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‘Conversion therapy’ report

‘Conversion therapy’ report

‘Conversion therapy’ is a term describing pseudo-scientific and harmful practices used to attempt altering a person’s gender expression, gender identity or sexual orientation.

In 2020, ILGA World has released a ground-breaking report on the issue: Curbing Deception is an extensive global research into laws banning ‘conversion therapies’ both at the national and subnational level. The report explores the vast field of techniques used for the purpose of attempting to alter lesbians, gays and bisexuals’ sexual orientation, to prevent trans youth from transitioning or make trans people de-transition, or to force our gender expressions and roles to align with the social binary stereotypes of masculinity and femininity. It also analyses strategies beyond legal reform to restrict these harmful practices worldwide.

Experimentation and abuse have long taken place under the legitimising cloak of medicine, psychology and science. As the report details, gruesome practices – including electroshock ‘therapies’, forced internments in ‘clinics’ and exorcisms – are still applied in numerous countries, pushing people of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities and expressions to living self-loathing lives, up to the extreme consequences of committing suicide.

Protection from similar ineffective and cruel treatment is as urgent as ever: our report also exposes how – thanks to the tireless advocacy of activists, survivors and grassroots organisations – States, health professionals and international human rights bodies across the world are speaking up against so-called ‘conversion therapies’.

Curbing deception: latest edition

The latest edition of Curbing deception – A world survey of legal restrictions of so-called ‘conversion therapies’ was released in February 2020.

Download the ILGA World Curbing deception – A world survey of legal restrictions of so-called ‘conversion therapies report in English – in Spanish

The report is released under an Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) license.  Suggested citation: ILGA World: Lucas Ramón Mendos, Curbing Deception: A world survey on legal regulation of so-called “conversion therapies” (Geneva: ILGA World, 2020).

Download also:

Toolbox to combat so-called ‘conversion therapies’

toolbox: in English – in Spanish
infographics: in English – in Spanish

The ILGA World Toolbox to combat so-called ‘conversion therapies’ offers a clear summary of legal tools, public policy tools and key allies available to ban or restrict these harmful practices that cause so much damage, pain and loss across the world.