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3. Gender Equality and Judicial Decisions. The Case of Thailand by Somchai
Preechasilapakul (Assistant Professor and Dean of Faculty of Law, Chiang Mai
University, Thailand)

He presented the findings of his research on gender equality in Thailandùs Supreme
Court decisions. According to him, it is widely believed that court decisions are neutral
and treat women and men equally in Thailand. However, when court decisions are examined
regarding the crime of rape in Thailand during the past 50 years, we might doubt it.

Rape is a crime under the Thai criminal code, yet, the courtûs reasoning on what
constitutes rape is still problematic. Thai courts consider that consent is a very important
factor. Nonetheless, most cases do not have clear evidence or witnesses so that it is
difficult to prove whether such sexual incidents were consented to or forced.

Three main factors that courts consider in determining whether the case is referred as rape
or consensual sex is evidence of wounds, time, and the victimûs background:

■ Wound: If a woman has a wound, it proves that she was struggling against
forced sex. Also, complaints from women who have wounds are considered
more reliable in the justice system. Following this logic, if a woman does not

have a wound, it is difficult to prove the rape case.
■ Time: The length of time after the incident had occurred before victims
take any action is used to prove whether it is a rape case or not.
These actions include revealing the incident to police, doctors or friends.
If the victim waits too long before taking such actions, her testimony is
seen less credible.
■ Victimûs background : the court uses the personal background of the victim
to determine if there was an intimate relationship between the victim
and the suspect. It implies that if there had been a consensual sex between

the two in the past, this could repeat.

These three factors above that courts consider in determining whether the case is referred
as rape or consensual sex, narrows down the definition of rape and do not take into consideration
the dynamics and complexities around the rape incident. Individual victimsû experience,
feelings and emotions are so different that they might respond to sexual violence differently.
By taking no account of these factors, the incident has less of a chance to be identified as a rape

case. The harder the rape case to be proved, the lesser other types of sexual abuses to be
considered as a crime.