Canada considers legislation to restrict conversion therapy nationwide

David Lametti, the Canada’s justice minister, and Bardish Chagger, the minister of diversity and youth, introduced a bill to restrict conversion therapy nationally. Lametti called the proposal the “most progressive and comprehensive in the world” seeking to limit the discredited and harmful practice of trying to turn LGBT people straight or cisgender.

The new legislation would make it illegal to cause a minor to undergo conversion therapy; to remove a minor from Canada to undergo conversion therapy in another country; cause a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will; profit from providing conversion therapy; or advertise an offer to provide conversion therapy.

“Conversion therapy is a cruel practice that can lead to lifelong trauma, particularly for young people,” Lametti said. “The approach we are proposing today demonstrates our Government’s strong commitment to protecting the dignity and equality rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and two-spirit Canadians, by criminalizing a practice that discriminates against and harms them. If passed, this bill would make Canada’s laws on conversion therapy the most progressive and comprehensive in the world,”he added.

“We all have a role to play to make sure LGBTQ2 persons feel safe and can fully participate in Canadian society,” Chagger said. “The progressive legislation we proposed today will help to ensure that everyone, everywhere in Canada can be who they truly are, and live full, healthy, and safe lives,” she added.

C

Chagger and Lametti introducing the new bill

New Zealand to ban conversion therapy

New Zealand has introduced legislation seeking to ban conversion therapy, which refers to the practice of trying to “cure” people of their sexuality, gender expression, or LGBT identity.

Abiding by a promise made by the Labour Party in the last elections, the bill was introduced by justice minister Kris Faafoi, who said: “Conversion practices have no place in modern New Zealand. They are based on the false belief that any person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression is broken and in need of fixing.”

The legislation has been initiated to protect against practices intended to change or suppress someone’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, stated a New Zealand government press release.

The Conversion Practices Prohibition Legislation Bill aims at preventing any harm caused by conversion therapy and promote healthy discussions on gender and sexuality. The bill also provides for civil redress.

The bill also proposes to make an offence to perform conversion therapy on children, youngsters under the age of 18 or anyone with impaired decision-making capacity. 

Just this year, UK Gov announced plan to ban conversion therapy in Britain and Canada House passed historic bill banning conversion therapy. Also UN urged to ban 'chilling' conversion therapy.

NZ Labour Party promised in the last elections

Michigan bans conversion therapy for LGBTQ youths

Michigan state senators voted 21-15 to ban conversion therapy by mental health professionals to change the gender identity or sexual orientation of minors.

The bill now head to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, who has railed against conversion therapy and in 2021 prohibited state funds from being used to assist such therapy for minors. 

Michigan is now poised to become the 22nd state to ban conversion therapy, a practice that researchers, experts and LGBTQ advocates say increases the risk of mental health issues and suicide attempts among LGBTQ youths. 

Check the U.S. map of conversion therapy laws below:

Movement Advancement Project: "Equality Maps: Conversion Therapy Laws" https://www.mapresearch.org/equality-maps/conversion_therapy 

Trump appointed judges in Florida overturn ban on conversion therapy for minors

It’s been revealed that a federal appeals court in Florida has overturned the banning of conversion therapy in Boca Raton and Palm Beach County, in a 2-1 decision. The ordinance in question was created to stop “treating minors with any counseling, practice, or treatment performed with the goal of changing an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity.”

Two of the judges on the case, Britt C Grant and Barbra Logoa, appointed by Donald Trump, have ruled to overturn Florida laws banning conversion therapy for LGBT minors.  The judges, who are both members of the conservative Federalist Society, determined that the laws violated the First Amendment.  

Judge Grant recognised that overturning the laws "allows speech that many find concerning, even dangerous" but said it was warranted because the First Amendment "does not allow communities to determine how their neighbors may be counseled about matters of sexual orientation or gender."  

The ruling effectively dissolves 21 other bans on the practice passed by cities and counties throughout Florida.  

