Gay man wins lawsuit after forcible sexual disorder treatment

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A man from central China’s Henan Province recently won a lawsuit against an asylum that forcefully detained him for 19 days in 2015 to cure his “sexual preference disorder”.

The verdict handed down by a local court on June 26 ruled against the Zhumadian Asylum on the grounds of “restricting personal freedom”.

The court was ordered to pay compensation of 5,000 yuan (735 US dollars) for mental damages caused to Yu Hu (not his real name) as well as issue a public apology in a local newspaper.

According to the Beijing News, Yu was sent to the asylum by his wife and brother for serious anxiety and a tendency to self-harm.

During his 19 days in the asylum, staff members forcibly administered medicine and injections.

“They locked me up, tied me up, fed me pills just because I am gay,” Yu said in court.

Screenshot of Yu’s civil indictment. / Beijing News Photo

The asylum denied Yu’s claims and said they had acted in accordance with laws governing the treatment of patients with anxiety. This claim was dismissed by the court.

The court accepted the argument from Yu's lawyer, Huang Rui, that despite the agreement, the asylum’s actions had violated China's Mental Health Law, which states that a patient should be treated only if they are in danger of harming themselves or others.

Moreover, the court did not accept claims that Yu suffered from a sexual preference disorder, based on the third revision of the Classification of Mental Disorder Act issued in 2001.

Screenshot of the court verdict. / Beijing News Photo‍