Volunteer Spotlight: Mandarin Linguist – Yingshu
I am Yingshu, a Mandarin teacher at a university in Singapore. I have been volunteering for Project X for over six months. Last year, I decided that since my work and life are relatively stable, it is finally time to step up and help others. I initially considered working with children, but then, came across […]
Elise’s Story: Cheated, Cuffed, Detained
At Project X, we rarely see happy endings. Many cases brought to our attention feature injustice and abuse against the sex workers who approach us, with little institutional recourse available. However, we happily closed 2018 with a successful case! Elise is transgender woman who was engaged in private escort work to provide for her family […]
Youth transgender Julie shares her story: “We are not clowns. We are not aliens. We are all the same” (Part 1)
At the tender age of 12, Julie began realising that she was not comfortable dressed like a male. Describing the feeling as “irritating”, Julie laments of the days where she was forced by her family to wear male clothing and carry male apparels. “Maybe they didn’t understand people like me, that’s why they forced me to […]
Trans Women and Domestic Work
Introduction How do you validate unpaid domestic work? Most of us will be influenced by cultures belief and family views on domestic work. When we do think about it, we mostly imagine only cisgender women as those who participate in unpaid care work. This is because we view these chores as a woman’s responsibility due […]
A Life Abused: An Interview with Doris
The following interview contains content involving child abuse and some violent content. Discretion is advised. Too often, the social system tramples on the very people it is meant to protect. The crushing reality of this is all the more apparent for transgender sex workers, who are caught right in the intersection of two marginalised social […]
The Stories of Muslim Transgender/Cisgender Woman Sex Workers
During the ninth month of Islamic calendar which is Ramadan, Muslims worldwide are fasting for a period of 29-30 days. Muslims are to refrain from consuming food and drink, smoking and engaging sexual activities etc from dawn till sunset. And refraining from behaving indecently and not to say ill or vulgar. This annual obligatory ritual […]
“They Only Do This to Transgender Girls”: Report
Late 2013, we approached by the Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic, Yale Law School, upon being recommended by a local professor. They wanted to reach out to groups working on LGBT issues with the hope of producing a full human rights report. We exchanged a few long distance emails, and finally agreed upon […]
Taiwan Pride 2015: Reminiscing My Walk of Unity
When I was told my trip to Taiwan for ILGA 2015 conference will end with a must-be-present event call Pride Parade, I was skeptical about it as I was also told the event was similar to Pink Dot and the parade ASEAN People’s Forum organized but only that this parade has gay men under dressed, […]
Youth Voices Count In My Heart
Youth Voices Counts (YVC) is a regional network of young people who are leaders and advocates on MSM and Transgender issues (and other related issues like sex work and HIV/AIDS) . As part of their advocacy, YVC came up with a program where they would want to create more leaders of young people from different […]
Ah Boys to Bullies: Part 2 – Voices from the Sisters
Ah Boys to Bullies is a call for a change to stop bullying. To educate the bullies and to stand up for the ones who are bullied from time to time for many reasons. As a researcher and writer, I met up with a few transgender women or sisters to have a good […]