Gay Man Sues Hospital After Being Forced To Change His Sexual Preference

A gay Chinese man is taking legal action against a psychiatric hospital in central China’s Henan Province for violating his personal freedom, after he was forcibly hospitalized to “convert” his sexual orientation.

According to CCTV, the man, using the alias Yu Hu, had been in the closet until last year, until his wife discovered his real sexual preference. The couple then decided to file for divorce. But to Yu’s shock, the wife’s family kidnapped him and forcibly sent him to the local psychiatric unit on October 8, the day when they were due to go through their divorce proceedings.

The next 19 days were Hell for Yu. He protested to the doctors that he was not insane and demanded to be released, but doctors refused to listen to his pleas, instead diagnosing him as having a “sexual preference disorder.” Yu said he was often forced by staff at the hospital to take antipsychotic drugs or was given injections against his will, and even claimed that he was sometimes physically abused or insulted.

He didn’t regain his freedom until one of his friends called the police for help. But the psychological impact of the nightmarish treatment was too much to bear. Yu was forced to flee his hometown for fear of being forcibly sent to mental hospitals again.

Yu filed a lawsuit against Zhumadian Psychiatric Hospital in May. He hoped to get a written apology and compensation for the emotional damage he suffered.

Zhumadian City Yicheng District People’s Court has accepted the case, according to Yu’s lawyer Huang Rui.