Banning Gay Conversion Therapy

Before the 1970s, many psychiatrists and medical professionals treated homosexuality and transgender people as mental illnesses. In addition to the medical communities, many religious denominations have treated LGBTQIA+ identities as a sin over the centuries. Many believe that prayer and guidance could help individuals change how they think and feel. Individuals such as Havelock Ellis and Alfred Kinsey researched sexuality. Their work helped lay the foundation for further understanding of sex or gender and the reclassification of LGBTQIA+ identities.

For years, psychiatrists, religious leaders and therapy practitioners would adopt various methods to convert LGBTQIA+ individuals. Nazi scientists during World War II were known for experimenting on gay and lesbian prisoners, often torturing and applying psychological warfare to see how they would react. Treatments such as lobotomies, severing connections in the brain’s prefrontal cortex, chemical castrations and aversion therapies were all the various methods used by practitioners. Treatments such as aversion therapy or conditioning are still used today, with practitioners applying electric shock, drugs, the use of sexually erotic images, and the power of suggestion.

Even with all those extreme and barbaric practices, most of those undergoing the therapy suffered brain damage or were still identified as LGBTQIA+ after the so-called treatment. Though there are extreme cases relating to Gay Conversion Therapy, some groups often apply less drastic measures, especially the religious groups carrying out the therapy. Many typically use prayer, group therapy, and materials designed to reprogram or re-educate recipients. Regardless of the approach and the low number of success cases, Gay Conversion Therapy still treats LGBTQIA+ as a mental disease, one that can be cured.

Many of those who undertake Gay Conversion Therapy will be young, typically receiving therapy after puberty from ages 13 to 21—undergoing treatment when they begin to realise or identify as LGBTQIA+. Most are afraid of being different and of being rejected by their families or loved ones. With many considered young adults or minors, the parents or guardians often provide consent for their child or a child in their ward to undergo therapy. With modern medical science and understanding, it is clear why these types of treatments fail, as it works on the belief that the person is making a choice. The only decision for those undertaking the therapy is to deny, suppress, or hide who they are rather than change how they honestly think or feel.

The Banning Gay Conversion Therapy looks at all countries worldwide and those that endorse, ban or allow the therapy to take place.