Test 2

Please select your preferred language.

請選擇你慣用的語言。

请选择你惯用的语言。

English
中文简体
台灣繁體
香港繁體

登入

记住我

初到 Fridae?

Fridae Mobile

Advertisement
Highlights

More About Us

新闻&特写

« 较新的 | 较旧的 »
8 Mar 2015

Transgender sex workers most vulnerable in China, new report says

They told Asia Catalyst that prejudice against them was so high that they were afraid of even undertaking common everyday tasks such as using public transport or leaving their home to go shopping

Transgender sex workers are among the most marginalized and vulnerable populations in China, according to a recent report by an NGO that focuses on health and human rights in China and Southeast Asia.
 
Deep-rooted social stigma and discrimination leave many transgender women who were born male ostracised from friends, families and in their native neighbourhood. This forces them into sex work and leaves them highly vulnerable to HIV and abuse from police, according to the report by Asia Catalyst. 
 
Several transgender sex workers told Asia Catalyst that prejudice against them were so high that they were afraid of even undertaking common everyday tasks such as using public transport or leaving their home to go shopping.
 
"Imagine being laughed at when using a public toilet, being evicted from your home or, even worse, dangerously self-medicating hormone use because no doctor will see you," Zheng Huang, head of AIDS organization Shanghai Xinsheng, told Thomson Reuters Foundation.
 
Sex work is not illegal in China nor is being transgender but the country does lack non-discrimination laws or even professional medical resources for transitioning.
 
There is also a lack of HIV services for transgender people, leaving them highly vulnerable, the Asia Catalyst report said. Studies show that transgender sex workers are 49 times more likely to be infected with HIV than other adults, and nine times more vulnerable than female sex workers.
 
The report that interviewed 70 female transgender sex workers across Beijing and Shanghai found that 97 percent were forced to leave their hometown and were afraid to reveal their identity either to their families or at work.
 
Many said they were arrested and had experienced extortion, verbal abuse and physical violence even from police.
 
"If you go to the police, nothing good will come of it. It makes more sense to just suffer in silence," said one interviewee.
 
Chinese law only allows transgender people to change their gender on official documents if they have undergone expensive sex reassignment surgery. The Chinese government in 2009 made it illegal for minors to change their officially listed gender, stating that sexual reassignment surgery would be available to only those over the age of 20. Hence, many resort to self-medicating and dangerous transitioning practices, the report said.
 
Although China has a long history and cultural presence of transgenders who were often very influential and well respected, people are largely influenced by Confucianism that emphasizes the traditional binary genders.
 
Social anthropologists say much of today’s homophobia and transphobia in China can be traced back to this and the decades-long exposure to socialist propaganda reinforcing such gender roles and striving to eliminate difference.

Transgender sex workers are among the most marginalized and vulnerable populations in China, according to a recent report by an NGO that focuses on health and human rights in China and Southeast Asia.

Deep-rooted social stigma and discrimination leave many transgender women who were born male ostracised from friends, families and in their native neighbourhood. This forces them into sex work and leaves them highly vulnerable to HIV and abuse from police, according to the report by Asia Catalyst.

 Several transgender sex workers told Asia Catalyst that prejudice against them were so high that they were afraid of even undertaking common everyday tasks such as using public transport or leaving their home to go shopping.

"Imagine being laughed at when using a public toilet, being evicted from your home or, even worse, dangerously self-medicating hormone use because no doctor will see you," Zheng Huang, head of AIDS organization Shanghai Xinsheng, told Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Sex work is not illegal in China nor is being transgender but the country does lack non-discrimination laws or even professional medical resources for transitioning.

There is also a lack of HIV services for transgender people, leaving them highly vulnerable, the Asia Catalyst report said. Studies show that transgender sex workers are 49 times more likely to be infected with HIV than other adults, and nine times more vulnerable than female sex workers.

The report that interviewed 70 female transgender sex workers across Beijing and Shanghai found that 97 percent were forced to leave their hometown and were afraid to reveal their identity either to their families or at work.

Many said they were arrested and had experienced extortion, verbal abuse and physical violence even from police.

"If you go to the police, nothing good will come of it. It makes more sense to just suffer in silence," said one interviewee.

Chinese law only allows transgender people to change their gender on official documents if they have undergone expensive sex reassignment surgery. The Chinese government in 2009 made it illegal for minors to change their officially listed gender, stating that sexual reassignment surgery would be available to only those over the age of 20. Hence, many resort to self-medicating and dangerous transitioning practices, the report said.

Although China has a long history and cultural presence of transgenders who were often very influential and well respected, people are largely influenced by Confucianism that emphasizes the traditional binary genders.

Social anthropologists say much of today’s homophobia and transphobia in China can be traced back to this and the decades-long exposure to socialist propaganda reinforcing such gender roles and striving to eliminate difference.

读者回应

1. 2015-04-29 18:22  




Hello my dear,
i am happy to contact you after
viewing your profile and it interest
me to contact you for a genuine relationship,
please contact me here(nicolemakuza1992@hotmail.com)
so that i will share my feelings with
you for further communication.
Thanks, your friend Nicole.
(nicolemakuza1992@hotmail.com)

请先登入再使用此功能。

请选择新闻及专栏版本

精选个人档案

Now ALL members can view unlimited profiles!

Languages

View this page in a different language:

赞好

合作伙伴

 ILGA Asia - Fridae partner for LGBT rights in Asia IGLHRC - Fridae Partner for LGBT rights in Asia

Advertisement