Joining a handful of other nations, Canada has announced a ban on conversion therapy, a pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The Canadian government passed a bill that makes it a crime to subject people of any age to the despicable practice became law after the parliament passed the measure this month.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, “It’s official: Our government’s legislation banning the despicable and degrading practice of conversion therapy has received Royal Assent — meaning it is now law. LGBTQ2 Canadians, we’ll always stand up for you and your rights.”
Canada is the latest country to join the global effort to eradicate conversion therapy, a debunked treatment that includes religious counseling to electric shock therapy. The therapy has been associated with “severe psychological distress.”
The United States, Germany, Malta, Ecuador, Brazil, and Taiwan are a few other nations that have already banned the treatment.
The Movement Advancement Project (MAP) says in the United States, 20 states and the District of Columbia have restrictions in place for minors. Florida, Alabama and Georgia are in a federal judicial circuit with an injunction that blocks conversion therapy bans.
Founded in 2006, the MAP is an independent, nonprofit think tank that provides rigorous research, insight and communications that help speed equality and opportunity for all.
France’s Senate voted in favor of the bill this week, which would also criminalize conversion therapy, with imprisonment and fines up to $50,000.
In 2019, the American Medical Association (AMA) called for a ban on conversion therapy, stating it “has no foundation as scientifically valid medical care and lacks credible evidence to support its efficacy or safety.”
In 2020, the United Nations called for an international ban on the practice. It released a detailed report on the global implications of the practice.
The report said, “The attempts to pathologize and erase the identity of individuals, negate their existence as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or gender diverse and provoke self-loathing have profound consequences on their physical and psychological integrity and well-being.”
No Conversion Canada (NCC) tweeted this week, “To the survivors who have fought for years for a safer, more equal future: thank you and congratulations. This is your moment.” NCC is a nonprofit, grassroots coalition dedicated to ending conversion therapy in Canada.
