In December 2016, the tiny island of Malta became the first European nation to outlaw
gay conversion therapy.
Measures to restrict this controversial practice have been introduced in half of all US states,
as evidence increasingly shows that it causes serious medical and psychological harm.
Yet, it still occurs here in the U.S. and around the world.
So what exactly is Gay Conversion Therapy?
Well, gay conversion therapy is any treatment that aims to turn gay, lesbian or transgender
individuals into heterosexuals.
The patients are predominantly minors or young adults, many of whom are forced or pressured
into therapy.
Attempts at gay conversion are performed by medical professionals, religious leaders or
counselors, and usually involve a variety of behavioral, cognitive psychological training.
But the severity of these treatments depends on where you are.
In South Africa for example, homosexual men and boys are known to be forced into ‘conversion
camps’, where they are subjected to hard labor for the purpose of instilling masculinity.
Conditions are reportedly so harsh that in 2011, they led to the death of a 15-year-old
boy.
Similar camps exist in the United States.
But in general, gay conversion in the US is less severe, usually involving comprehensive
talk therapy, seminars weekend retreats or rehabilitation.
The basis for modern gay conversion therapy began in the 1920’s, when homosexuality
was widely believed to be a physical birth defect.
Accordingly, the earliest form of conversion therapy was to remove one testicle from a
gay man and replace it with a heterosexual donor’s.
When this proved to be both ineffective and harmful, psychiatrists and medical professionals,
like Sigmund Freud, began to classify homosexuality as a mental disorder, treatable with psychotherapy
and medication.
Freud later concluded that homosexuality was not an illness and publicly discouraged any
treatment of it.
But by the 1950s, behavioral therapies, including treatments like electric shock, hypnosis and
lobotomy became widely accepted treatments for homosexuality.
Many psychologists believed that associating homosexual acts with pain, sickness and embarrassment
would eventually make them unappealing.
But in the early 1970s, these theories slowly lost credibility.
Psychiatrists released studies that showed homosexuals had no developmental inferiority
when compared to heterosexuals, lessening the belief that homosexuality was a disease.
In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from its Manual of Mental
Disorders and has since publicly discredited conversion therapy, urging health professionals
to inform their patients of its harm and fraudulence.
In fact, the Human Right Campaign states that conversion therapy on minors can lead to an
increased risk of depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and even suicide.
But despite how inhumane and ineffective the practice is, it is still legal in most of
the world, with only five US states and two Canadian Provinces actually outlawing gay
conversion for minors.
Although conversion therapy’s negative effects continue to come to light, it may be a long
time until the Western world bans the practice altogether.
Homophobia has a lot of negative side effects, but did you know that it can impact your health
as well?
Research shows that people who are prejudiced against the LGBTQ community will die sooner
than those who don’t.
Find out more about the science by watching this DNews video.
People who are prejudiced against the LGBTQ community will die 2.5 years earlier than
an equally healthy person of the same age.
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