Thailand Considers World’s First LGBTQ-Exclusive Prison

Crime among inmates is a problem that many incarceration systems face. But prisoners in Thailand may soon be placed in a completely separate facility if they are LGBTQ.

According to the Associated Press, the Thai government is considering a prison specifically for LGBTQ inmates. Thanks to a 1993 Department of Corrections policy, LGBTQ inmates are already kept in a separate population within most prisons.

"If we didn't separate them, people could starting fighting over partners to sleep with," said Pattaya Remand Warden Watcharavit Vachiralerphum. "It could lead to rape, sexual assault, and the spread of disease."

But critics, like Jean-Sebastian Blanc, who works for the Switzerland-based Association for the Prevention of Torture, pointed to the measure being blatant discrimination. "Building and reallocating an entire prison facility for the LGBT prisoners is as a matter of fact a measure of segregation." Read the Associated Press story, here.