Man who was electrocuted to ‘cure’ him of being gay to meet World Health Organisation
A man may have taken a step closer to having the practice of gay “cure” therapy banned in China, as he has secured a meeting with the World Health Organisation (WHO).
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 aimed to press Dr Margaret Chan, the head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) into speaking out against the use of such therapy.
Zhen is now set to meet with WHO, after the organisation agreed to a meeting following almost a hundred thousand signatures on a petition supporting the campaign.
“I’m asking the global medical authority, the World Health Organization, to back me up,” says Xiao Zhen. “Thousands of us have signed a petition asking them to help stop these dangerous anti-gay ‘cures’ everywhere. Please join us. Sign the petition. Speak up. Make love win.”
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 over 98,000 signatures.
