Summary

Ling’er, a 28-year-old transgender woman in China, won a record 60,000 yuan ($8,200 USD) in compensation after being subjected to involuntary electroshock conversion therapy at a hospital.

Her parents admitted her in 2022, opposing her gender identity, and she endured seven sessions over 97 days, causing lasting health issues.

The court ruled her personal rights were violated, marking the first legal victory for a trans person against such practices in China.

LGBTQ+ advocates hailed the decision, highlighting persistent challenges and legal grey areas surrounding conversion practices in the country.

  • NOT_RICK@lemmy.world
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    22 days ago

    Ling’er’s doctor claimed in August that she might pose a risk to the safety of her parents if they killed themselves because of her gender identity, according to a report in Chinese media.

    Careful doc, you might pull a muscle reaching that hard.

    • Apytele@sh.itjust.works
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      22 days ago

      …then …commit …them???

      Also I was really hoping that they were at least referring to ECT under full surgical level sedation & anesthesia which, while wildly inappropriate for gender dysphoria, would at least be a modern therapeutic intervention (it’s an induced controlled seizure done under complete surgical anesthesia) but no, after reading it sounds like they were basically just wiring her nipples up to a car battery. They don’t state that explicitly but she mentions fainting… wait. She mentions cardiac arrhythmias. That would actually be consistent with the shocks having been applied to the chest area. Jfc.

        • Apytele@sh.itjust.works
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          22 days ago

          …nah. I said what I said. Commit them and use unsedated unanaesthetized shock therapy. Sounds like they were willing to sign off on it for their “loved one,” the least they can do is give it a spin for themselves.

    • Sunshine (she/her)@lemmy.ca
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      22 days ago

      She is the one at risk of suicide not them.

      Transphobes are always making it about themselves with their histrionics.

    • ameancow@lemmy.world
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      21 days ago

      The way many Asian countries view relationships between parents, offspring, and social status is very, very different than what we’re used to in the West, and while it’s all just more social constructs and norms being maintained like we know here, the similarities end there.

      It would take a long to really explain, and several dozen people would chime in to say how their own family and upbringing was different, so it’s not really something you can “teach” but it’s worth pointing out that our normal lense in which we view family is not going to make sense looking at some families in other areas.

    • Sassington@feddit.uk
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      21 days ago

      Not really - face and outward appearance to the group is ridiculously important in Asian cultures.

      The point that we should all be angry with is that the parents (and there social group) viewed transgender as something so inherently bad that the shame warrants suicide.

      Fuck the transphobes.

    • clickyello@lemmy.world
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      22 days ago

      not just trauma but also heart problems that require medication…

      incredibly fucked up but the hospital getting a slap on the wrist is a good first step at least.

    • NateNate60@lemmy.world
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      21 days ago

      This is not the right way to put it. She won 60,000 CNY, not 8,000 USD. A “low-wage” worker at a fast food restaurant or a coffee shop in the city earns 20-30 CNY per hour.

      This is a pretty substantial payout by Chinese standards. At the same time, China doesn’t recognise “punitive” damages or “emotional damages” as a thing. The response to the notion of “punitive damages” is “don’t you mean a fine?”, and that to “emotional damages” is that “there is no such thing, you can just get over it”.

    • Enceladus@lemmy.ca
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      21 days ago

      This seems outrageous for the US, but with universal health care, the cost of living in China and the legal difficulties to get a payout in medical malpractice. This is a significant win for that woman and their legal system.

      • parpol@programming.dev
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        21 days ago

        They just had a major step forward in trans rights in china. She could have received more, but the amount of money isn’t the part that makes it a win.

        • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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          21 days ago

          Yeah, this is far more about the government asserting that she was wronged and it’s illegal. I know trans people who’ve won rights in court and that’s often an inspiration for fighting. Nothing can undo the trauma she faced (though I hope it pays to try), but making sure others don’t suffer the same matters

      • parpol@programming.dev
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        22 days ago

        It is a major step forward for trans rights in China which is a win. They’ve been virtually non-existent.

          • parpol@programming.dev
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            21 days ago

            I mean sure, if you don’t consider the people of china to be China, but we’re going down semantics here.

            • Jumuta@sh.itjust.works
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              21 days ago

              yeah nah the people of china aren’t the same thing as the judicial system of china

              • parpol@programming.dev
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                21 days ago

                I never said the judicial system of China, I said China as in the country, people of China are a subset of China the country, therefore a Chinese people W is a China W. Can we stop this pointless conversation now?

                • Jumuta@sh.itjust.works
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                  21 days ago

                  you kinda implied it’s a w by the judicial system of china when you made that first comment, otherwise it doesn’t make much sense. A ‘w’ imo usually refers to good brought as a result of a party’s active actions, and if you meant the people when you said china it really wouldn’t make sense because it’s mostly a dictatorship.

                  anyway I’m good to stop having the argument now, you don’t have to reply

            • AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee
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              21 days ago

              Believe it or not, people who happen to be born in a place are not interchangeable with the authoritarian government that rules over them.

              • parpol@programming.dev
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                21 days ago

                And government does not equal country. However both the goverment and the people are part of the country. When Chinese people win, the country wins. I said China, I.e. the country, not the government. If I had been talking about the government I would have said the CCP, which I am not trying to lift up in my comment. Fuck the CCP.

                • AbsoluteChicagoDog@lemm.ee
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                  21 days ago

                  A country IS a government, it’s just an organization represented by an arbitrary line on a map run by people who embrace violence to take power and resources from other people.