1. Background (brief history)

The Office of Women’s Affairs and Family Development (OWAFD) is a government agency in Thailand that was established in 2002 under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security.  OWAFD is the national mechanism for promoting gender equality and strengthening family institutions, as well as, empowering women by working to prevent gender-based violence, changing traditional mindsets concerning women, and creating national plans and incentives to better integrate women in positions of power and into the workforce. 

 

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   2. Areas of expertise

The Office of Women’s Affairs and Family Development places a great focus on gender equality and women’s rights by seeking ways to accelerate women’s inclusion and development in all social, economic, and political sectors of society in Thailand.  In order to carry out this agenda, the OWAFD is responsible for:

• Raising awareness about gender-based violence and inequality and dispelling negative stereotypes concerning women by organizing events in Thailand such as the International Women’s Day, the Global Forum on Media and Gender, and seminars on work-life balance. 

• Developing policies, in its capacity as a secretariat of the National Inter-ministerial Committee on Policy and Strategy for the Improvement of the Status of Women, which aim to better integrate women political and socially into society and support other public and private sector units in implementing their own policies concerning women’s economic potential.

• Reviewing and monitoring the problems and progress in women’s affairs by hosting annual assemblies of provincial, regional, and national women’s networks. 

 

   3. Strengths in the ICPD

Through its focus on women’s empowerment and development in various capacities, the OWAFD’s mission aligns with that of the ICPD.  The OWAFD works to accomplish these goals through executing the following services and strategies:

• Circulating publications, statistics, databases, declarations, and policies pertinent to women’s affairs and gender-based violence and preventing further incidents of domestic and sexual violence through the promotion of the Thailand Domestic Violence Information Center, the Thailand Gender Information Center, and the White Ribbon Campaign.

• Coordinating with other state and non-state actors to implement long-term agendas and policies seeking to involve women in positions of power, such as the National Plan for the Advancement of Women that runs from 2012-2016.

• Capitalizing on the use of Chief Gender Equality Officers (CGEOs) and Gender Focal Points to encourage the integration of women in decision-making positions in the Thai Civil Services.

 

   4. Quality assurance/ previous evaluation

In 2015, the OWAFD worked with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Royal Thai Government, and “Being LGBTI in Asia” to organize a three-day national forum open to government officials, the private sector, civil society organizations (CSOs), etc., which focused on developing ways to best implement the recently adopted “Gender Equality Act,” which prohibits the discrimination of and promotes the social inclusion of women and the LGBTI community 6. Additionally, UN Women has a long-standing partnership with the OWAFD and helps the department to prepare for The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEFDAW) review sessions and implement CEDAW Committee recommendations into national, sectoral, and local development plans. 

 

   5. Experience in South-South Cooperation initiatives

The OWAFD has engaged in South-South Cooperation with regional governments and organizations, such as the Association of the South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), to organize public campaigns and workshops for policy makers and officers, such as the Southeast Asia Regional Workshop on Domestic Violence Legislation and the ASEAN regional workshop on Gender-Sensitive and Coordinated Violence Against Women (VAW) Services to share best practices when dealing with empowering women and preventing gender-based violence.