Judge Beverly C. Martin, who also serves on the U.S. 11th District Court of Appeals, showcased her disappointment with Grant and Lagoa arguments. She also pushed back against the research tactics it took to get the requested evidence against conversion therapy, saying it “ignores the harm such studies would have on children,” and that it wasn’t “ethically permissible” for the research to take place.

She also noted that these claims aren’t baseless and conversion therapy is “backed up by a mountain of rigorous evidence,” while referring to the eight organizations that have found the practice a “risk” to children.

The case will likely go to the U.S. Supreme Court, which currently has a conservative majority with a 6 to 3 ratio, after Trump's appointments. 

Conversion therapy is a fraud. No matter how hard you try, you cannot change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. This so-called therapy has only ever proven to produce negative mental health outcomes and increase the risk of suicide.

This fight isn’t over!

Germany's Cabinet approves a draft bill banning gay and transgender conversion therapy

Germany is banning so-called gay conversion therapy for minors, saying the practice that purports to make patients straight has no scientific basis and often causes psychological harm. The bill will next be presented to Germany’s lower house, Health Minister Jens Spahn told. 

If the bill passes both houses of parliament, advertising or offering conversion therapy will be banned and infringements will carry fines of up to €30,000 ($33,000). After the proposed ban, only adults who freely seek out the controversial “therapy” will be legally permitted to undergo it.

Merkel’s Cabinet also outlawed the use of conversion therapy with adults who have diminished decision-making capabilities and barred advertisements for conversion therapy services.

The government’s goal is to protect people’s right to sexual self-determination. In a later Facebook posting headlined “Homosexuality is not an illness,” the government said anyone violating the ban could face punishments ranging from fines to prison.

Bravo!

Homosexuality is not an illness

Canada House passes historic bill banning conversion therapy

In a massive win for LGBT rights, Canada’s House of Commons passed a historic bill criminalizing conversion therapy.

The barbaric practice, which has been discredited by the APA and the World Psychiatric Association, refers to any attempt at changing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity and often involves techniques such as electroshock therapy or prayer.

The bill, which now goes to Senate, passed the House in a 263-63 split, with only conservative MPs voting against. Canada’s ruling Liberal party originally vowed to ban the harmful practice in 2019 when its election manifesto was unveiled.

Minister of Justice David Lametti tweeted that “if passed, #BillC6 will make Canada’s criminal laws on conversion therapy the most progressive and comprehensive in the world”.

The new bill would effectively prohibit minors being subjected to the practice, and an adult would not be permitted to undergo conversion therapy against their own will. Also, no one will be allowed to profit from the practice or advertise it.

Justin Trudeau, Prime Minister of Canada, also tweeted: “Conversion therapy has no place in Canada. And even though more than half of the Conservative caucus voted against it, the House of Commons has passed our legislation to criminalize this harmful and degrading practice. We’ll always stand up for LGBTQ2 Canadians and their rights.”

Bravo Mr. Trudeau, bravo Canada!!!

 

Queen Elizabeth announces government's plan to ban conversion therapy in Britain

In her speech to UK Parliament, Queen Elizabeth announced the government’s plan to enact a law that will illegalise the harmful practice of conversion therapy, which has been discredited by the NHS and the World Psychiatric Association.

“Measures will be brought forward to address racial and ethnic disparities and ban conversion therapy,” said the Queen. "The government will strengthen and renew democracy and the constitution” as well as “protect freedom of speech and restore the balance of power between the executive, legislature and the courts,” she added.

So-called conversion therapy refers to any attempt at changing a person’s sexuality or gender identity, and often involves techniques such as electroshock therapy or prayer.

A lot of countries and cities already banned conversion therapy, and United Nations recently urged to ban this "chilling" practice around the world.

New Zealand officially bans conversion therapy

New Zealand's parliament has passed legislation that bans practices intended to forcibly change a person's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, known as conversion therapy.

The bill, which was introduced by the government last year, passed near-unanimously with 112 votes in favour and 8 votes opposed.

