Sexuality Under Wraps
A 2013 survey by Aibai Culture
and Education Center of 2,161
LGBT individuals in China
found that 48% of interviewees
kept their sexual orientation
or gender identity (SOGI)
compeletely secret at work.
38.5% experienced bias
and discrimination in their
workplace because of their
SOGI.49
identified as women. They described multiple
worrying health conditions, including 10 percent
who had tested positive for HIV, and 16 percent
who had tested positive for syphilis.47
The Shenyang Consultation Center of AIDS Aid
and Health Service carried out similar research
in 2010 with 34 transgender women sex workers
in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. The
interviewees were found to be highly transient,
working at a particular location for an average
of only three months, which increased the
difficulty of HIV intervention efforts. Four of the
interviewees stated they had been diagnosed as
HIV-positive. All of the interviewees had experienced abuse or arrest by police, and 18
of them had paid bribes to police officers in order to ensure their personal safety.48
In 2013 the Tianjin Junyan Working Group carried out a quantitative survey of 50
transgender women in Tianjin City. The survey found that 80 percent of the interviewees
identified as women, among whom 40 percent were engaged in the sex industry or
cross-dressing performance; and 56 percent of the interviewees had difficulty making
a living. Nine of the survey targets were married to women, with seven stating they had
agreed to marry for the sake of their parents and families. All nine expressed the desire
to end their marriages.49
Although not transgender specific, there has been more research on the broader
LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) community in China. Most recently, in
2013, Aibai Culture and Education Center conducted an on-line survey of 2,161 LGBT
individuals in China and found that 48 percent of the interviewees kept their sexual
orientation or gender identity completely secret at their workplaces, and 38.5 percent
said they had experienced bias and discrimination in their workplace because of their
sexual orientation or gender identity.50 An online survey of 421 students also conducted
47 Beijing Aizh ^[