Gay conversion therapy

I noticed a familiar name among the authors of this Swedish opinion piece, published today, that questions and calls for a delay of proposed law changes that would make it less difficult for trans people to change their registered gender and/or get gender-affirming surgery. Mats Reimer, a BPS proponent who has a long history of actively targeting pwME.

 

Ending Conversion Practices in Scotland: Respond to the Scottish Government consultation
https://www.stonewall.org.uk/our-work/campaigns/ending-conversion-practices-scotland

"You can respond to this consultation online via Citizen Space. You have until Tuesday 2 April to respond."

 

News article (in Swedish) about the Finnish citizens' initiative to ban conversion attempts, which is defined as a form of religious violence:

”Jag har fått höra att jag är sjuk” – Ani har utsatts för omvändelseförsök och hoppas det förbjuds
https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-10054170

Google Translate, English

An earlier article, from June 2023:

50 000 vill förbjuda omvändelseterapi – frågan går till riksdagen
https://svenska.yle.fi/a/7-10035643

Google Translate, English

 

They talked about conversion therapy and other kinds of false medicalization of asexuality in the latest episode (183) of the Swedish podcast Lustpodden.

https://lustpodden.se/poddavsnitt

 

"Do I look normal, Nina? I'm going to the doctor and need something from them." (5 images)

 

Conversion practice recall and mental health symptoms in sexual and gender minority adults in the USA: a cross-sectional study

https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanpsy/article/PIIS2215-0366(24)00251-7/abstract

"Recall of conversion practice exposure was associated with a range of mental health symptoms among sexual and gender minority people. These findings support calls to ban conversion practices because of their effects as a structural determinant of mental health."

 

Am I right in thinking this got to the ‘of course we must’ stage then quietly dropped for whatever dumb reasons - unless there are any not dumb ones I’ve missed

I can’t believe it finally got thru and I missed it because it would have been in the news?

so demoralising that this stuff happens even with this and the reasons are so quietly concealed we can’t even all as a country say ‘yeah it’s because of the x industry or y believers or some niche ideology or religion a govt couldn’t lose the votes of’ - which I at least quite like if that’s the case in the USA (though annoying it happens at least the spade is called a spade re the reasons)

 

RFSL has published a new article about conversion attempts on their website. It is available in both English and Swedish.

What are conversion attempts, and why should they be prohibited?
https://www.rfsl.se/en/lgbtq-facts/vad-ar-omvandelseforsok/

"According to a recent report from the Swedish Agency for Youth and Civil Society (MUCF), 18 per cent of young LGBTQI people have experienced that someone has tried to influence their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. 5 per cent have been subjected to more serious attempts at conversion. It may be in the form of “treatments”, such as medications, group therapy, prayers or exorcism. It may also mean being taken out of the country, forced into marriage or sent on disciplining trips."

"There’s a ban on coercion, threat and violence in Swedish legislation. Treatment within public healthcare that isn’t science-based or approved is also prohibited. In spite of that, there are attempts at conversion and conversion therapy happening in Sweden."

(RFSL, the Swedish Federation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Intersex Rights, is a non-profit organization founded in 1950.)

 

An Instagram reel posted today by the Swedish Green Party member Alice Bah Kunkhe, about LGBTQI+ rights in the EU including a demand for a ban on conversion therapy.

 

Meta changed its Community Guidelines today to permit "allegations of mental illness or abnormality when based on gender or sexual orientation, given political and religious discourse about transgenderism and homosexuality"

Meta Now Lets Users Say Gay and Trans People Have 'Mental Illness'
https://www.wired.com/story/meta-immigration-gender-policies-change/

 

Please support this initiative proposed by European Union citizens: Ban on conversion practices in the European Union

Read more and sign the petition here:
https://eci.ec.europa.eu/043/public/#/screen/home

"Objectives

We call on the European Commission to propose a binding legal ban on conversion practices targeting LGBTQ+ citizens in the European Union:

Conversion Practices are interventions aimed at changing, repressing or suppressing the sexual orientation, gender identity and/or gender expression of LGBTQ+ persons.

Such practices, due to their discriminatory, degrading, harmful and fraudulent nature have been qualified as torture by the United Nations, and are currently being banned in a growing number of States.

The EU plays a key role in the protection of fundamental rights and should take actions to fight against all inhuman practices. The Commission should propose a directive adding conversion practices to the list of euro-crimes and/or amend the ongoing directive on equality (2008) to include a ban on these practices.

Furthermore, to fight against the legislative moratorium, the Commission should also enforce a non-binding resolution calling for a widespread ban of conversion practices in the EU.

Finally, we call on the Commission to amend the Victims’ Rights Directive to establishes minimum standards on the rights, support and protection of victims of conversion practices.

All member states should introduce a ban on conversion practices or review their current ones."

Please share the link widely!

 

Signed and Shared