Causes of Committing Crime and Life in Prison: A Case Study of Transgender Woman Offenders in Thailand Prisons

Abstract

This research study aimed to investigate causes and processes into the offense of transgender offenders and suggest appropriate guidelines for solutions. It adopted a qualitative research design where data was collected through in-depth interviews with three sample groups, comprising transgender offenders who had not done sex reassignment surgery; transgender offenders who had done sex reassignment surgery; and prisoner officers which included psychologists, social workers, and nurses. The results revealed that offenses of transgender woman offenders were caused by pressure from family relationships, need for money and association with offenders. Three processes were identified hat pushed them into offenses namely intention or causes of committing crime; learning and adjusting into crime; and being a habitual offender. Even though transgender woman offenders were in prison, they felt happy and satisfied with life in prison because transgender woman offenders felt true love from male offenders and received respect from other inmates. The study recommends that the government and relevant agencies should establish rules and regulations to be appropriate to the gender of transgender women offenders and provide effective rehabilitation for these transgender woman offenders. In addition, the government and relevant agencies should determine policies to promote gender diversity and guidelines to prevent discrimination due to gender identity