The legislation also lays out what is not a conversion practice and it protects the right to express opinions, beliefs, religious beliefs or principles which are not intended to change or suppress a person's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

Under the legislation, it will be an offence to perform conversion practices on people under 18, or on someone with impaired decision-making capacity. Such offences would be subject to up to 3 years' in prison.

It will also be an offence to perform conversion practices on anyone, irrespective of age, where the practices have caused serious harm, and offenders can be subject to up to 5 years imprisonment.

Last year, an United Nations rapporteur urged to ban 'chilling' conversion therapy, and a lot of countries, regions and cities already banned conversion therapy, but it should be banned around the world.

Banning conversion therapy was one of Jacinda Ardern's election promises

Mexico City bans gay conversion therapy

Mexico City’s regional congress approved a bill to criminalize gay conversion therapy, in a step hailed as a major victory for Mexico’s gay and lesbian community.

Methods applied by proponents of conversion therapy to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity have ranged from psychological counseling to religious instruction and even electroshock therapy. The practice has become widely discredited in recent years.

Under the new law, conversion therapy is defined as psychological or psychiatric measures or treatments which intend to “nullify, hinder, modify or undermine” the expression of a person’s gender identity or their sexual orientation.

Conversion therapy providers now face up to five years in prison, with higher sentences for those who subject minors to the practice.

Its approval makes the Mexican capital, which in 2009 was the first region of the country to legalize same-sex marriage, the first jurisdiction in Mexico to ban the practice.

Good news from Mexico!!!

A crowd attended Mexican City Pride Parade in 2019

American Psychological Association considers that being trans is not a mental disorder and also states against trans conversion therapy

 

The American Psychological Association (APA) adopted a resolution rebuking conversion therapy on trans patients, correctly citing that being trans is not a mental disorder.

The APA is the leading scientific and professional organisation representing psychology in the US, with more than 122,000 researchers, clinicians, consultants and educators as its members.

The biggest professional psychologist organization in the U.S. has come out against transgender conversion therapy, saying that "transgender or nonbinary gender identities are normal variations in human expression of gender. Attempts to force people to conform with rigid gender identities can be harmful to their mental health and well-being.”

The resolution cites copious literature about the harms of transgender conversion therapy and the lack of scientific evidence that a transgender person can be changed into a cisgender person. The resolution also lists out the other psychological associations that beat it to the punch and already came out against the practice.

In 2009, the APA issued a statement opposing the practice of gay conversion therapy.

Greece to ban conversion therapy for minors

Greece banned conversion therapy for minors, a practice aimed at suppressing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity and which the LGBT community worldwide, as well as health experts, have condemned as harmful.

Under the bill, which Greece’s parliament approved, psychologists or other health professionals need a person’s explicit consent to perform such treatment and face fines and a prison term if they violate the law.

The government has drafted a national strategy that runs until 2025 on reforms promoting gender equality in Greece, a largely conservative country. Canada, New Zealand and France criminalized conversion therapy earlier this year.

“There were some false treatments that stated that when a minor has chosen a different sexual orientation, his parents could supposedly proceed with ‘treatments’ for this child to ‘return to normality,’” Health Minister Thanos Plevris told. 

“Obviously these treatments not only are not a therapy but they are not supported scientifically,” the minister added.

United Nations urged to ban conversion therapy worldwide.

Greek Parliament approved same-sex civil unions in 2015

Mexico approves bill to ban conversion therapy nationwide

The Senate of Mexico approved a bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy in the country.

The measure passed by a 77-4 vote margin with 15 abstentions. The Chamber of Deputies, the lower house of Mexico’s congress, approved the bill last month.

The Senate described conversion therapy as “practices that have incentivized the violation of human rights of the LGBTQ+ community.”

Apart from being immoral and ineffective, conversion therapies can involve dangerous practices such as electric shocks, beatings or “corrective rape”, which can be harmful to the physical and mental health of the victims, on top of being stigmatising and discriminatory.

Besides Mexico, a lot of countries already banned conversion therapy, but it has to be banned around the world!!!

