"Ministry of Justice refuses to compensate an injured person who is a survivor of human trafficking and rape, claiming the girl voluntarily entered Thailand illegally", 24 June 2020

[...] The attorney of [...] Girl A (pseudonym), a migrant worker from Lao PDR and a trafficking survivor who had been tortured and raped, has been informed of the decision regarding her application for the "Compensation for the Aggrieved Party" by an officer of the Ministry of Justice [...] that the 'Samut Prakan Subcommittee Considering the Compensation to Aggrieved Parties and the Accused in Criminal Cases' has decided not to grant compensation to Girl A, justifying that although the girl was not involved in the commission of the offence, she had voluntarily entered into Thailand illegally, and therefore is not considered an "injured person" who is entitled to the compensation.

The case can be traced back to an incident in 2014 when Girl A, who is from Champasak Province, Lao PDR and who at the time was ten years old was lured together with her elder brother by Lao brokers to work as domestic worker[...]. There, she was subjected to torture and various forms of other cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment for five years. For example, she was beaten up, stabbed with scissors, and had her skin cut and slashed all over her body. She was also forced to eat together with cats and dogs in the house. She has suffered horrendous injuries, physically and mentally.

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[...] Chonticha Tangworamongkon, HRDF's Director, has this to say;

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"[...] the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF) also urges the Ministry of Justice to refrain from invoking undocumented status as a reason to discriminate against and to exclude migrant workers from having prompt access to state remedy even though they are survivors of criminal offences in the country" said the HRDF Director.