Busayapa Srisompong

A human rights lawyer for victims of violence and founder of SHero, an independent project for the elimination of domestic violence in Thailand.

“The journey of my achievements over the past decade started when I changed my path to becoming a human rights lawyer. On May 22, 2014, I graduated from the Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University. It was the same day as the military coup and when the junta took over Thailand and abolished the Constitution. Since then, I have been paying more attention to civil and political rights, human rights and sustainable development goals (SDGs), which was launched in 2015. I moved to the Thai-Myanmar border to gain experience in working with the marginalised population, migrants, refugees and stateless persons. My theory was that if I understood the obstacles to access public services and justice that vulnerable groups had to face, I could identify gaps in the social and justice system of Thailand to create better policies and create positive changes.

I am most proud of SHero that I founded in early 2017 after I overcame my own struggle to receive justice as a domestic violence survivor. SHero aims to eliminate domestic violence and de-normalise the culture of violence in Thailand. My goal was not only to help survivors but also to advocate human rights and equality among the younger generation while giving them space to learn and discuss these issues.

Until now, inequality and violation of rights are still major issues and we still have a long way to go. The human rights and political situation in Thailand, as well as globally, is evolving, but I do have hope for the future. Now people, especially the youth, are raising their voices on this issue more than ever before.”