Thailand introduces help for LGBT families

Thailand is introducing help for those families with LGBT children who suffer from bullying. The Thai Health Promotion Foundation and the Foundation of Transgender Alliance for Human Rights created a manual titled, “This House Has Gender Diversity.”

Phoranee Phuprasert, director of the Office of Vulnerable Group Support, says the manual aims to create a better understanding of LGBT issues, especially among parents struggling to accept their children’s different lifestyles. She says many LGBT children had not been accepted by their family which was one of the main reasons for creating the manual to spread better information and understanding to help make families a safe space for LGBT children.

“We saw that many schools and other organisations had taken part in anti-bullying projects. So, we reached out to find another space that was still problematic and we found out that the family is still the problem, even much bigger [than what is in the school]. Therefore, it is very important to open a conversation among family member with academic knowledge, not only one’s own experience and prejudice, and this could help the parents understand their kids.”

The manual is still in the editing process, but it is expected that there will be an online version by next month on Thai Health Promotion Foundation and TGA websites.

41 year old Matcha Porn-in, the Sangsan Anakot Yawachon organisation officer and board of international family equality day co-host, told the Bangkok Post that her wife and her daughter had contributed to the manual. She said the manual did not only help the parents understand their children much better, but also empowered them in situations of social pressure over having LGBT children.

“We wrote this manual from both perspectives, the lesbian child of heterosexual parents and parents of a bisexual daughter. We understand many parents have to put up with questions from a neighbour, or even among their own relatives. This manual could become a reference for them, so they know they have raised their kids well enough.”

Matcha says she accepts that researchers still need to learn more about families’ different experiences and help others understand the content in the manual since some of it might appear overly academic.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post