scholarly journals Statement of the Independent Forensic Expert Group on Conversion Therapy

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 66-78
Author(s):  
Djordje Alempijevic ◽  
Rusudan Beriashvili ◽  
Jonathan Beynon ◽  
Bettina Birmanns ◽  
Marie Brasholt ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Conversion Therapy ◽  
Ethical Implications ◽  
Legal Statement ◽  
Pain And Suffering ◽  
Degrading Treatment ◽  
The Individual

Conversion therapy is a set of practices that aim to change or alter an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It is premised on a belief that an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity can be changed and that doing so is a desirable outcome for the individual, family, or community. Other terms used to describe this practice include sexual orientation change effort (SOCE), reparative therapy, reintegrative therapy, reorientation therapy, ex-gay therapy, and gay cure. Conversion therapy is practiced in every region of the world. We have identified sources confirming or indicating that conversion therapy is performed in over 60 countries.1 In those countries where it is performed, a wide and variable range of practices are believed to create change in an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Some examples of these include: talk therapy or psychotherapy (e.g., exploring life events to identify the cause); group therapy; medication (including anti-psychotics, anti- depressants, anti-anxiety, and psychoactive drugs, and hormone injections); Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (where an individual focuses on a traumatic memory while simultaneously experiencing bilateral stimulation); electroshock or electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) (where electrodes are attached to the head and electric current is passed between them to induce seizure); aversive treatments (including electric shock to the hands and/or genitals or nausea-inducing medication administered with presentation of homoerotic stimuli); exorcism or ritual cleansing (e.g., beating the individual with a broomstick while reading holy verses or burning the individual’s head, back, and palms); force-feeding or food deprivation; forced nudity; behavioural conditioning (e.g., being forced to dress or walk in a particular way); isolation (sometimes for long periods of time, which may include solitary confinement or being kept from interacting with the outside world); verbal abuse; humiliation; hypnosis; hospital confinement; beatings; and “corrective” rape. Conversion therapy appears to be performed widely by health professionals, including medical doctors, psychiatrists, psychologists, sexologists, and therapists. It is also conducted by spiritual leaders, religious practitioners, traditional healers, and community or family members. Conversion therapy is undertaken both in contexts under state control, e.g., hospitals, schools, and juvenile detention facilities, as well as in private settings like homes, religious institutions,  or youth camps and retreats. In some countries, conversion therapy is imposed by the order or instructions of public officials, judges, or the police. The practice is undertaken with both adults and minors who may be lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, or gender diverse. Parents are also known to send their children back to their country of origin to receive it. The practice supports the belief that non-heterosexual orientations are deviations from the norm, reflecting a disease, disorder, or sin. The practitioner conveys the message that heterosexuality is the normal and healthy sexual orientation and gender identity. The purpose of this medico-legal statement is to provide legal experts, adjudicators, health care professionals, and policy makers, among others, with an understanding of: 1) the lack of medical and scientific validity of conversion therapy; 2) the likely physical and psychological consequences of undergoing conversion therapy; and 3) whether, based on these effects, conversion therapy constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or torture when individuals are subjected to it forcibly2 or without their consent. This medico-legal statement also addresses the responsibility of states in regulating this practice, the ethical implications of offering or performing it, and the role that health professionals and medical and mental health organisations should play with regards to this practice. Definitions of conversion therapy vary. Some include any attempt to change, suppress, or divert an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression. This medico-legal statement only addresses those practices that practitioners believe can effect a genuine change in an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Acts of physical and psychological violence or discrimination that aim solely to inflict pain and suffering or punish individuals due to their sexual orientation or gender identity, are not addressed, but are wholly condemned. This medico-legal statement follows along the lines of our previous publications on Anal Examinations in Cases of Alleged Homosexuality1 and on Forced Virginity Testing.2 In those statements, we opposed attempts to minimise the severity of physical and psychological pain and suffering caused by these examinations by qualifying them as medical in nature. There is no medical justification for inflicting on individuals torture or other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. In addition, these statements reaffirmed that health professionals should take no role in attempting to control sexuality and knowingly or unknowingly supporting state-sponsored policing and punishing of individuals based on their sexual orientation or gender identity.

