2008
CASE STUDY :
T
he Beijing LGBT
Center is a
community-based
organization that was
founded in 2008 to foster
an inclusive environment
for lesbian, gay, bisexual,
and transgender (LGBT)
people in Beijing. In 2010,
The Center launched a
psychological counseling
center to meet the needs
of LGBT people in Beijing,
many of whom reported
being turned away from
such treatment at general
healthcare facilities.
As the CBO matured,
The Beijing LGBT Center
received an influx of LGBT
people seeking counseling
for emotional and physical
trauma experienced
during gay “conversion”
therapy. This internationally
condemned practice
subjects LGBT people,
The Beijing LGBT Center
2014
often under pressure from
their families, to dangerous
and painful therapy aimed
at “curing” homosexuality.
Homosexuality has not been
classified as an illness in
China since 2001.
In 2012, the CBO
approached Asia Catalyst
for Tailored Coaching. Over
the course of 4 months,
Asia Catalyst trained The
Beijing LGBT Center to
develop and implement
effective and strategic
evidence-based human
rights advocacy. According
to Iron, the Director of The
Beijing LGBT Center, “this
Asia Catalyst training series
laid the groundwork for our
subsequent, successful,
advocacy programs.”
After completing the Tailored
Coaching,The Beijing LGBT Center
began its advocacy campaign by
starting to raise the profile of the harmful
effects of “conversion” therapy in
China, mainly at academic conferences.
“This Asia Catalyst training
series laid the groundwork for
our subsequent, successful,
advocacy programs. ”
- Iron, Director of the Beijing LGBT Center
In 2013, The Beijing LGBT Center
enrolled in Asia Catalyst’s CBO
Catalyst program. Over the course
of the yearlong collaborative training
program, The Beijing LGBT Center
forged a coalition with diverse
CBOs from around China, who were
participating the program, including
Yirenping—a CBO serving people living
with HIV, Hepatitis, and disabilities in
Beijing—and PFLAG—an LGBT CBO
from the Southern Chinese city of
Guangzhou. Asia Catalyst facilitated
peer-to-peer collaboration by building
shared space for the activists in a
secure environment outside of China.
Over the course of the training, the
CBOs discovered that each of their
communities were uniquely affected
by the issue of gay “conversion”
therapy. Subsequently, they developed
a joint human rights advocacy
strategy aimed at ending “conversion”
therapy across China.
First, to create an evidence base on
the issue, The Beijing LGBT Center
and its partners worked with activists
around the country to document
the existence of “conversion”
therapy in 10 Chinese cities. They
foun