(fyiteam)
The so-called “conversion therapies” that are carried out on homosexual and trans minor individuals constitute pseudotherapies that aim at the change of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity.
They have been condemned by international organizations as unscientific and harmful and have also been characterized as a form of torture by the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims.
(fyiteam)
They include everything from forms of psychological pressure and guilt-inducing, to behavioral “corrective” practices, punishment and deprivation (when carried out by religious officials), even physical or sexual abuse.
Other techniques, which have been applied for decades, include discussion, hypnosis, electroshock and chemically induced nausea.
The consequences are particularly serious for mental health: increased levels of depression, anxiety, self-harm and up to a 30% likelihood of suicide attempt.
(fyiteam)
Almost 40% of LGBTQI+ individuals in Greece have been exposed to “conversion therapies”, recording, in fact, the highest rate in Europe.
To this day, there is no relevant legislative framework for trans children and adolescent individuals that is clear, safe, scientifically valid and in line with the major international health and mental health bodies.
(fyiteam)
In Greece, such practices are applied mainly by mental health professionals (52%), religious officials (24%), health professionals (9%) and other “therapists” or individuals with unclear/often questionable scientific status (15%).
Greece did proceed in 2022 to ban “conversion therapies”; however, the law provides that if there is “consent”, their application is permitted.
Thus, in practice, harmful practices are legalized and perpetuated, while this law remains unenforced.
(fyiteam)
Those who claim that they carry out “conversion therapies” oppose the affirmative approach in psychotherapy, which does not treat elements of LGBTQI+ individuals’ identity as a “problem” that needs “correction”.
On the contrary, it recognizes that anxiety or distress often stems from social factors (stigma, discrimination) and not from the identity itself.
Its aim, therefore, is the acceptance, empowerment and psychological resilience of the individual.
(fyiteam)
In its statement, the Greek NGO “Orlando LGBT+” emphasizes that any approach by a mental health professional that rejects the affirmative approach in the name of an “exploratory” approach may be abusive.
This statement was made on the occasion of the decision of the US Supreme Court which ruled, by a vote of 8–1, that the Colorado law banning “conversion therapy” for homosexual and trans minors “likely” violates freedom of speech rights, as defined by the First Amendment.
(fyiteam)
The case began in 2022, when Kaley Chiles, an evangelical therapist, argued that the state violates her rights under the First Amendment by prohibiting her from “counseling” religious LGBTQI+ teenagers.
K. Chiles argues that she does not attempt to “convert” homosexual or trans teenagers, but uses talk therapy to help those who wish to reduce “unwanted attractions” or to change their sexual orientation.
Almost 30 states in the US had enacted laws banning such “conversion therapies”, and this decision now openly calls them into question.
“Orlando LGBT+” emphasizes that with this decision “the deepest conservative argument is reinforced, that an individual should be free to consent to such practices, that is, to their torture and abuse, within the framework of a completely unscientific and unequal process”.
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson read her opinion from the bench and clearly expressed her strong disagreement with the majority.
She said that research shows that conversion therapy constitutes bad medical practice and that the court’s decision to protect it under the First Amendment “opens a dangerous Pandora’s box”.
“Ultimately, because the majority is playing with fire in this case, I fear that the people of this country will get burned,” she stated.
