PRESS RELEASE
Contact: Henry Herrera
Phone: +1-301-801-0608
Email: info@menandboys.net

Urgent Warning: Men and Boys in China Face Growing Disparities

July 18, 2025 – Across China, critical issues affecting men and boys—ranging from health and violence to custody and homelessness—remain largely overlooked, putting an entire generation at risk.

Health:
Men in China live 5.3 years less than women—76.0 years vs. 81.3. Adult male mortality is nearly double that of women: 107.9 per 1,000 men vs. 55.3 per 1,000 women (1)(2).

Homicide:
Men account for the vast majority of homicide victims: 78.1% male vs. 21.9% female (3).

Suicide:
Men are more likely to die by suicide—10.3 deaths per 100,000 vs. 7.5 for women (4)(5).

Child Custody:
Mothers are granted custody in 57.81% of cases in China, compared to 42.19% for fathers (6). Yet in a study of 536 boys, maltreatment was reported more often from mothers (66.3%) than fathers (57.7%), challenging assumptions about caregiving roles (7).

Intimate Partner Violence:
In psychological abuse, 45.4% of men and 41.6% of women were victims. Men were also more likely than women to face physical abuse: 25.8% vs. 22.0%. Women reported higher perpetration rates in both categories (8).

Homelessness:
In Guangzhou, a city of 14 million, 92.2% of the homeless population are men and only 7.8% are women—pointing to a gender disparity likely mirrored across the country (9).

Workplace:
Men are nearly four times more likely to die on the job—5.68 deaths per 100,000 male workers vs. 1.55 for females (10).

Conclusion:

China cannot ignore these disparities if it seeks to build a society where men and boys are equally protected and supported in matters of safety, justice, and well-being..

The International Council for Men and Boys is a non-governmental organization that is working to celebrate the contributions of men to society and to end the 12 sex disparities that affect men and boys around the world. Achieving #GenderEqualityForMen will also benefit women. https://www.menandboys.net/

Links:

1. https://www.theglobaleconomy.com/China/life_expectancy/

2. https://genderdata.worldbank.org/en/indicator/sp-dyn-amrt?gender=male

3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homicide_statistics_by_gender

4. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.MA.P5

5. https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SH.STA.SUIC.FE.P5

6. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0305479#:~:text=On%20average%20across%20the%20country%2C%20mothers%20are,acting%20as%20plaintiffs%20in%2072.28%25%20of%20cases.

7.https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7485598/#:~:text=These%20findings%20can%20be%20explained,%2C%20&%20Michaels%2C%201994

8. https://endtodv.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Prevalence-of-Domestic-Violence-in-Asia.pdf

9. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8387877/?utm

10. https://www.jeom.org/cn/article/id/fce0f603-20cc-4c49-bbcc-420d3098ee57?utm