A well-known transgender model filed a complaint with the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Thailand yesterday (9 February) after she was denied entry to a club in Bangkok because of her gender identity.

Sarina Thai went to Onyx club on Royal City Avenue with four foreign friends on New Year’s Eve. The security guard admitted her friends but turned her away after he checked her ID and found out she was transgender.

Thai said she felt humiliated and decided to file the petition to try and bring about social change.

‘I want to create awareness and public acceptance, and also acknowledgement by peaceful public education,’ she wrote on Instagram.

Thai is an international model and has walked runways in Bangkok, New York Fashion Week and Paris.

Thai filed the petition with NHRC chairwoman Amara Pongsapich accompanied by Ronnapoom Samakkeekarom, president of the Thai Transgender Alliance.

Samakkeekarom said the club had violation her consumer rights, adding that more than 10 clubs, health spas and hotels in Bangkok and other provinces had bans on transgender people.

‘Some hotels in Chon Buri’s Pattaya City and Phuket put up signs prohibiting guests from bringing in a dog, a durian or a transgender,’ he said.

Ronnapoom said reasons given were because transgender people had stolen from customers or provided sex services in the venues, but he said transgender people should not all be tarred with the same brush.

He said he hoped attitudes would change with the approval of the new constitution, which punishes anti-trans discrimination with jail or a fine.