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.
(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)

(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

(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)

(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

(Image credit: (EPA/RUNGROJ YONGRIT))

(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.