According to data aggregated by the Global Equality Caucus and The International Lesbian Gay Bisexual Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA), Conversion therapy is banned in several countries around the world, including Canada, Brazil, Ecuador, Spain, Germany, France, Malta and New Zealand.
Conversion therapy is the process of trying to stop someone from being gay or trying to stop someone who wants to change their gender identity. Methods used for this purpose include spoken therapy and prayer, or even more extreme strategies such as exorcism, physical violence, or food deprivation, as reported by the BBC. The British Psychological Society and Royal College of Psychiatrists in the United Kingdom stated that all kinds of conversion therapy are “unethical and potentially harmful”.
As the infographic shows, the practice of conversion therapy
is still legal in many parts of the world. In multiple other countries though,
although no clear legislative ban exists, limited bans or bans through indirect
prohibition have been announced. For example, several countries have introduced
a ban on health practitioners to carry out conversion therapy. These include
Albania, Switzerland and Taiwan (the latter banning health care professionals
from carrying out conversion therapies on minors). In India, Tamil Nadu became
the first Indian state to ban conversion therapy after a court order issued by
a justice of the Madras High Court in 2021.
Meanwhile, several countries, such as Australia, Mexico and
the United States, have seen expansions with executing bans on a regional or
more basis.
The trend to impose legislation banning conversion is slowly
picking up pace, with national governments and parliaments in Belgium, Chile,
Colombia, Cyprus, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and Portugal all in
various states of pending legislation. At the same time, according to the
Global Equality Caucus, Austria, Finland, Sweden and the United Kingdom have
all expressed an aim to legislate bans.
Infographic by: statista