scholarly journals “Conversion Therapy” Experiences in Their Social Contexts: A Qualitative Study of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Change Efforts in Canada: Les expériences de “thérapie de conversion” dans leur contexte social: une étude qualitative des efforts de changement de l’orientation sexuelle, de l’identité de genre et de l’expression de genre au Canada

2021 ◽  
pp. 070674372110304
Author(s):  
David J. Kinitz ◽  
Trevor Goodyear ◽  
Elisabeth Dromer ◽  
Dionne Gesink ◽  
Olivier Ferlatte ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Conversion Therapy ◽  
Expression Change ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Change Efforts

Objective: To describe in what forms, with whom, where, when, and why Canadians experience sexual orientation and gender identity and expression change efforts (SOGIECE). Methods: This qualitative study is grounded in a transformative paradigm. We conducted semi-structured interviews with a purposive sample of 22 adults recruited from across Canada who have experienced “conversion therapy.” Directed content analysis was used, employing deductive and inductive coding approaches, to synthesize the findings and address 5 policy-relevant questions. Results: What are SOGIECE? Formal and informal methods of SOGIECE were used, including pharmacologic interventions, denial of gender-affirming care, and coaching to repress sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression. With whom did SOGIECE occur? Practitioners included religious leaders, licenced health-care professionals (e.g., psychiatrists and psychologists), peers, and family members. Where did SOGIECE occur? SOGIECE occurred in 3 predominant settings: faith-based, health care, and social life. When did SOGIECE occur? SOGIECE rarely occurred over a restricted time frame; often, SOGIECE began while participants were adolescents or young adults and continued multiple years under various forms. Others described SOGIECE as a context in which their life was embedded for many years. Why did people attend SOGIECE? Cisheteronormative social and religious expectations taught participants that being non-cisgender or non-heterosexual was incompatible with living a good and respectable life. Conclusions: SOGIECE are not a circumscribed set of practices. Our study shows that SOGIECE are a larger phenomenon that consists of intentional and explicit change efforts as well as heterosexual- and cisgender-dominant social norms expressed and enforced across a wide range of settings and circumstances. This study provides critical context to inform contemporary social and health policy responses to SOGIECE. Policies should account for the overt, covert, and insidious ways that SOGIECE operate in order to effectively promote safety, equity, and health for sexually diverse and gender-diverse people.

scholarly journals Perceptions of Spirituality and Spiritual Care of Health Professionals Working in a State Hospital

Religions ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 312
Author(s):  
Kerem Toker ◽  
Fadime Çınar
Keyword(s):  
State Hospital ◽  
Spiritual Care ◽  
Health Professionals ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Recovery Process ◽  
Spiritual Needs ◽  
Care Needs ◽  
Scale Scores ◽  
Specific Care ◽  
The Individual

Background: The determination and fulfillment of the spiritual needs of the individual in times of crisis can be realized by the health care professionals having the knowledge and skills to provide individual-specific care. This research was conducted to determine the perceptions of health professionals about spirituality and spiritual care. Methods: The study of 197 health professionals working in a state hospital was performed. This study is a descriptive study which was conducted between December 2017 and January 2018. Data in the form of an “Introductory Information Form” and “Spirituality and Spiritual Care Grading Scale” was collected. In the analysis of the data, the Mann–Whitney U test, Kruskal–Wallis tests, frequency as percentage, and scale scores as mean and standard deviation were used. Results: It was determined that 45.7% of the health professionals were trained in spiritual care, but that they were unable to meet their patients’ spiritual care needs due to the intensive work environment and personnel insufficiency. The total score averaged by the health professionals on the spirituality and spiritual care grading scales was 52.13 ± 10.13. Conclusions: The findings of the research show that health professionals are inadequate in spiritual care initiatives and that their knowledge levels are not at the desired level. With in-service trainings and efforts to address these deficiencies, spiritual care initiatives can be made part of the recovery process.

scholarly journals Experiences with sexual orientation and gender identity conversion therapy practices among sexual minority men in Canada, 2019–2020

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (6) ◽  
pp. e0252539
Author(s):  
Travis Salway ◽  
Stephen Juwono ◽  
Ben Klassen ◽  
Olivier Ferlatte ◽  
Aidan Ablona ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Ethnic Minorities ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Conversion Therapy ◽  
Gender Minority ◽  
Sexual And Gender Minority ◽  
Minority Men ◽  
And Gender ◽  
Racial Ethnic

