PROTECTION OF TRANSGENDER PERSONS DURING INVESTIGATIVE CRIMINAL PROCEDURE : A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF THAILAND, AUSTRALIA, AND THE UNITED KINGDOM

Abstract

Although gender diversity has been recognized throughout history, scientific datasets categorize people as male or female. Rapidly changing social dynamics pose new challenges to these datasets, with the current understanding that gender diversity is not merely binary. Therefore, updated laws are required to fully protect lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and/or questioning, intersex, and asexual and/or ally plus non-cisgender and non-straight identities not included in the acronym (LGBTQIA+) people. In this way, officially recognized the obvious existence of long-established gender diversity. This article studies the problem of protecting transgender people during the criminal procedural phase of investigations involving search of the accused. Under Section 85 paragraph one of the Thailand Criminal Procedure Code, examination of the accused or victim under Section 132 (1), paragraph two, and interrogation of the victim in case of a sex-related offense under section 133 aims to maintain a balance between protecting  rights of victims and offenders as a basic criminal procedure principle.
A comparative study will be conducted in Australia and United Kingdom as well as Thailand to further analyze data and formulate guidelines for treatment of transgender people in the investigation process suitable for the Thai context.