"The experience had left a deep psychological impact on me," Yang, who was not involved in the Human Rights Watch report, said in an interview Tuesday. But the government has yet to issue clear guidelines prohibiting conversion therapy and holding abusers accountable. The scope of public activism by LGBT rights groups is restricted and the depiction of gay people on television and popular web streaming services is banned. Conversion therapy is also a profitable business; doctors and clinics can charge up to 30,000 yuan ($4,500) for "treatment," said Boris Dittrich, advocacy director of the Human Rights Watch LGBT Rights Program. In July, a gay man successfully sued a mental hospital over forced conversion therapy, in what activists hailed as a rare victory for the LGBT community.

Source: ABC News November 15, 2017 03:04 UTC