Asia Catalyst Annual Report 2015 | Page 28

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