NEWS
UNITED NATIONS COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW) ADDRESSES SEXUAL AND REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS IN THAILAND
On January 19, the Center submitted a shadow letter to the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), highlighting issues affecting the reproductive health and lives of women in the Kingdom of Thailand. On February 3rd, the Committee issued concluding observations, highlighting the State’s responsibility to focus on and uphold women’s reproductive and sexual rights.
The Center’s letter highlighted several concerns, including limited access to family planning; high incidence of unsafe abortion; vulnerability, especially of adolescent girls, to HIV/AIDS and other STIs; specific challenges facing rural and hill tribe women who experience relatively higher maternal mortality rates; and the government’s failure to take legislative measures to address sexual violence, specifically marital rape.
In its Concluding Observations, the Committee pointed to many of the issues outlined in our letter. To address these problems, the Committee recommended that the Thai government make access to effective contraception available to all women in order to reduce the number of illegal abortions. The Committee advised that the government take steps to provide reproductive health education for women, men, and adolescents and to raise awareness about contraceptive protection, HIV/AIDS, responsible sexual behavior and male responsibility. The Committee also recommended that the Thai government amend the Penal code to address marital rape as a criminal offense. The Center hopes that the Thai Government, in response to the Committee’s recommendations, will take measures to improve the reproductive health of women and girls and better ensure their rights.
PUBLICATIONS
Reports
Women of the World: East and Southeast Asia
Learn more by reading the Thailand chapter (PDF) of Women of the World: East and Southeast Asia > >
Our Women of the World reports document laws and policies which impact women’s reproductive and sexual health and shape their reproductive choices. Reproductive rights are internationally recognized as critical to both advancing women's human rights and promoting development. In recent years, governments worldwide have acknowledged and pledged to advance reproductive rights to an unprecedented degree. Formal laws and policies are crucial indicators of government commitment to promoting reproductive rights.
The Women of the World reports are the product of collaboration between the Center for Reproductive Rights and NGOs around the world. Each volume presents regional and national information about the following:
- Laws and policies regarding health, population, contraception, abortion, sterilization, safe pregnancy, HIV/AIDS and other sexually-transmitted infections;
- Women's legal status within marriage, including divorce, custody and property; labor rights; access to credit and education; and the right to physical integrity;
- Reproductive health and rights of adolescents, including the legal status of adolescent marriage, sex education, and sexual offenses against minors;
- Customary and religious laws and practices that influence the status of women and girls.
The reports show that although governments have adopted laws and policies to promote women's reproductive health and rights, such instruments have not always had the desired effect. In fact, oftentimes, the problem lies with the law or policy itself. The reproductive rights of women in the region continue to be violated with impunity due to the lack of enforcement of potentially beneficial laws and the lack of accountability for governmental failure to remove barriers to health care and to end gender-based discrimination.
Briefing Papers
Reporting to Treaty Monitoring Bodies
Organizations like the Center for Reproductive Rights and its partners play an essential role in providing credible and reliable independent information to international human rights treaty monitoring bodies regarding the legal status and real-life situation of women and the efforts being made by governments to comply with human rights treaties. Shadow reports work to supplement, or "shadow," governments' reports on human rights issues by calling attention to their strides, as well as their setbacks.
Regional Partner Organizations
