Taipei, Feb. 13 (CNA) Relationship advice and counseling is the most needed form of assistance among the gay community in Taiwan, mostly because they have no one to turn to, an advocacy group said at its annual press conference Monday.
The Taiwan Tongzhi Hotline Association (TTHA) , which set up a telephone hotline for counseling homosexuals, received more than 900 telephone calls in 2005, with 39 percent of callers seeking counseling for relationships-related issues, said Wu Hsu-liang, who serves as TTHA's director of public relations.
Wu said the issue has been the primary reason for calls made to the hotline for five straight years, indicating that gays are concerned about discrimination in society and aren't receiving the support they need from family and friends who are heterosexual.
"The hotline tries to provide a discreet atmosphere and professional counseling to those who need help but can't find someone to talk about it with in their daily lives," Wu added.
TTHA statistics showed 52 percent of calls came from repeat callers.
"No one is supposed to get over relationship problems overnight. It's a continual process that might take a while, say six months," Wu said.
At the same time, the incidence of sex identity-related phone calls has dropped to its lowest number in five years, which TTHA considers an encouraging sign.
"This tells us that Taiwan -- considered the leading country in Asia when it comes to open attitudes about homosexuality -- has been making substantial progress in sexual equality, " said Cheng Chi-wei, TTHA's Director of Social Work.
Meanwhile, the percentage of callers who are parents of homosexual children has increased to an all-time high of 9 percent -- another promising sign, according to TTHA.
"Having gay kids places a lot of pressure on parents. I'm glad to see that more parents are trying to help their children through professional counseling, " said a woman surnamed Kuo who provides private counseling for parents with homosexual children.
"Education is key in the promotion of understanding about homosexual relationships and gender equality. In the coming year, we will be working to promote the idea of pluralist thinking, or `Multiple Intelligences, ' in schools, which is something lacking at this time, although the Gender Equality Education Law was passed by the Legislative Yuan in 2004, " said TTHA Office Director Lai Kang-yen.
In 1998, TTHA became the first registered LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual) association in Taiwan, and was established to provide counseling and support for gays and lesbians.