Background “Conversion therapy” practices (CTP) are organized and sustained efforts to avoid the adoption of non-heterosexual sexual orientations and/or of gender identities not assigned at birth. Few data are available to inform the contemporary prevalence of CTP. The aim of this study is to quantify the prevalence of CTP among Canadian sexual and gender minority men, including details regarding the setting, age of initiation, and duration of CTP exposure. Methods Sexual and gender minority men, including transmen and non-binary individuals, aged ≥ 15, living in Canada were recruited via social media and networking applications and websites, November 2019—February 2020. Participants provided demographic data and detailed information about their experiences with CTP. Results 21% of respondents (N = 9,214) indicated that they or any person with authority (e.g., parent, caregiver) ever tried to change their sexual orientation or gender identity, and 10% had experienced CTP. CTP experience was highest among non-binary (20%) and transgender respondents (19%), those aged 15–19 years (13%), immigrants (15%), and racial/ethnic minorities (11–22%, with variability by identity). Among the n = 910 participants who experienced CTP, most experienced CTP in religious/faith-based settings (67%) or licensed healthcare provider offices (20%). 72% of those who experienced CTP first attended before the age of 20 years, 24% attended for one year or longer, and 31% attended more than five sessions. Interpretation CTP remains prevalent in Canada and is most prevalent among younger cohorts, transgender people, immigrants, and racial/ethnic minorities. Legislation, policy, and education are needed that target both religious and healthcare settings.

scholarly journals Transgender identity and cryptorchidism: A case study

Salud Mental ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 42 (1) ◽  
pp. 51-57
Author(s):  
Tania Real Quintanar ◽  
Rebeca Robles García ◽  
María Elena Medina-Mora ◽  
Juan Carlos Jorge ◽  
Lucía Vázquez Pérez
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Psychological Treatment ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Treatment Needs ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Specialized Care ◽  
Present Case Study

Introduction. There is a wide range of possible combinations in relation to sex at birth, gender identity, and sexual orientations. Specific medical and psychological treatment needs may also vary depending on these combinations. Objective. In order to promote interventions that focus on the perceived needs of those directly involved, the aim of the present case study is to describe the clinical and life experiences of a 43-year old transgender woman with cryptorchidism and examine the interplay between this relative common testicular problem at birth, gender identity, and sexual orientation formation processes from her own perspective. Method. An in-depth interview was conducted at a specialized care centre in Mexico City, Mexico. The interview was audio recorded and transcribed for a content analysis. Results. The case under analysis was assigned to the male sex and identified herself as a transgender woman and lesbian. Although it is not possible to conclude that her gender identity or sexual orientation is related to her antecedent of cryptorchidism, as she reflected on her related negative experiences, she concluded that her gender identity and sexual orientation trajectories, as well as her life in general, would have been completely different if there were no clinical interventions in her early development. Discussion and conclusion. The present case could have been benefited from not receiving early treatment for her cryptorchidism. There is an urgent need for the development of standardized protocols or algorithms for physical and mental health care professionals, which focus on supportive guidance rather than adjustment to parental and medical expectations.

Psychiatry, psychotherapy and the criminalisation of ‘conversion therapy’ in Australia

2021 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 409-411
Author(s):  
Patrick Parkinson AM ◽  
Philip Morris AM
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Health Care ◽  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Mental Health Care ◽  
Psychiatric Practice ◽  
Conversion Therapy

Objective: To examine laws in three Australian jurisdictions that prohibit therapy to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Conclusions: The laws in Victoria and the ACT provide inadequate protection for clinically appropriate psychiatric practice and may deprive patients of mental health care.

Erasing Workers’ Identities: Comment on Blanck, Hyseni, and Altunkol Wise’s National Study of the Legal Profession

2021 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 71-75
Author(s):  
Ryan H. Nelson ◽  
Michael Ashley Stein
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Gender Identity ◽  
Legal Profession ◽  
National Study ◽  
Workplace Diversity ◽  
Disability Rights ◽  
Additional Work ◽  
Lgbtq Rights ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Equity And Inclusion

