Henan hospital ordered to pay, apologize to gay man for forcefully treating him as ‘ psycho’
A mental hospital in Central China’s Henan Province on Monday was ordered by a local court to issue an open apology to a gay man and compensate him 5,000 yuan ($ 737) for treating him as a “psycho” against his will for 19 days.
Yu Hu ( pseudonym), 37, was forced into care at the Second People’s Hospital of Zhumadian by his family members on October 8, 2015 after he filed for divorce.
He was then hospitalized against his will for 19 days, during which time he was forced to receive injections and take medicines including antidepressants.
Yu claims this treatment was done in the name of “treating” his sexual preferences.
Yu’s lawyer, Huang Rui, told the Global Times on Monday that the action obviously impinged upon Yu’s freedom and that Zhumadian’s Yicheng district court has ruled that the hospital should publish an apology in the local newspaper and give Yu 5,000 yuan.
According to the court’s verdict, which is dated June 26 but was delivered to Huang on Monday, Yu’s health condition at the time of his hospitalization did not meet the criteria for mandatory treatment as he had not exhibited suicidal or violent behavior.
The hospital said it admitted Yu to be treated for an “anxiety disorder” and its admission certificate showed that he was involuntarily hospitalized.
Although Yu previously demanded 10,000 yuan in compensation, Huang said that his client is satisfied with the result. “This case shows how the government sees the LGBT group and may encourage others to fight for their rights,” Huang said.
In December 2014, a court in Beijing’s Haidian district ruled that Chongqing- based psychological counseling center Xinyu Piaoxiang must run an apology on its official website for 48 hours and gave 3,500 yuan in compensation to plaintiff Xiao Zhen ( pseudonym) after trying to “cure” his homosexuality with electroshock therapy.
It was the country’s first successful lawsuit against “gay conversion therapy” and LGBT rights activists nationwide hailed the decision as a milestone in protecting gay rights, as it was the first time homosexuality was officially not defined a psychological disorder.