<p>On 5 November, a group of activists who have formerly been detained at the Central Women Correctional Institution gathered to protest against human rights violations inside the women&rsquo;s prison.</p>

<p>Kornkanok Khumta, an activist from Women for Freedom and Democracy, made a bold move during her online speech at the ASEAN People&rsquo;s Forum 2020 (APF) opening ceremony by mentioning the disappearances of Thai refugees in Laos and Vietnam.</p>

<p>Leading women's rights advocacy groups in Thailand are urging the authorities to stop forcing pelvic examinations on female detainees.</p> <p>16 women’s rights organisations, including the Friends of Women Foundation, the Women's Movement in Thai Political Reform (WeMove), the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies of Mahidol University and the Foundation for SOGI Rights and Justice, on Friday, 13 May 2016, submitted a joint statement to Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, and Gen Paiboon Khumchaya, the Minister of Justice.</p>

<p>Three female political dissidents, two of whom were forced to undertake pelvic examinations, recall their ordeal in women’s prisons while human rights lawyers have urged the Thai authorities not to violate the rights of detainees.</p>