“Bring your whole self to work” remains a common mantra of supporters of workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (“DEI”).1 For example, disability rights advocates have long contended that hiding or downplaying one’s disability from one’s colleagues at work “create[s] an invisible layer of additional work for the individual” in being accepted at the job and negatively affects productivity.2 LGBTQ+ rights advocates have raised similar points, noting that hiding or downplaying one’s sexual orientation or gender identity from one’s colleagues hinders internal advancement of LGBTQ+ workers.3 As recently as 2019, however, a Deloitte study found that sixty-one percent of workers hid or downplayed one or more of their identities from their colleagues at work.4

scholarly journals Sexual Orientation Change Efforts and VBP

2020 ◽  
pp. 331-339
Author(s):  
Taryn Knox
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Mutual Respect ◽  
Conversion Therapy ◽  
Dominant Ideology ◽  
Orientation Change ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Change Efforts

AbstractAccording to VBP, to determine whether an individual ought to be able to choose to have safe, effective and truly consensual sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE—also known as conversion therapy), the legitimate values—values compatible with mutual respect—of the individual involved and other affected parties need to be considered. Fulford suggests that homophobic values are incompatible with mutual respect, which suggests that SOCE should not be available. This chapter argues that certain homophobic values may be compatible with mutual respect. Hence, in certain circumstances, VBP could allow safe, effective and truly consensual SOCE to go ahead. This could be considered to be a weakness of VBP. However, VBP should be applauded for considering the values of all involved, including those who make choices for themselves that do not align with the dominant ideology of a society.

scholarly journals Sexual identity or religious freedom: could conversion therapy ever be morally permissible in limited urgent situations?

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owen M. Bradfield
Keyword(s):  
Sexual Orientation ◽  
Social Context ◽  
Sexual Identity ◽  
Religious Freedom ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Australian Capital Territory ◽  
Conversion Therapy ◽  
Australian Capital ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Harmful Effects

AbstractConversion therapy refers to a range of unscientific, discredited and harmful heterosexist practices that attempt to re-align an individual’s sexual orientation, usually from non-heterosexual to heterosexual. In Australia, the state of Victoria recently joined Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory in criminalising conversion therapy. Although many other jurisdictions have also introduced legislation banning conversion therapy, it persists in over 60 countries. Children are particularly vulnerable to the harmful effects of conversion therapy, which can include coercion, rejection, isolation and blame. However, if new biotechnologies create safe and effective conversion therapies, the question posed here is whether it would ever be morally permissible to use them. In addressing this question, we need to closely examine the individual’s circumstances and the prevailing social context in which conversion therapy is employed. I argue that, even in a sexually unjust world, conversion therapy may be morally permissible if it were the only safe and effective means of relieving intense anguish and dysphoria for the individual. The person providing the conversion therapy must be qualified, sufficiently independent from any religious organisation and must provide conversion therapy in a way that is positively affirming of the individual and their existing sexuality.

scholarly journals Anal Examinations in Cases of Alleged Homosexuality

2018 ◽  
Vol 26 (2) ◽  
pp. 7
Author(s):  
Djordje Alempijevic ◽  
Rusudan Beriashvili ◽  
Jonathan Beynon ◽  
Ana Deutsch ◽  
Maximo Duque ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Informed Consent ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Scientific Evidence ◽  
Anal Intercourse ◽  
Psychological Consequences ◽  
Legal Statement ◽  
Law Enforcement Officials ◽  
Homosexual Activity ◽  
Degrading Treatment

Anal examinations are forcibly conducted in many countries where consensual anal intercourse is considered a criminal act. They are conducted almost exclusively on males in an effort to “prove” that they are “homosexuals” despite the fact that anal intercourse is not a necessary determinant of “homosexual activity.” Forcibly conducted anal examinations are usually initiated at the request of law enforcement officials, the prosecutor, or the court and conducted in the absence of informed consent or in circumstances where individuals are not capable of giving genuine informed consent or where refusal to give consent would be interpreted as self-incrimination. This may be presumed to be the case when examinations are conducted on individuals in detention, subsequent to allegations of criminalised sexual acts by the authorities. The purpose of this medico-legal statement is to provide legal experts, adjudicators, health care professionals, and policymakers, among others, with an understanding of: 1) the validity of forcibly conducted anal examinations as medical and scientific evidence of consensual anal intercourse; 2) the likely physical and psychological consequences of forcibly conducted anal examinations; and 3) whether, based on these effects, forcibly conducted anal examination constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or torture.

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