LGBTIQ+ community members in Thailand report that  “conversion therapy” practices continue to exist.

Nikki Phinyapincha (she/her),  Founder of TransTalents Consulting Group and Co-founder of Trans Pride Thailand, spoke about the “conversion therapy” practices in Thailand in her interview:

“...they used a lot of different ways of violence towards me either verbal and physical. And I think that way it really shaped the way I had childhood trauma. After that incident I didn’t feel safe to share whatever to my born family. Thailand, which seems to be a very welcoming society…and LGBTIQ friendly from the outside eyes, but being part of the LGBTIQ community who  suffered from that discrimination and harassment…, I think apart from having a legal reform of banning conversion therapy, the way Thailand should embrace is to have the non-LGBTIQ members, either part of the family, school, part of public policy [maker] as part of that change by education, learning more about the differences and diversity, learn how to SUPPORT than SUPPRESS”. 

To watch Nikki Phinyapincha’s full interview, please click here.

Like Nikki Phinyapincha, many members of the LGBTQI+ community in Thailand have been victims of harmful “conversion therapy” practices, which continue to be performed by  individuals, family members, school,  medical professionals, religious and community leaders.

“Conversion therapy” is used as an umbrella term to describe interventions of a wide-ranging nature, all of which have in common the belief that a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity (SOGI) can and should be changed.

These are deeply harmful interventions that rely on the medically false idea that LGBTIQ persons are sick, inflicting severe pain and suffering, and resulting in long-lasting psychological and physical damage.

In 2020, the UN Independent Expert on SOGI, called for a global ban on “conversion therapy” and noted:

“Conversion therapy practices inflict severe pain and suffering on lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans and gender-diverse (LGBT) persons, often resulting in long-lasting psychological and physical damage,” and “such practices constitute an egregious violation of rights to bodily autonomy, health, and free expression of one's sexual orientation and gender identity”

But now, Thailand has a chance to put an end to this, once and for all!

Sign now, to demand a comprehensive ban on “conversion therapy” in Thailand.

This campaign is run by ILGA Asia together with AllOut.