China Center Senior Fellow Publishes Report on LGBT Rights in China

Precarious Progress report cover

Darius Longarino, a Senior Fellow at Yale Law School’s Paul Tsai China Center who has worked extensively with experts in China seeking to advance LGBT rights and gender equality, recently published a report, Precarious Progress: Advocacy for the Human Rights of LGBT People in China.

The report analyzes the relationship between law and the lives of LGBT people in China more comprehensively than any prior publication — covering topics including protection against violence, access to health, equal employment rights, family recognition, freedom of expression and assembly, and the legal status of LGBT NGOs.

report cover

“I hope the report can serve as a useful reference for activists, journalists, and researchers looking to learn more about how law affects the lives of LGBT people in China,” said Longarino, who has worked with LGBT advocates in China over several years. The report also looks at “how the Chinese LGBT movement is trying to make law a greater force for equality rather than one that further entrenches stigma,” he added.

Even though authorities in China have continued to tighten their grip on civil society, recent years have seen an increase in LGBT rights activism with some notable successes, forming a vibrant social movement and increasingly striving to make society as a whole more inclusive through advocacy. Such successes make China’s LGBT movement a notable example of bottom-up advocacy in an authoritarian state, according to Longarino. Even though China’s LGBT advocates face significant pressure and personal risk according to the report, many remain hopeful about the movement’s long-term prospects.