The country's first male sexual health center with the authority
to issue medical reports for legal cases involving injuries,
divorce and rape recently opened its doors in Nanjing, capital of
Jiangsu Province.
The center, a department of Nanjing's Jinling Andrology
Hospital, earned the right to issue official appraisals after five
years working with male sexual health issues, said Ma Jintao, the
center's vice-director.
He added that the center's medical reports primarily focused on
men's sexual capabilities.
"About 70 to 80 percent of the people we examine have injuries
that affect their sexual performance and are negotiating
compensation. Ten percent are looking to prove impotence for the
purposes of divorce, and there are also a few facing rape charges,"
Ma said.
In one case, police brought in a man who had been accused of
raping a woman. However, the man claimed he was impotent and
therefore incapable of raping someone.
The appraisal, which involved three continuous nights of tests,
eventually vindicated the man.
In another case, an angry man came to the center after learning
that his wife had told people he was impotent and that she wanted a
divorce. To save face, he demanded a virility test.
When a test proved him right, he distributed copies of the
results to his friends.
And in 2001, a woman whose husband had allegedly lost his
ability to perform sexually after injuring his leg in a car
accident came to the center for evidence to use against the other
driver in a lawsuit.
She wanted to be compensated for the mental suffering caused by
her husband's impotence, which she claimed had disrupted their
lives.
A report proved that the husband's injury had damaged his sexual
functions and the woman was compensated 10,000 yuan (about
US$1,300). She was the first person in the country to recover
losses for being deprived of the ability to maintain a normal sex
life.
But not everyone is brave enough to demand compensation for such
problems, and many people are unaware that they might have an
opportunity to do so, said Xu Yuancheng, the center's director.
"Accidents and injuries cost many men their ability to perform
sexually, but only about 5 percent of them bother to claim
compensation," Xu said.
"Most are unaware that they could claim money for such a loss,
and many of those who know feel ashamed to do so."
(China Daily April 6, 2007)