Today, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) submitted recommendations to Thailand’s Office of the Council of State concerning the Draft Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act (‘Draft Act’), which is intended to replace the 2007 Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act and is open for public consultation between 18 February and 4 March 2026.
The ICJ urged that the Draft Act be amended to ensure compliance with Thailand’s international legal obligations, particularly those set out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (UNCAT), to both of which Thailand is a State party. The ICJ identified a number of deficiencies in the Draft, which include:
- It contains a definition of “domestic violence” that does not explicitly include economic violence;
- It has an overly restrictive definition of “person in the family” that excludes intimate partners and de facto relationships, including those who had not been cohabiting;
- It continues to classify of domestic violence as a compoundable offence, enabling the withdrawal of complaints and termination of proceedings at any time;
- It conditions investigations and prosecutions on a survivor’s decision to pursue legal action, thereby failing to ensure full ex officio investigation and prosecution;
- It establishes three-month limitation period for filing complaints, which is far too short and fails to account for barriers survivors face in reporting violence;
- It provides for structured alternative dispute resolution under a “plan to address and prevent domestic violence,” without adequate safeguards to ensure genuinely voluntary and informed consent, and which risks privileging “family unity” or “marital status” over the well-being and safety of survivors; and
- It provides for penalties that are lower than those applicable to comparable offences committed outside the domestic sphere.
Background
Over the last two years, UN human rights bodies, including the treaty bodies responsible for interpreting and monitoring implementation of UNCAT and CEDAW, have expressed concerns that aspects of the 2007 Act are not fully compliant with Thailand’s international human rights obligations. law.
In 2024, the UN Committee against Torture expressed concern at the requirement for domestic violence victims to lodge complaints in order to initiate prosecutions, the preference for amicable settlements over the well-being and safety of survivors, and the three-month time limit for filing complaints. The Committee urged Thailand to bring its domestic law into conformity with the Convention.
In 2025, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women raised concerns about the lack of effective investigation, enforcement, and survivor protection mechanisms under the 2007 Act, as well as barriers to access to justice caused by reliance on family reconciliation procedures, inadequate legal support, and accessibility and language barriers. The Committee recommended that Thailand expedite amendments in line with its obligations.
Following its visit to Thailand, in 2025, the UN Working Group on discrimination against women and girls in their report presented to the Human Rights Council that the 2007 Act asserted that the Act wrongfully prioritizes family reconciliation over survivors’ access to justice and safety.
In November 2025, the ICJ published Access to Justice for Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in Thailand: A Baseline Study, which assessed the compliance of the 2007 Act and an earlier version of the Draft Act introduced by the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security in 2024 with international human rights law. The findings are largely consistent with the concerns raised in this submission.
The concerns identified by UN treaty bodies, UN Special Procedure mandate holders, and the ICJ remain largely unaddressed in the current Draft Act.
Download
The ICJ’s recommendations to Thailand’s Office of the Council is available for download in English and Thai.
Contact
Sanhawan Srisod, Senior Legal Adviser, Legal and Policy Office, e: sanhawan.srisod@icj.org
Saovanee Kaewjullakarn, Associate Legal Adviser, ICJ Asia and the Pacific Programme, e: saovanee.kaewjullakarn@icj.org
