Chinese court rules against electroshock therapy to “cure” homosexuality
Orders a psychiatric clinic to pay compensation for trying to cure a man of his homosexuality
“I’m going to take this verdict and show it to my parents so they can see a Chinese court said homosexuality isn’t a mental illness.”
— Yang Teng, also known as Xiao Zhen, speaking with AFP about his legal victory against a psychiatric clinic in China — which used electroshock therapy to try and “cure” him of his homosexuality. The Xinyu Piaoxiang clinic was ordered by a Beijing court to pay Yang 3,500 yuan ($562) and post a public apology on its website. The court ruled that the shock treatment wasn’t necessary, as homosexuality was not a treatable disorder — the first ruling of its kind in China, after the country stopped considering homosexuality to be a mental illness in 2001. However, while homosexuality has been legal in the world’s most populous nation since 1997, there are no laws against LGBT discrimination in the country’s penal code.
Image Credit: Forbidden City, Beijing — Andy Enero / Flickr
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