“Have You Considered Your Parents' Happiness?”
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HUMAN “Have You Considered RIGHTS Your Parents’ Happiness?” WATCH Conversion Therapy Against LGBT People in China “Have You Considered Your Parents’ Happiness?” Conversion Therapy Against LGBT People in China Copyright © 2017 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 978-1-6231-35478 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people worldwide. We scrupulously investigate abuses, expose the facts widely, and pressure those with power to respect rights and secure justice. Human Rights Watch is an independent, international organization that works as part of a vibrant movement to uphold human dignity and advance the cause of human rights for all. Human Rights Watch is an international organization with staff in more than 40 countries, and offices in Amsterdam, Beirut, Berlin, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Goma, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Nairobi, New York, Paris, San Francisco, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis, Washington DC, and Zurich. For more information, please visit our website: http://www.hrw.org NOVEMBER 2017 ISBN: 978-1-6231-35478 “Have You Considered Your Parents’ Happiness?” Conversion Therapy Against LGBT People in China Map .................................................................................................................................... I Terminology ....................................................................................................................... II Summary ........................................................................................................................... 1 Key Recommendations ....................................................................................................... 4 To the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China .......4 To the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China ..................................................4 To the Chinese Psychological Association and Chinese Society of Psychiatry .............................4 To the World Psychiatry Association (WPA) ................................................................................4 Methodology ...................................................................................................................... 5 I. Background ..................................................................................................................... 7 Conversion Therapy .................................................................................................................. 7 Homosexuality and the Rights of LGBT People in China ............................................................ 8 Pressure Leading to Conversion Therapy ................................................................................. 12 II. Abuses in Conversion Therapy ....................................................................................... 15 Coercion and Lack of Informed Consent .................................................................................. 15 Arbitrary Deprivation of Liberty ............................................................................................... 19 Verbal Harassment and Intimidation ....................................................................................... 22 Forced Use of Medicine .......................................................................................................... 26 Electroshock .......................................................................................................................... 29 III. Lack of Regulations and Accountability ....................................................................... 34 Licensing and qualification ..................................................................................................... 34 Regulations and guidelines .................................................................................................... 35 Inadequate Accountability Mechanisms .................................................................................. 36 Court Verdicts Lacking Deterrent Effects .................................................................................. 38 IV. Legal Framework ......................................................................................................... 40 Decriminalization of Homosexuality, 1997 .............................................................................. 40 Mental Health Law of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), 2013 ........................................... 40 Right to Freedom from Non-Consensual Medical Treatment Under International Law ................ 42 Right to Freedom from Torture or Ill-Treatment ......................................................................... 43 Right to Freedom from Arbitrary Deprivation of Liberty ............................................................. 45 Right to Non-Discrimination ................................................................................................... 46 Rights of the Child .................................................................................................................. 47 Recommendations ............................................................................................................ 49 To the Chinese Government and the National People’s Congress of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) ........................................................................................................................... 49 To the National Health and Family Planning Commission of the People’s Republic of China .... 49 To the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China ............................................... 49 To the Chinese Psychological Association and Chinese Society of Psychiatry .......................... 49 To the World Psychiatry Association (WPA) .............................................................................. 50 To United Nations Agencies .................................................................................................... 50 To United Nations Special Procedures ..................................................................................... 50 To Member States of the UN Human Rights Council ................................................................. 51 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................... 52 Appendix I: Global Professional Consensus Against “Curing” Homosexuality ................... 53 Appendix II: Letters to the Chinese Government ............................................................... 57 Appendix III: Forms Attached to the "Notice on the Implementation of Mental Health Law" published by the National Health and Family Planning Commission .................................. 61 Form 1: Supervision and Inspection Summary of the State of Implementation of the Mental Health Law ............................................................................................................................. 61 Form 2: Supervision and Inspection Summary of the State of Implementation of the Regulations on the Administration of Health in Public Places ..................................................................... 65 Annex: Charts................................................................................................................... 68 Chart I: Details of the 17 Interviewees and Geographic Information ......................................... 68 Chart II: Costs of the Conversion Therapy Services Reported by Interviewees ........................... 70 Map I Terminology Sexual Orientation: Sense of attraction to, or sexual desire for, individuals of the same sex, another sex, both, or neither. LGBT: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Gay: Synonym in many parts of the world for homosexual; primarily used here to refer to the sexual orientation of a man whose primary sexual and romantic attraction is towards other men. In the Philippines, the term “gay” can also refer to a person who is assigned male at birth but expresses themselves in a feminine manner or identifies as a woman. Lesbian: A female who is primarily sexually or romantically attracted to other females. Bisexual: Sexually or romantically attracted to two or more sexes or genders. Transgender: A person whose sex assigned at birth does not conform to identified or lived gender. Gender Identity: A person’s internal, deeply felt sense of being female or male, neither, both, or something other than female and male. A person’s gender identity does not necessarily correspond to their sex assigned at birth. Coming Out (also known as “coming out of closet”): A metaphor to describe the process of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals’ self-disclosure to the public of their sexual orientation or of their gender identity. Conversion Therapy (also referred to as sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) or reparative therapy): A certain form of psychiatric or psychological treatment or medical treatment provided to individuals with the intent to change individuals' sexual orientation, specifically changing it from homosexuality or bisexuality to heterosexuality. Also refers to attempts to change a person’s gender identity (i.e., to make a transgender person cisgender). II Summary The psychiatrist told my mom: ‘Homosexuality is just like all the other mental diseases, like depression, anxiety, or bipolar. It can be cured…. Trust