Ottawa (November 29, 2021) - Today, No Conversion Canada applauds the introduction of Bill C-4 (An Act to Amend the Criminal Code - Conversion Therapy) by the government to ban conversion practices and protect LGBTQ2+ Canadians from abuse. Bill C-4 is the fourth piece of federal legislation brought forward to outlaw conversion practices and is the most comprehensive legislation to date, with significant improvements over its predecessor Bill C-6.
Conversion “therapy” or conversion practices (also known as “reparative therapy”, “reintegrative therapy” or “aversion therapy”) are any treatment, practice, or sustained effort that has the effect of denying, repressing, discouraging or changing a person’s non-heterosexual sexual orientation, non-cisgender gender identity or gender expression, or any behaviours associated with a gender other than the person’s sex assigned at birth.
Conversion practices are not based in scientific evidence, are widely discredited by major medical and health associations, are proven to cause serious harm such as depression, anxiety, internalized shame and stigma, PTSD and suicide ideation and have been described as a form of torture by the United Nations Independent Expert on Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity, the International Council on the Rehabilitation of Torture Victims and OutRight Action International.
"It is high time that LGBTQ2+ people across Canada are protected from the dangers and death-dealing effects of conversion “therapy” practices. Despite the setback of the 62 MPs' decision to not protect the welfare of LGBTQ2+ persons by opposing Bill C-6 earlier this year, I am relieved that the Canadian government is taking steps to ensure that Canadians will no longer be subject to the abuse that are conversion “therapy" practices” said Lucas Wilson, survivor and Sessional Lecturer at the University of Toronto.
Earlier this month over 100 LGBTQ2+, healthcare, human rights, academic, faith, labour and civil society organizations from across Canada united in support of a Community Call to Action to call on Parliament to ban conversion practices and support survivors with clear recommendations. Today’s legislation confirms that many of these requests by survivors and experts were adopted. As a result, Bill C-4 is a stronger, more comprehensive bill.
“We are pleased to see this strong legislation introduced, that has adopted many of the requests from survivors and community for a more comprehensive ban on these barbaric practices” said Nicholas Schiavo, Executive Director of No Conversion Canada. “It is critical that Parliament pass a complete ban on conversion practices - that are proven to be fraudulent and dangerous - so that all LGBTQ2+ Canadians are protected from abuse. We look forward to working with survivors and all Parliamentarians to see it through”.
Data from June 2021 shows that as many as one in ten (10%) gay, bi, trans, and queer men and Two-Spirit and non-binary people in Canada have experienced conversion practices. Of particular concern, the data shows that 67% experienced conversion “therapy” practices in religious/faith-based settings, and 72% started conversion “therapy” practices before the age of 20.
Conversion practices have been denounced for being dangerous and traumatic by more than 60 leading medical, health, and human rights organizations, including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, Amnesty International, the Canadian Psychiatric Association, Canadian Association of Social Workers, the Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health, the Professional order of sexologists of Quebec, and the American Medical Association, among many others.
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No Conversion Canada is a national, nonpartisan, grassroots organization and registered nonprofit dedicated to ending conversion “therapy”/ conversion practices. We work directly with survivors of conversion practices, the LGBTQ2+ community, civil society organizations, medical professionals, academics and policymakers to raise awareness about conversion practices in Canada, develop comprehensive legislation to outlaw this abuse at all levels of government and develop fulsome survivor supports to foster healing. More information about the organization can be found on our website: www.noconversioncanada.com.
For More Information:
Nicholas Schiavo
Executive Director, No Conversion Canada
613-323-0205
noconversioncanada@gmail.com
Resources and Research
No Conversion Canada Community Call to Action (November 2021)
Conversion therapy in Canada: A guide for legislative action (MacEwan University)
Experiences with sexual orientation and gender identity conversion therapy practices among sexual minority men in Canada, 2019-2020 (PLoS One, 2021)
"Conversion Therapy" Experiences in Their Social Contexts: A Qualitative Study of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Change Efforts in Canada (Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, 2021)
Geographic Distribution of Conversion Therapy in Canada (Amrit Tiwana, Simon Fraser University, April 2021)
Homophobia, conversion therapy, and care models for trans youth: defending the gender affirmative approach (Journal of LGBT Youth, 2019)
"They Want You to Kill Your Inner Queer but Somehow Leave the Human Alive": Delineating the Impacts of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Change Efforts (Journal of Sex Research, 2021)
Corriger Nos Pratiques : Les Approches Thérapeutiques Pour Intervenir Auprès Des Enfants Trans Examinées Dans Une Perspective Juridique (Florence Ashley, University of Toronto, 2021)
Ending Conversion Therapy in Canada: Survivors, Community Leaders, Researchers, and Allies Address the Current and Future States of Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity and Expression Change Efforts (Centre for Gender & Sexual Health Equity, February 2020)
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