Hong Kong - Hong Kong, a city where people are notoriously intolerant of homosexuality, has opened its first social services centre for gay people, a news report said on Monday.
The centre, offering counselling, workshops and a hotline for homosexuals funded by a $55 000 government grant, opened on Sunday on a one-year trial basis, the South China Morning Post reported.
Until now, homosexuals in the former British colony have relied on patchy health and counselling services provided by gay welfare groups, and surveys indicate that many gay people remain afraid to declare their sexuality.
A study launched to coincide with the opening of the centre found 70 percent of gay interviewees were unhappy about their sexuality and 37 percent were afraid of being exposed as gay to colleagues or friends.
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Despite its modern image, traditional attitudes to sexuality hold sway in the city of 6,9 million and many gay men in particular choose to keep their sexual preferences a secret for fear of discrimination.
Gay campaigners recently launched successful High Court appeals in Hong Kong to overturn a ban on gay sex below the age of 21 and a law that makes anyone caught having gay sex in public liable to a lengthy prison term. - Sapa-DPA
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