Rape Contested: Female Subjects in the Legal Formation of Rape in Thailand

Abstract The crime of rape has been postulated as an unlawful violation of an individual’s rights or interests. However, this article argues that sexual violence against women in Thailand was traditionally viewed as a breach of an interpersonal hierarchy. It was not until the modern criminalization of rape that lawyers attempted to identify the victim’s individual rights as the essence of the crime. By examining the legal techniques employed by these lawyers in drafting, implementing, and adjudicating the crime, the article contends that the voices and demands of female subjects of rape have been silenced or misplaced. The article will offer studies of legal techniques used by lawyers from various institutions in articulating rape and constructing its subjects from the 19th century to the present. This jurisprudence provides context for the current debate on sexual violence in Thailand and makes it possible to critically reassess the right-based conceptualization of rape law.