Trans man in China who was discriminated against wins court battle

A trans man who was unfairly dismissed from his job in China has won his court battle.

The court found Mr C, 29, had been unfairly treated and discriminated against because he was trans.

A district court in the southwestern city of Guiyang agreed and ordered his former employee Ciming Checkup, a health care provider, to pay $297 in damages.

But it hasn't been easy, Mr C has been fighting the case for over a year.

In May 2016 he said he had decided to sue the company, because he felt that someone had to do it, at a time when many people are still unwilling to speak up about their employment rights.

Mr C also faced set backs, in December a court said he was improperly dismissed, but said there was no evidence that he was discriminated against because he was transgender.

But this latest court battle has become the first lawsuit in China to be based on the discrimination of an LGBT+ person.

"I think this lawsuit has achieved its purpose" Mr C told the Associated Press news agency.

He added: "It's never been about money. We hope, through this case, people in similar situations will realise they have a right, and we hope it will eventually result in a workplace anti-discrimination law".

Mr C says many LGBT+ people in China are simply too scared to challenge discrimination from employers.

Progress was made earlier this month, when a Chinese court ruled so called "gay cure" therapy illegal.

But there's still a long way to go! China only decriminalised homosexuality in 1997, and the Chinese Psychiatric Associated removed it from their list of mental disorders in 2001.