Photo courtesy of Robert Midgley with Global Pride via Flickr
Morgan Nguyen ’26
Contributing Writer
Content warning: this article discusses homophobia and mentions transphobia and sexual violence.
In a landmark decision, Thailand is poised to become the first country in Southeast Asia to legalize same-sex marriage and the third in Asia, after Taiwan and Nepal, TIME magazine reported. This move marks a significant step forward for LGBTQ+ rights in Thailand.
On March 27, the country’s House of Representatives overwhelmingly voted to approve the bill, Human Rights Watch reported.
According to France24, the bill later sailed through the Senate with 147 votes in favor, while enjoying broad public support of up to 96.6%, BBC News reported.
The legislation would replace gender-specific words in the Marriage Equality Bill, describing marriage as “a partnership between two individuals, instead of between a man and woman,” BBC News reported. LGBTQ+ couples would gain “equal rights to get marital tax savings, to inherit property, and to give medical treatment consent for partners who are incapacitated.”
However, according to NBC News, LGBTQ+ advocates say that the bill did not go far enough; in reference to the family unit, the terms “father” and “mother” were used instead of the gender-neutral “parent,” which may complicate issues like adoption.
Despite Thailand's progressive reputation, the country has struggled to pass a marriage equality law over the past decade, TIME magazine reported.
In 2020, the Civil Partnership Bill was proposed to allow same-sex couples to legally register their union, granting them the ability to “adopt children, claim inheritance rights and jointly manage assets,” CNN reported. However, it stopped short of endorsing same-sex marriage and did not “grant same-sex couples all the rights and benefits provided to married couples.”
In 2023, three public draft bills were accepted by the Parliament, all aimed to “[ensure] sexual equality, [promote] acceptance and equal treatment of all individuals regardless of their genders, sexual identity, or profession,” Asian News Network reported, however “Only the marriage equality bill passed first reading in Parliament in June last year.”
Moreover, Thai LGBTQ+ individuals still face discrimination in various aspects of life. A UNESCO study in 2015 found that nearly six in ten LGBTQ+ youth experienced bullying because of their sexual orientation or gender identity, ranging from physical, verbal and social abuse to sexual harassment.
Additionally, there is “no legal gender recognition allowing transgender and non-binary people to legally change their title or gender on official records,” according to Amnesty International. Men who have sex with men are also prohibited from donating blood, and conversion therapy is still legal in the country, Equaldex reported.
Furthermore, a study conducted by a group of researchers from the University of Toronto and VOICES-Thailand and published in 2021 by BMC Public Health found “the absence of generalized antidiscrimination legislation for LGBT+ individuals and lack of recourse for transgender individuals to change their legal gender; …disproportionate prevalence of sexual violence and reluctance to report to police; discrimination and marginalization in employment; and LGBT+ disparities in health and mental health.”
In 2015, Thailand enacted the Gender Equality Act with the expressed purpose of protecting against discrimination based on gender expression, which was crucial in protecting transgender people, according to Human Rights Watch.
However, activists have criticized the bill for leaving out a loophole: Section 17, which states that “any act by the public and private sector that concerns the freedom, security and protection of others, or in accordance with the rule of religion or national security would not be considered an act of discrimination towards the LGBTI,” the Bangkok Post reported.
The marriage equality bill thus marks a significant milestone for gender equality and further solidifies the country’s reputation as LGBTQ+ friendly, spurring tourism and contributing to the country’s economy as more people travel to Thailand, TIME magazine reported.
According to a report by LGBT Capital, before the COVID-19 pandemic, LGBT international travel accounted for approximately 1.23% of Thailand’s 2019 GDP, the highest of the 19 countries measured which included Greece (1.01%)) and Portugal (1.02%). It will also boost Thailand’s bid to host World Pride 2030, Thai PBS World reported.