Gay Activists In China Sue Over Electric Shock Therapy Used To ‘Cure’ Homosexuality

Gay rights activists in China sued a counseling center in July 2014 for its offers to cure homosexuality through “conversion therapy” — the first lawsuit of its kind in a country where gay people are granted few rights and little recognition.

Activists staged a protest outside a Beijing courthouse before the case was heard and said they hoped that the trial would persuade the medical community to change its policies on homosexuality and its practice of diagnosing it as a disorder.

Meanwhile, inside the courtroom, a 30-year-old man from southern China said he suffered trauma when a counseling center in the city of Chongqing tried to “cure” his homosexuality through electric-shock therapy and hypnosis. As part of his case, the man also sued Baidu.com, China’s largest search-engine company, for false advertising because it ranked the center’s Web site high in results generated for the search terms “homosexual” and “homosexual treatment.”  Read Full Gist @ Washington Post