Protect Women Domestic Violence Survivors, Refugees, And Human Rights Defenders
Bangkok, June 19, 2025
U.N. committee to assess government record on women's rights
The Government of Thailand should commit to ensuring the protection of women domestic violence survivors, refugees, and human rights defenders, Fortify Rights said today. The U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW Committee) will consider Thailand's record on women's rights during a public hearing later today in Geneva, Switzerland.
'While Thailand has made progress on women's rights, substantial areas still need reform,' said Patrick Phongsathorn, Senior Advocate at Fortify Rights. 'Survivors of domestic violence continue to be underserved by Thai authorities, while women refugees and human rights defenders suffer from a lack of comprehensive legal protection.'
Ahead of Thailand's review, Fortify Rights made an official submission to the CEDAW Committee, making recommendations on the rights of domestic violence survivors, refugees, and human rights defenders. In its submission, FortifyRights stated that progress on women's rights in Thailand 'has too often been characterized by weak enforcement and poor implementation of relevant laws and policies, further compounding the vulnerability of survivors of abuse.'
Fortify Rights's submission includes research conducted over multiple years with women survivors of human rights abuses in Thailand, including a recent 46-page report that documents significant failings in Thailand's response to domestic violence. The report draws on more than 50 interviews, including with 32 women survivors of domestic violence, finding that Thailand's domestic violence legal framework and law enforcement mechanisms fail to provide adequate protections for survivors of domestic violence. The report also highlights that while a new draft domestic violence law, which was recently 'approved in principle' by the Thai Cabinet, expands certain protections for domestic violence survivors, it retains problematic provisions, including a six-month statute of limitations that risks excluding child survivors.
In its submission to the CEDAW Committee, Fortify Rights recommended that the Thai government ensure that any changes to the domestic violence law align with international standards, that official responses to domestic violence are well-coordinated across all the relevant agencies and stakeholders, and that officials dealing with domestic violence cases are regularly trained in survivor-centered approaches as well as proper legal and procedural handling of cases.
In its report to the committee, the Thai government stated that it 'aids refugees and asylum-seekers in accordance with human rights principles.' Several years of investigations by Fortify Rights have found, however, that refugee women, especially those escaping violence and persecution in neighboring Myanmar, have been subjected to various abuses at the hands of Thai authorities.
Without an effective legal framework to recognize and protect refugees in Thailand, refugees face criminal penalties under Thailand's 1979 Immigration Act, which prohibits unauthorized entry or stay in Thailand. Thailand is not party to the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention and does not formally recognize refugee status as defined by the Convention. As a result, refugees in Thailand are subject to arbitrary arrest, detention, and extortion, as well as forced returns. A lack of legal status in Thailand also means that refugees face considerable barriers when trying to access basic public services, including healthcare.
Fortify Rights recommended to the CEDAW Committee that Thailand should ratify the U.N. Refugee Convention and end abusive practices, including arbitrary arrests, detention, and forced return of women refugees, especially those fleeing violence and persecution in neighboring Myanmar. Fortify Rights also recommended that Thailand ensure the broadest possible coverage of protective legal status and access to basic public services, including healthcare, for women refugees in Thailand.
Women human rights defenders in Thailand continue to be subjected to judicial harassment, including through instances of Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation or SLAPP suits. According to a recent U.N. study, between 1997 and 2022, more than 400 people, including many women human rights defenders, were targeted by 109 instances of SLAPP suits in Thailand. In 2018, Thailand amended its Criminal Procedure Code, allowing judges to dismiss and forbid the refiling of a complaint by a private individual if the complaint is filed 'in bad faith or with misrepresentation of facts to harass or take advantage of a defendant' this amendment has, however, been under-utilized by the courts.
In its submission to the CEDAW Committee, Fortify Rights recommended that Thailand bring its legal framework in line with international law and standards by decriminalizing defamation and treating it as a civil matter between individuals. Fortify Rights also recommended that judges and lawyers be trained and provided with guidelines to ensure the proper implementation of legal measures to prevent judicial harassment of women human rights defenders.
'In many ways, Thailand stands at a crossroads on women's rights—there have been advancements, but there are still major gaps to be filled,' said Patrick Phongsathorn. 'In its review, the CEDAW Committee must press the Thai government to do all it can to guarantee the rights of all women in Thailand.'
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In its submission, FortifyRights stated that progress on women's rights in Thailand 'has too often been characterized by weak enforcement and poor implementation of relevant laws and policies, further compounding the vulnerability of survivors of abuse.' Fortify Rights's submission includes research conducted over multiple years with women survivors of human rights abuses in Thailand, including a recent 46-page report that documents significant failings in Thailand's response to domestic violence. The report draws on more than 50 interviews, including with 32 women survivors of domestic violence, finding that Thailand's domestic violence legal framework and law enforcement mechanisms fail to provide adequate protections for survivors of domestic violence. The report also highlights that while a new draft domestic violence law, which was recently 'approved in principle' by the Thai Cabinet, expands certain protections for domestic violence survivors, it retains problematic provisions, including a six-month statute of limitations that risks excluding child survivors. In its submission to the CEDAW Committee, Fortify Rights recommended that the Thai government ensure that any changes to the domestic violence law align with international standards, that official responses to domestic violence are well-coordinated across all the relevant agencies and stakeholders, and that officials dealing with domestic violence cases are regularly trained in survivor-centered approaches as well as proper legal and procedural handling of cases. In its report to the committee, the Thai government stated that it 'aids refugees and asylum-seekers in accordance with human rights principles.' Several years of investigations by Fortify Rights have found, however, that refugee women, especially those escaping violence and persecution in neighboring Myanmar, have been subjected to various abuses at the hands of Thai authorities. Without an effective legal framework to recognize and protect refugees in Thailand, refugees face criminal penalties under Thailand's 1979 Immigration Act, which prohibits unauthorized entry or stay in Thailand. Thailand is not party to the 1951 U.N. Refugee Convention and does not formally recognize refugee status as defined by the Convention. As a result, refugees in Thailand are subject to arbitrary arrest, detention, and extortion, as well as forced returns. A lack of legal status in Thailand also means that refugees face considerable barriers when trying to access basic public services, including healthcare. Fortify Rights recommended to the CEDAW Committee that Thailand should ratify the U.N. Refugee Convention and end abusive practices, including arbitrary arrests, detention, and forced return of women refugees, especially those fleeing violence and persecution in neighboring Myanmar. Fortify Rights also recommended that Thailand ensure the broadest possible coverage of protective legal status and access to basic public services, including healthcare, for women refugees in Thailand. Women human rights defenders in Thailand continue to be subjected to judicial harassment, including through instances of Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation or SLAPP suits. According to a recent U.N. study, between 1997 and 2022, more than 400 people, including many women human rights defenders, were targeted by 109 instances of SLAPP suits in Thailand. In 2018, Thailand amended its Criminal Procedure Code, allowing judges to dismiss and forbid the refiling of a complaint by a private individual if the complaint is filed 'in bad faith or with misrepresentation of facts to harass or take advantage of a defendant' this amendment has, however, been under-utilized by the courts. In its submission to the CEDAW Committee, Fortify Rights recommended that Thailand bring its legal framework in line with international law and standards by decriminalizing defamation and treating it as a civil matter between individuals. Fortify Rights also recommended that judges and lawyers be trained and provided with guidelines to ensure the proper implementation of legal measures to prevent judicial harassment of women human rights defenders. 'In many ways, Thailand stands at a crossroads on women's rights—there have been advancements, but there are still major gaps to be filled,' said Patrick Phongsathorn. 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