Submission ID 130773
| Issue/Objective | Transgender health remains underexamined within global health equity discussions, particularly in non-Western contexts. In China, transgender communities face significant barriers to equitable health access, legal protection, and the realization of human rights. This abstract examines transgender health equity in China through an intersectional framework across global health, law, and human rights. It identifies the structural determinants shaping these inequities and situates transgender health in China within current debates on global health equity, legal and policy reform, and the protection of marginalized populations' health and rights. |
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| Methodology/Approach | This analysis draws on a qualitative review of transgender health and rights in mainland China, using thematic, conceptual, and legal analyses within an intersectional framework across global health, law, and human rights. It focuses primarily on sources from the mid-2010s onward, while incorporating earlier fundamental legal, policy, and clinical materials where relevant. Given the limited availability of official government data and the scarcity of integrated scholarship on transgender health in China, sources include peer-reviewed literature in English and Chinese, reports from NGOs and international organizations, national legal and policy documents, and international human rights law and instruments. |
| Results | The analysis identified four interrelated structural barriers to transgender health and rights in China. First, gender-affirming health services remain limited in accessibility, availability, and affordability, with persistent gaps in information access, provider competence, and service quality. Second, legal gender recognition, particularly name and gender-marker changes on official documents, remains tied to demanding surgical and administrative requirements. Third, pathologizing diagnostic and administrative frameworks continue to shape access to care and legal recognition, reinforcing stigma, discrimination, and poor-quality care. Fourth, legal and policy protections against discrimination, violence, and harassment remain fragmented, insufficient, or underdeveloped. |
| Discussion/Conclusion | These findings suggest that transgender health inequities in China are not merely clinical concerns, but are shaped by broader structural determinants, including limited access to gender-affirming care, restrictive legal requirements, pathologizing frameworks, and inadequate rights protections. A rights-based and intersectional framework is therefore necessary to address these inequities and guide more effective legal and policy responses. This analysis also highlights the importance of integrating transgender health more fully into global health equity discussions in non-Western contexts. |
| Presenters and Affiliations | Qiumeng Sun Western University Qiumeng Sun Western University |
