Thailand criminalizes sexual harassment, including online

Thailand criminalizes sexual harassment, including online

International Women’s Day 2026 arrives as Thailand updates its legal tools to address a form of violence that increasingly plays out on screens. On 30 December 2025, Thailand’s Act Amending the Penal Code (No. 30) B.E. 2568 (2025) took effect, formally criminalizing “sexual harassment” as a distinct offence, including conduct through electronic communications.

“This amendment is significant because it broadens how sexual harassment is understood in law, recognizing that harm can be inflicted not only through physical acts, but also through words, gestures, stalking and communications,” says Santanee Ditsayabut, Public Prosecutor and Director of Justice Strategies at the Nitivajra Institute, Office of the Attorney-General of Thailand.

She adds that the law is intended to protect people of all genders, reflecting the reality that sexual harassment affects women and girls disproportionately, but can also target men and people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, including lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and others (LGBTQI+). Santanee notes that the amended provisions modernize Thailand’s law by recognizing patterns of behaviour, including continuous or repeated conduct that can amount to “chronic sexual harassment”. “The law also acknowledges how harassment has shifted into digital spaces, where abuse can be delivered through messages, comments and other online communications, and can be repeated and amplified quickly.” In that sense, she says, the amendment seeks to make accountability clearer and enable earlier intervention, including when offenses occur online.

Prosecutor Santanee will attend the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women and present at the Side Event, Justice for Her: Overcoming Challenges and Transforming the Justice System into a Safe Space for Victims in Gender-Based Violence Cases organized by the Government of Thailand.

The change comes amid growing regional concern about technology-facilitated gender-based violence, from unsolicited sexual messages and intimidation to the spread of humiliating or violating content. Advocates have long argued that weak legal coverage and slow remedies can allow online harm to multiply, with consequences for women’s safety, work, education and public participation.

“This is an important step because, in the past, Thailand did not have a specific legal provision defining what sexual harassment is. This law matters because it defines sexual harassment and explicitly covers online sexual harassment,” says Thararat Panya, Attorney-at-law at Feminist Legal Support.

UN Women’s Asia-Pacific policy brief on technology-facilitated violence warns that digital harm is evolving rapidly – including through new tools such as artificial intelligence – and that responses must combine laws, survivor-centred services and platform accountability.

Public debate on the issue sharpened in late December 2025 after a high-profile case involving Yossuda “Jinny” Leelapanyalert, the daughter of Thai politician Sudarat Keyuraphan. A public figure posted a sexually explicit comment under an online photo connected to her political activities. Jinny said the remark was “degrading and should not be normalized”, particularly when it comes from someone with public influence. Her mother condemned it as online sexual harassment and said the family would pursue legal action.

Legal change matters because when laws change, lives change. Closing legal gaps can create clearer pathways to accountability, stronger prevention and better survivor support. But legal protections are only as strong as the ability to use them.

From laws to remedies: A new fast-track “take it down” mechanism

On 26 January 2026, Thailand further introduced a new pathway to help address the ongoing harm caused by the circulation of violating or obscene content. The Office of the Judiciary introduced a “take it down” procedure through the Court Integral Online Service platform, allowing victims to seek court orders to suspend dissemination and remove content linked to online sexual harassment, thanks to the recently amended section 284/4 of the Penal Code.

“This is a good start towards stronger legal protection for survivors,” says Saijai Liangpunsakul, Founder of Stop Online Harm, a survivor-centred initiative that documents online harm, supports survivors and engages governments and tech platforms on accountability. “Survivors now have a clearer legal process to request the removal of harmful online content, and the courts have made the process more accessible by allowing requests to be submitted online.”

The Penal Code amendments allow complainants to submit petitions online, through an end-to-end electronic system, and courts to conduct inquiries online, with in-person attendance required only when necessary.

“This kind of remedy matters because digital harms can persist long after a single incident,” says Thararat. “Content can be copied, reposted and weaponized for blackmail, intimidation and reputational harm. Where there is no law, no remedy and no accountability, impunity persists. That is why the judiciary’s takedown order mechanism is important. It does not require an investigation file from police. If an incident happens and data in a computer system could lead to further harm, the court can hold an inquiry, order dissemination to be suspended, and have the content taken down immediately.”

Human rights advocates have welcomed the criminalization of sexual harassment while also raising concerns about its implementation and the need to ensure that remedies are effective in practice. 

“[…] However, is still too early to assess the full impact. We still need to build awareness of this law among survivors and support law enforcement and authorities to implement it in a truly survivor-centred way,” says Saijai.

Justice systems decide whose rights are protected and whose are ignored. If laws and justice pathways do not address online abuse and abuse offline, they leave a protection gap that women and girls pay for every day – in fear, silence and lost opportunities.

Originally published by UN Women