Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand (RSAT) is the first registered community-based organization for people with sexual diversity (gay, transgender, lesbians, bisexual, and other men having sex with men) in Thailand.
HISTORY: Rainbow Sky was established since January 2001 when a group of gay men gathered in Lumpini Park downtown Bangkok – a hotspot for gay men - to distribute condoms and HIV prevention information without financial support at the beginning as there was an increasing number of gay men infected by HIV. The activity was led by a social worker, Ieng Kamolset Kanggarnrua of King Chulalongkorn Memorial Hospital of the Thai Red Cross Society (currently the secretary-general of Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand: RSAT). More gay men have become volunteers and later, as peer-educators of RSAT to pass on HIV prevention messages in their friend circles and network. Médecins Sans Frontières Belgium was the first organization that supported condoms and IEC (Information, Education, and Communication) materials for RSAT volunteers to pass on to their friends and those who visited the hotspots, followed by the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, the Thai Ministry of Public Health and the Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre. In 2003, the first round of community-based HIV prevalence study among Men who have Sex with Men (MSM) was conducted in Bangkok – a collaboration between Thailand MoPH – U.S. CDC Collaboration (TUC), Thai Red Cross AIDS Research Centre and Rainbow Sky. It was found that HIV prevalence among MSM in Bangkok was 17.3%. This led to the upscale of HIV prevention for MSM in Bangkok. In November 2003, Rainbow Sky was legally registered under the name of Rainbow Sky Association of Thailand with the Thai Ministry of Culture and established its first office under the support of TUC and later by Family Health International (currently known as FHI360), PACT and the Global Funds. Currently, RSAT has specific programs for MSM, transgender and Lesbian health, and LGBT human rights. We have established our own community clinic, supported by USAID, Population Service International, The Thai Red Cross Anonymous Clinic and with technical collaboration with Silom Community Clinic by the U.S. CDC.
There are 9 RSAT offices with more than 40 full time staff and 550 peereducators across the country.
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