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Stigma and discrimination against transgender men in Bhutan

BACKGROUND: While transgender people worldwide face high rates of stigma and discrimination, there are few studies of transgender men (also “trans men”) in Asia. We measured the prevalence of, and factors associated with, stigma and discrimination faced by trans men in Bhutan to bring visibility to...

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Autores principales: Saxena, Vinita, Xu, Audrey, Kinley, Kinley, Tsheten, Tashi, Gyeltshen, Tenzin, Tobgay, Tashi, Zajkowski, Tae Young, McFarland, Willi, Khandu, Lekey
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Public Library of Science 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10358905/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37471374
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287745
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author Saxena, Vinita
Xu, Audrey
Kinley, Kinley
Tsheten, Tashi
Gyeltshen, Tenzin
Tobgay, Tashi
Zajkowski, Tae Young
McFarland, Willi
Khandu, Lekey
author_facet Saxena, Vinita
Xu, Audrey
Kinley, Kinley
Tsheten, Tashi
Gyeltshen, Tenzin
Tobgay, Tashi
Zajkowski, Tae Young
McFarland, Willi
Khandu, Lekey
author_sort Saxena, Vinita
collection PubMed
description BACKGROUND: While transgender people worldwide face high rates of stigma and discrimination, there are few studies of transgender men (also “trans men”) in Asia. We measured the prevalence of, and factors associated with, stigma and discrimination faced by trans men in Bhutan to bring visibility to their experiences and inform health and social policy changes. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in nine regions in Bhutan from November 2019 to January 2020. A total of 124 trans men were recruited using a hybrid venue-based and peer-referral approach. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression characterized associations with experiencing stigma and discrimination when accessing health services. FINDINGS: Participants were young (48.0% 18–24 years) and 48.4% had migrated from a rural to an urban area. The majority (95.2%) experienced stigma because people knew or thought they were trans men. Associations with frequent experiences of stigma were living with their partner as a couple (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.07, 95% CI 1.27–7.44) and being unemployed or a student (3.22, 1.44–7.19). Nearly half (47.6%) said they experienced discrimination when accessing health care because people knew or thought they were a trans man; this experience was associated with migration (2.42, 1.08–5.39) and having >15 trans men in their social network (3.73, 1.69–8.26). Most (94.4%) experienced verbal violence, 10.5% experienced physical violence, and 4.8% experienced sexual violence. INTERPRETATION: Our study found high rates of stigma, discrimination, and interpersonal violence due to being a trans man in Bhutan. Findings highlight the urgent need for strengthening laws and regulations to protect the rights of transgender persons, particularly when accessing health services, recognizing partnerships, and preventing violence in public spaces.
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spelling pubmed-103589052023-07-21 Stigma and discrimination against transgender men in Bhutan Saxena, Vinita Xu, Audrey Kinley, Kinley Tsheten, Tashi Gyeltshen, Tenzin Tobgay, Tashi Zajkowski, Tae Young McFarland, Willi Khandu, Lekey PLoS One Research Article BACKGROUND: While transgender people worldwide face high rates of stigma and discrimination, there are few studies of transgender men (also “trans men”) in Asia. We measured the prevalence of, and factors associated with, stigma and discrimination faced by trans men in Bhutan to bring visibility to their experiences and inform health and social policy changes. METHODS: This cross-sectional survey was conducted in nine regions in Bhutan from November 2019 to January 2020. A total of 124 trans men were recruited using a hybrid venue-based and peer-referral approach. Data were collected using an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Multivariate logistic regression characterized associations with experiencing stigma and discrimination when accessing health services. FINDINGS: Participants were young (48.0% 18–24 years) and 48.4% had migrated from a rural to an urban area. The majority (95.2%) experienced stigma because people knew or thought they were trans men. Associations with frequent experiences of stigma were living with their partner as a couple (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] 3.07, 95% CI 1.27–7.44) and being unemployed or a student (3.22, 1.44–7.19). Nearly half (47.6%) said they experienced discrimination when accessing health care because people knew or thought they were a trans man; this experience was associated with migration (2.42, 1.08–5.39) and having >15 trans men in their social network (3.73, 1.69–8.26). Most (94.4%) experienced verbal violence, 10.5% experienced physical violence, and 4.8% experienced sexual violence. INTERPRETATION: Our study found high rates of stigma, discrimination, and interpersonal violence due to being a trans man in Bhutan. Findings highlight the urgent need for strengthening laws and regulations to protect the rights of transgender persons, particularly when accessing health services, recognizing partnerships, and preventing violence in public spaces. Public Library of Science 2023-07-20 /pmc/articles/PMC10358905/ /pubmed/37471374 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287745 Text en © 2023 Saxena et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
spellingShingle Research Article
Saxena, Vinita
Xu, Audrey
Kinley, Kinley
Tsheten, Tashi
Gyeltshen, Tenzin
Tobgay, Tashi
Zajkowski, Tae Young
McFarland, Willi
Khandu, Lekey
Stigma and discrimination against transgender men in Bhutan
title Stigma and discrimination against transgender men in Bhutan
title_full Stigma and discrimination against transgender men in Bhutan
title_fullStr Stigma and discrimination against transgender men in Bhutan
title_full_unstemmed Stigma and discrimination against transgender men in Bhutan
title_short Stigma and discrimination against transgender men in Bhutan
title_sort stigma and discrimination against transgender men in bhutan
topic Research Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10358905/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37471374
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0287745
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