Indiana Business Students Intern at Thai NGO Addressing LGBT Rights and Sexual Health Issues By: Heilwig Jones, heilwig@kayavolunteer.com Rose Johnson and Zane Breisch, two students from Indiana University’s Kelly School of Business, were looking for a non-traditional internship this summer. Kaya Responsible Travel placed them in an NGO Development Internship at a project in Thailand. The project supports local gay men, transgender women, and male sex workers by addressing various sexual health, social and human rights issues affecting these communities. During their eight weeks in Thailand, Rose and Zane immersed themselves in the local culture and community. Living with homestay families, they made a lot of friends and were invited to some amazing events during their stay, including participation in a Buddhist ceremony and involvement in a vigil set up to honor victims of the Orlando shooting. As business students, the intern role focussed on organizational planning, with learning objectives that included understanding how operations were funded, and how the goals of the organization were achieved. From the NGO’s perspective, Rose and Zane brought with them new ideas for fundraising, provided a channel with which to connect with contacts in the US embassy, helped with translations and assisted in event planning amongst other activities.
Westerners commonly perceive that Thailand is open to the LGBT community, particularly to transgender individuals. The term “ladyboy” is commonly used as a translations for the Thai term “kathoey”- referring to transgender women or effeminate gay men who are often considered a third gender. Shows such as the “Ladyboys of Bangkok” sell out theatres around the world and the Thai “ladyboy” stereotype pops up in Hollywood films all the time . But while the culture may be accepting, the reality for community is often not so glamorous. The truth is, legal protection for LGBT persons remains limited in Thailand. There is still no marriage equality act, no way for transgender people to receive legal gender change, and a lack of any legal recognition of transgender identity or same-sex partnership. This leads to all the problems we are very familiar with, such as the inability for couples to make medical decisions for their spouses, receive tax benefits gifted to married couples, and co-manage spousal assets. These issues, coupled with reports of increased HIV/AIDS prevalence among the MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) population in Northern Thailand, led to the foundation of this project. Targeting the MSM community, the project aims to • Enhance understanding of HIV/AIDS, gender diversity, human rights, sexual rights and sexual health • Reduce stigma and discrimination attached to the MSM populations. • Provide quality health care services and promote effective innovations of HIV prevention. As part of their work, the organization visits universities, colleges and high schools around the districts in Chiang Mai Province raising awareness and reducing stigma, and does health outreach in the city workplaces of male gay sex workers, such as gay saunas and massage parlors. At its central offices, they offer an open clinic testing and treating for STIs and operate a mobile testing unit that travels outside of the city to more rural parts of the Province. Other projects they participated in included helping set up a beauty pageant for transgender women which required each contestant to take a STI health test in order to be able to participate, and staging a play at the US consulate in Chiang Mai promoting the issues that local gay men, transgender women and male sex workers face in Thailand today. Continued on Page 11
Page 10
Volume 23, No. 1, Rainbow Newsletter