A survey of 1,205 participants across 30 provinces in China conducted by the nongovernmental organization Love Without Borders Foundation found that 46 percent of LGBT respondents had experienced discrimination from health care workers after their sexual orientation or gender identity was disclosed.
Of the people questioned, 61 percent said that they were afraid of being treated differently due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Twenty-seven percent reported that they experienced “contempt and indifference” from health workers, while 18 percent stated that hospital staff had considered their gender identity or sexual orientation to be “a disease,” either through implication or explicit diagnosis.
“This is the first comprehensive study of the status of LGBT health in mainland China,” Liu Wenyuan, project officer at Beijing Love Without Borders, said.
One gay man from Yunnan province was quoted in the report as saying that the medical workers in a local health centre he visited were homophobic.
“They asked, ‘Why are you here for testing? Did you engage in sexual behavior? Did you go whoring? And if so, we’ll call the police to arrest you,’” he said.
A survey of 1,205 participants across 30 provinces in China conducted by the nongovernmental organization Love Without Borders Foundation found that 46 percent of LGBT respondents had experienced discrimination from health care workers after their sexual orientation or gender identity was disclosed.
Of the people questioned, 61 percent said that they were afraid of being treated differently due to their sexual orientation or gender identity.
Twenty-seven percent reported that they experienced “contempt and indifference” from health workers, while 18 percent stated that hospital staff had considered their gender identity or sexual orientation to be “a disease,” either through implication or explicit diagnosis.
“This is the first comprehensive study of the status of LGBT health in mainland China,” Liu Wenyuan, project officer at Beijing Love Without Borders, said.
One gay man from Yunnan province was quoted in the report as saying that the medical workers in a local health centre he visited were homophobic.
“They asked, ‘Why are you here for testing? Did you engage in sexual behavior? Did you go whoring? And if so, we’ll call the police to arrest you,’” he said.
