NEW VIDEOS AIM TO SHARE AND CHANGE THE STORY OF LGBT PEOPLE IN THAILAND

The first video focuses on the issue of same-sex marriage and features the story of Joice and Hun, a young lesbian couple who recently got married in Hun’s hometown after opening a café in the family’s coconut field.

The second video focuses on increasing employment opportunities for transgender people and features the story of Jiu, a transgender woman whose life has improved significantly after securing employment with work colleagues who accept and support her gender identity and expression.

Midnight Poonkasetwattana, APCOM’s Executive Director, posits that “Every year the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT) provides a valuable opportunity to highlight issues which affect the health and rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people across the world.

“This year the theme is ‘Justice And Protection For All’, and while the health and rights of LGBT people here in Thailand have improved significantly over past decades, there’s still more that must be done to ensure justice and protection for all LGBT people in Thailand, as the videos demonstrate, same-sex marriage and legal gender recognition for trans people are not yet a reality.

“We thank Joice, Hun and Jiu for sharing their stories, and we thank the British Embassy here in Bangkok and Ambassador Brian Davidson, and Facebook Thailand for supporting our efforts to deliver justice and protection for all LGBT people across Thailand.”

Michael Bäk of Facebook Thailand, and APCOM's Private Sector Ambassador, shares that “The two videos produced provide the personal perspectives and human dimensions that are crucial to promoting an inclusive and a balanced perception among the broader community and society we are living in. A really important part of the campaign for change is sharing the stories of ordinary LGBT people in order to humanise issues such as same-sex marriage and transgender discrimination."

British Chargé d’Affaires to Thailand Margaret Tongue: “IDAHOT is a global effort to celebrate LGBT people and culture but also to highlight that many LGBT people around the world still face injustice and live in danger. The power of personal narratives help change the story and I’m pleased that the British Embassy in Bangkok has been able to support this important initiative from APCOM.”

The videos can be viewed on the APCOM youtube channel.

ENDS | Contact: Andrey Tran, Media and Communication Officer | [email protected]