Thailand's beautiful beaches, fascinating forests, and cheap costs have long made it a favorite for travel by foreigners eager to see the world. As the times change in the Western world, Thailand has never been far behind and is sometimes ahead of the game.
With protests that have called for expanding democracy, the relaxation of laws governing abortion, an increased focus on environmental protection, and only three executions being carried out in the past nearly twenty years, Thailand has made significant progress in appealing to more liberal-minded travelers and residents alike.
Now, progress for the LGBT2SQIA+ community is intensifying. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1956, and an equal age of consent was instituted in 1997. Homosexuality was declassified as a mental illness in 2002, open military service was allowed in 2005, anti-discrimination laws were passed in 2015, adoption by same-sex singles was established, and the right to change gender surgically has always existed.
In 2020, a public consultation was launched regarding a slew of proposed initiatives: civil unions, marriage, the right to change gender legally, and joint and step-child adoption for same-sex couples. Thailand could follow Taiwan and Bhutan in blazing a trail for LGBT2SQIA+ rights in Asia, if you raise your voices!!!
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