Utah bans LGBT conversion therapy for children

Utah has became the 19th U.S. state to ban conversion therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation or gender identity in lesbian, gay, transsexual, bisexual and queer children.

The ban in the Republican-dominated state, which took effect on Wednesday, exempts members of the clergy, lay pastors, and spiritual counselors not licensed by the state from the ban. Despite those limits, this is still a big victory in a very conservative state.

Conversion therapy involves a variety of psychological and spiritual practices aimed at changing sexual orientation and gender identity in the belief that homosexuality and transgender identity are mental illnesses.

The American Psychological Association has called the treatment harmful to young people. The American Medical Association has said that conversion therapy does not work and can trigger depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicide attempts.

Pray Away

Pray Away (2021) is a new film that reveals personal and political impact of anti-gay ‘conversion therapy’. The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 16, 2021.

In it, repentant former leaders of the disbanded US group Exodus International, founded in 1976, which promoted so-called ‘conversion therapy’ in order to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity, share their painful experiences.

The documentary, directed by Kristine Stolakis and released globally by Netflix, combines archival footage with present-day narration. It includes interviews with four former Exodus leaders, who reflect on the deep wounds that ‘conversion therapy’ left in them and in others. All have renounced their past and are now living openly as bisexual or gay people.

It also reveals the political influence of Exodus and similar organisations. Working with conservative allies in government, they took their agenda to Washington to try and block initiatives such as same-sex marriage. Exodus disbanded in 2013, when Alan Chambers, the group's president, publicly admitted that homosexuality could not be "cured.”

However, its promotion of ‘conversion therapy’ continued outside the US through Exodus Global Alliance, which was headquartered in Canada until two months ago, when the group closed down in anticipation of a new Canadian bill that makes its activities a criminal offence. Exodus still has a foothold in Latin America, with offices in Brazil and Mexico.

Watch the trailer below: 

Mexico votes to ban all conversion therapy

Mexico’s senate has voted to ban all conversion therapy that aims to alter sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression. 69 lawmakers voted for the bill, with 2 against and 16 abstentions. It will now head to Mexico’s chamber of deputies for a final vote.

The vote has been years in the making, with the bill first introduced by senators from the parties Citizen Movement, Morena and the Green Party in October 2018.

The introducers said that conversion therapy’s “main victims are young LGBTQ+ people, causing irreparable damage to their mental health throughout their adult life and in the worst cases, driving them to suicide”.

Mexico city banned gay conversion therapy in 2020, its approval made the Mexican capital, which in 2009 was the first region of the country to legalize same-sex marriage, the first jurisdiction in Mexico to ban that practice.

Bravo Mexico!!! 

Nada que curar!

Deviant, a short film about something that should never have happened

Directed by Benjamin Howard from a script co-written with James Hall, Deviant is both a period piece that captures a part of history that many would like to forget and a thoughtful drama about faith and redemption.

In the early 1960s, Marcel is a homosexual teenager whose desires are discovered by his mother. Keen to “cure” him of his ailment, she puts him in electrotherapeutic conversion therapy. But the therapy is tortuous and brutal, leaving Marcel shell-shocked and stunned.

The storytelling delves into the barbaric nature of its old-fashioned “conversion therapy” that Marcel undergoes, but he doesn’t change his inclinations. Instead, he emerges from the treatments conflicted, bewildered and ashamed of himself, a change detailed with great subtlety by actor Rudy Pankow (Outer Banks). The shocks he received haven’t changed him, but only broken him inside and shattered any inner sense of wholeness or worth. 

Between the 1940's-1960's, homosexuals were often involuntarily committed to psychiatric facilities by their own families, where they were promised to be cured of their "sexual illness". Methods used "to cure" homosexuality included electroshock therapy, castration, medical torture and transorbital lobotomies.

The American Psychiatric Association declassified homosexuality as a mental disorder in 1973. Only nine U.S. states have laws in place banning the use of conversion therapy on minors.

