Chinese man sues gay ‘cure’ clinic after electric shock treatments
A man hopes to have the practice of gay “cure” therapy banned in China, as he is suing a clinic which performed electroshock treatment on him.
The 30-year-old man who has only been identified by his pseudonym Xiao Zhen, filed his lawsuit back in July. It is the first of its kind, and is hoped to challenge the use of the controversial gay “conversion” therapy in China, states LGBT advocacy group All Out.
It was not clear whether Zhen entered the facility voluntarily, but he suggested his family encouraged him to go, saying: “In families like mine, being gay is still seen as something that can be cured, and scam clinics prey on that fear.”
As well as taking legal action, the campaign also aims to press Dr Margaret Chan, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) into speaking out against the use of such therapy.
The WHO declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder back in 1990, and gay “cure” therapies have been widely condemned by health bodies across the world.
The verdict of Zhen’s lawsuit is expected in February.
An AllOut petition supporting his campaign currently has 80,000 signatures.
