A 29-year-old Chinese man who was unfairly fired from his job has won a court battle against a former employer. It has become China’s first lawsuit based on the discrimination of an LGBT person.
The man was employed by Ciming Checkup a health care service provider. He had been unfairly treated and discriminated against because he was trans. A district court in the southwestern city of Guiyang agreed. It ordered Ciming to pay him $297 in damages.
"Short of a formal apology from Ciming, I think this lawsuit has achieved its purpose", the man said. "It’s never been about money. We hope, through this case, people in similar situations will realize they have a right, and we hope it will eventually result in a workplace anti-discrimination law", he added.
China decriminalized homosexuality in 1997. And the Chinese Psychiatric Association removed it from list of mental disorders in 2001.
While being LGBT is not illegal there are not any anti-discrimination policies in place to protect the community. Recently, China banned LGBT content from Internet and last year Chinese authorities banned portrayals of LGBT people from appearing on TV.
But some progress is also happening, last Valentine's Day some gay couples called for same-sex marriage in Beijing, and earlier this month a court ruled that it was illegal to force people to undergo gay conversion therapy.
Is something changing in China?
A Better World liked this post, thanks so much!
ReplyDelete