THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF CONVERSION THERAPY
What are conversion camps?
Conversion camps are these places that believe that they have the power to change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity using many dangerous methods. This means that they would try to take someone who is lesbian gay or bisexual and turn them straight, or they would take someone who is transgender or non-binary and try to turn them cisgender. Sometimes they would also try to change someone’s gender expression or try to make them act more stereotypically feminine or masculine.
Do conversion camps work?
No. Not at all. Conversion therapy is based on the assumption that being LGBTQ+ is a mental illness that can be cured. Those assumptions were proven very wrong by several medical studies that showed that being LGBTQ+ is just a normal part of human nature. Not to mention no scientific or medical study has ever supported the claims that conversion therapy can actually change a person’s sexual orientation. In fact, A 2009 report by an American Psychological Association Task Force found that “results of scientifically valid research indicate that it is unlikely that individuals will be able to
reduce same-sex attractions or increase other-sex sexual attractions through [sexual orientation change efforts].” Therefore proving that conversion camps are ineffective.
Is conversion therapy harmful?
Yes. Conversion therapy is strongly associated with negative mental health outcomes and greater rates of attempting suicide. In fact, the American Journal of Public Health found that “LGBTQ youth who underwent conversion therapy were more than twice as likely to report having attempted suicide and more than 2.5 times as likely to report multiple suicide attempts in the past year.” That is why conversion therapy is very opposed by several medical associations. The American Psychological Association Task Force found that conversion therapy, in addition to being ineffective, can have a wide range of harmful side effects to participants, including, shame, guilt, hopelessness, loss of faith, increased self-hatred, feeling dehumanized, depression, increased substance abuse, and increased risk of suicide.
Is this still happening?
Unfortunately, conversion therapy is still legal in 30 states across the United States. But California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Utah, Virginia, Vermont, Washington, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico all have laws put in place to protect youth from these harmful practices.
More facts about the effects of conversion therapy.
Rates of attempted suicide by LGBTQ+ young people who were sent to conversion therapy were more than double the rate of LGBTQ+ young adults who reported no conversion experiences.
Suicide attempts nearly tripled for LGBTQ+ young people who reported both home-based and out-of-home efforts to change their sexual orientation.
High levels of depression more than doubled for LGBTQ+ young people whose parents tried to change their sexual orientation compared with those who reported no conversion experiences and more than tripled for LGBTQ+ young people who reported both home-based and out-of-home efforts to change their sexual orientation.
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