section_path: Living conditions/Prisons
section_name: Prisons
paragraph_text: Prisons
  
  For several years, the official policy of Thai prisons has been to respect and recognize sexual diversity, placing inmates in cells based on their stated gender and sexual orientation. Homosexual male prisoners, like all male prisoners, have their heads shaved. Female inmates are not allowed to wear make-up, but gay male inmates are. A prisoner's gender is "verified" by a prison doctor, meaning that only trans women or kathoeys (transgender women or effeminate gay men) who have transitioned medically are placed with other women. However, kathoeys who have not transitioned medically can request to be placed with other kathoeys like them which, according to a 2016 interview, can be safer. According to the Department of Corrections, there were 4,448 LGBT prisoners in the country in 2016. Of these, 1,804 were katoey, 352 were gay (เกย์), 1,247 were tom (ทอม; female with masculine characteristics), 1,011 were dee (ดี้; female homosexual with feminine characteristics), and 34 were male-to-female transgender people.
  
  In 2016, the Department of Corrections had plans to build a central prison for only LGBT inmates. However, plans were delayed because of concerns about placing LGBT inmates away from their hometowns and relatives.