Life behind bars for Thailand's transgender women

Thailand is working hard to pioneer a prison system meant to protect and validate LGBTQ inmates

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A Thai transvestite in a male zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
Transgender women who have gone through sex change surgery sleep in a separate cell at the female zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT)More than 6,000 of Thailand's 300,000 incarcerated people are registered sexual minorities, the Associated Press reports. Of Pattaya Remand Prison's more than 4,000 inmat)

A group of female transgender inmates prepare to enter their separate cell at the female zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

Female transgender prisoners practice walking meditation with others female inmates.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT)There are, however, some holes in the system: Transgender inmates who haven't had surgery must remain in the sector matching their biological sex, which means many transg)

A transgender woman in the male zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

Female transgender inmates wash prisoners' uniforms as part of their daily work in the male zone.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

Female transgender inmates chant before entering their separate cell at the female zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

A female transgender inmate offers beauty services to other prisoners at a salon inside the female zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

Female transgender inmates play volleyball at the male zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

A group of female transgender inmates (right) learn embroidery with women prisoners as part of their job skills learning at the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

The male zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

A female prison officer executes body checks on female transgender inmates before entering separate cells at the female zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

A female transgender inmate drinks water at a separate cell in the female zone of the Pattaya Remand Prison.
(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

Kelly Gonsalves
Kelly Gonsalves

Kelly Gonsalves is a sex and culture writer exploring love, lust, identity, and feminism. Her work has appeared at Bustle, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, and more, and she previously worked as an associate editor for The Week. She's obsessed with badass ladies doing badass things, wellness movements, and very bad rom-coms.