Clinic electric shocks against homosexuality?

Chinese sued clinic for electroshock therapy of its homosexuality

07/31/2014

Homosexuality is still a taboo topic in many countries worldwide. Those affected are confronted with massive prejudices and in part threats. In many cases, homosexuality is also regarded as a kind of illness that is to be cured by various methods. In China, a 30-year-old patient has filed a lawsuit against the treating hospital following treatment with electric shock and hypnosis to make him a heterosexual. The Chinese search engine Baidu also sued the patient for having applied for the clinic on the internet.

The case of the man, the Beijing LGBT Center, which advocates for the rights of gay, bisexual and transsexuals, made public on Thursday. The 30-year-old Yang Teng is said to have decided under pressure from his parents for so-called reparative therapy at a psychiatric hospital. The parents would have wished that he gets married and gives them grandchildren, explained the plaintiff. To date, some Chinese hospitals have offered hypnosis and electric shock therapy to homosexuals, despite the strongest opposition from all international experts. Now LGBT Center Director Xin Ying hopes that the lawsuit, which will be dealt with before the Haidan County Court, will eventually ban the controversial method. After all, in 2001, China had persisted in no longer rating homosexuality as a mental disorder.

Electro shock therapy caused physical and mental damage
The applicant's lawyer Li Duilong told the press that his client had sued the Xinyu Piaoxiang clinic in Chongqing for violating his personal and health rights. Prior to the treatment, he had been given the impression that electroshock therapy did not cause any damage and that it caused little pain. However, the plaintiff suffered physical and psychological damage, his lawyer emphasized. Therefore, he demanded compensation of more than 14,000 yuan for the treatment costs, the flight to Chongqing and loss of earnings. In addition, the 30-year-old demands an apology on the website of the clinic and the search engine Baidu. However, it remains unclear whether the plaintiff's claim will lead to the controversial method no longer being used in China. (Fp)

Picture: Th. Reinhardt