CONVERSION THERAPY;
a practice that is used to change someone’s sexual identity or
sometimes gender identity. This has been discredited and is
widely known to be harmful and ineffective. Some right wing
politicians and un-informed people believe and encourage
conversion therapy, which has been shown to create severe
mental health issues such as self-harm, substance abuse and
suicide. Conversion therapy has been made fun of in movies like
But I’m a Cheerleader and is thought of as a thing of the past. It’s
often referred to as barbaric due to the use of shock therapy.
However, in 45 states, there are actually no laws whatsoever that
prohibit this dangerous practice by mental health practitioners
(MAP). In 45 states it is completely legal to provide conversion
therapy to those who have been coerced into this dangerous
practice. Often, adults may be coerced into conversion therapy
with the allusive promise that their family will accept them or they
will finally feel unconditional love. Also in these 45 states, parents
can subject children, who are unable to properly consent, to this
treatment. According to the National Center for Lesbian Rights, a
famous case in conversion therapy came about when a child
named Kirk Murphy who underwent conversion therapy in the
1970s eventually killed himself at the age of 38 (“The Facts about
Conversion Therapy”). As of 2016, conversion therapy is still
being practiced and LGBT youth and adults are still killing
themselves as a direct result of this harmful practice.
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