Watch the short film below:

Albanian psychologists ban so-called conversion therapy

Albania’s leading psychologists’ organisation has barred members from carrying out so-called “conversion therapy” which aims to make gay people straight, as countries around the world consider laws to ban the controversial practice.

The statement further pointed out that all registered therapists in Albania must be members of the order of psychologists and that its decisions are final and "legally valid." Medical professional bodies have dismissed such psychological or spiritual interventions as pseudo-scientific, ineffective and often harmful.

The therapy uses a range of methods to "change" sexual orientation, gender identity or expression. The most controversial being the administration of electric shocks as subjects view images of homosexual acts or injections of the male hormone testosterone.

The European Parliament passed a resolution in March 2018 that condemned the practice and urged member states to ban it.  Only three countries, Brazil, Ecuador and Malta, have nationwide bans on “conversion therapy”, but earlier this month Germany outlawed the treatment for minors. The United States, Canada, Chile and Mexico are among nations seeking bans.

Tirana Pride 2019

United Nations rapporteur urges to ban 'chilling' conversion therapy

The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief, Dr Ahmed Shaheed, said that attempts to change someone's sexuality or gender identity were chilling.

As the world's most senior authority on religious rights, Dr Shaheed said a ban would not violate freedom of religion or belief under international law, because of the harm involved in conversion therapy.

He said: "International human rights law is clear that the right to freedom of religion or belief does not limit the state’s obligation to protect the life, dignity, health and equality of LGBT persons."

"The testimonies of survivors of conversion practices are chilling. Operating on the basis that there is something wrong, sinful or pathological in non-heterosexual-cis forms of sexual and gender identity, LGBT persons are assailed with physical and emotional abuse that have haunting consequences," he added.

The American Psychological Association (APA) recently reported that "transgender or nonbinary gender identities are normal variations in human expression of gender. Attempts to force people to conform with rigid gender identities can be harmful to their mental health and well-being.”

A lot of countries and cities already banned conversion therapy, but it has to be banned around the world!!!

Germany plans to ban gay cure therapy

Germany plans to push ahead with a ban on gay cure therapy, the country’s health minister has said.

Jens Spahn, Germany’s health minister and the country’s most senior gay politician, told he would seek a ban on the discredited practice.

He said: “Homosexuality is not a disease and it doesn’t need to be cured. That’s why I’m in favour of a ban on conversion therapy.

Spahn said the challenge was in “practical implementation” of a ban, adding that he will seek to shape the law with the country’s Minister of Justice Katarina Barley.

The politician said: “Germany will go ‘as far as possible’ to outlaw gay cure therapy. The law must be clear enough to make an impact.”

He added that Germany would be looking at the models of existing conversion therapy bans internationally.

Spahn (left) with his partner Daniel Funke

Puerto Rico Governor will ban gay conversion therapy for minors

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló said he will sign an executive order banning so-called gay conversion therapy on minors.

Rosselló announced the decision two days after a bill on the subject was blocked in the House of Representatives by his own party, the New Progressive Party.

“As a father, as a scientist and as governor of everyone in Puerto Rico, I firmly believe that the idea that there are people in our society who need treatment due to their gender identity or those who love is not only absurd, but it is harmful to so many children and young people who deserve to be treated with dignity and respect,” the governor said.

Rosselló added: “I strive for Puerto Rico to be a society in which everyone, no matter who they love, can be accepted and live without fear of persecution. This includes the most vulnerable in society, our children, who must be supported and loved. Conversion therapy does not benefit anyone in any way, it only causes unimaginable pain and suffering.”

Carmen Yulín Cruz, Mayor of Puerto Rico’s capital, San Juan, expressed support for the governor’s decision. She wrote on Twitter: “Conversion therapies are inhumane and seek to deprive human beings of their dignity. Love is love. It is a simple concept. The compatriots of the LGBT community love, period. And love always, always wins over hate. ALWAYS.”

Nonetheless, the LGBT community in Puerto Rico remains target of prejudice and violence, and the local media notes the highlighted persistent homophobia against LGBT people.

The Mayor of Puerto Rico's capital supports governor's decision