Women No Longer Allowed to Join Police Academy in Thailand

In a move seemingly out of the blue, Thailand’s police academy has said that women will no longer be able to enroll starting in 2019.

As for an explanation of the policy decision, Thai authorities have been mute, not offering up any substantial details or reasoning.

According to current Thai law, if a woman is allegedly sexually abused, the lead officer presiding over the case must be a woman.

Rights activists argue that with significantly fewer female cops in the force, sexual assault cases and family cases involving mothers and children will not be handled effectively.

Female officers were first allowed to enroll in the police academy in 2009. Since then, the academy has produced over 700 female police officers.

Without being able to enter the police academy, women who want to be cops now only have two other options.

They can enter a different pre-cadet training program and then pass a test or they can obtain a bachelor’s degree and then enter a 6-month training program through the Royal Thai Police.\

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