Gaining Access To Thailands` Juvenile Justice System

BABSEA is teaching a new form of Human and Legal Rights education using English teaching as a medium of communication and as a means to build bridges and open doors to the women's Juvenile Detention Centre in Chiang Mai. This ground-breaking new kind of Rights Education has integrated Clinical Legal Education methodology, Rights awareness, and English language teaching so that those taking place in this year's BABSEA Legal Studies Internship have been able to connect to one of the most marginalised groups in Thai society. In doing so they have created a hybrid of rights, employment, and language empowerment, giving their learners both the knowledge and practical skills for their future lives outside of detention.

After previous CLE teachings in collaboration with Chiang Mai University, BABSEA began teaching Legal and Human Rights through the medium of English at the Juvenile Detention Centre on the 12th June 2009 twice weekly. The 40 young women at the detention centre range from 15-20 years old and are serving a range of different sentences, many of which are actually still awaiting trial. As incarcerated young females, they fall under three of the most exposed groups to rights-related abuse in Thai society.

Within the first 6-week curriculum, the rights to education, free speech, ownership, adequate housing, and legal representation, amongst other themes, have all been taught through basic but practical English language topics. Using interactive CLE methodologies such as energizers, legal case scenarios, and take-a-stand, those in detention have been able to discuss their entitlement to basic Legal and Human Rights, something which has likely not been possible for many of them in the past.

So, why teach Human and Legal Rights education through the medium of English language teaching?

There are three main reasons. The first is empowerment. While speaking another language is empowering in itself and gives the students self-confidence, the teachings also focus on functional language that can be used within the tourist sector. The hope is to open up new employment opportunities for them after release.

The second is human resources. The majority of volunteers who come to work for NGO's, with legal backgrounds or otherwise, do not speak the language of the country they are visiting. Using English teaching as a medium therefore allows these volunteers to be both educated and exposed to the rights-related challenges and obstacles in the countries they are volunteering and take an active part in Legal Education to help overcome these barriers. In this way, rights education becomes a two-way process.

The third is access. One of the main difficulties in Human Rights and Legal Education programs is gaining access to those most marginalised by society where a small amount of Legal knowledge can go a long way. English teaching represents a far more legally and politically neutral form of education which can allow access to teach in those countries and institutions which may sometimes decline access for Legal rights education. Furthermore, this can lead to developing positive relations and "bridge building" between organizations in the future and instituting more Legal Education initiatives.

It is these three reasons that make teaching Human and Legal Rights via English such a powerful tool, both in terms of widely disseminating education through access and resources, and providing a two-way education process for those coming to volunteer. Given the simple but effective nature of such a methodology, it is easily transferable and the hope is to institute similar programs across Southeast Asia and beyond.

Given the success of the first 6 weeks of teaching Legal and Human Rights education through English teaching, we have been granted the permission to continue into the definite future. This can be considered one of the great achievements of this year's Legal Internship.

While continuing to teach at the Juvenile Detention Centre, we are also currently formatting the lesson plans to be sent to other organizations. In this way we will be able to spread the ideas and methods of this form of Rights Education further to other organizations and countries. We hope that you share in this excitement with us.