbian and Transgender Women to Mitigate Violence, Stigma and Discrimination based on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity

Lesbian and transgender women in Thailand face a range of violence, stigmatization and discrimination. The National Social Welfare Act 2012 recognizes people with sexual diversity, but the law faces implementation gaps, as does the National AIDS Strategy in addressing the needs of transgender and lesbian women. The Rainbow Sky Association through its network of provincial offices will empower lesbian and transgender women and build their capacity to understand human rights and how to advocate for their rights within their communities and relevant government agencies to eradicate violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

The proposed programme intends to use the proven Community Life Competence model to empower communities in four provinces to address issues of human rights, violence, stigma and discrimination. The programme will support community organizations to develop a mechanism to monitor and record the events of violence, stigma and discrimination against lesbian and transgender women. This will help develop reliable evidence to advocate with the government to support policy development to address the needs of lesbian and transgender women.