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. Simply put, it is abuse.

Conversion “therapy” is harmful.

Conversion “therapy” is a false belief that diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or gender expressions are wrong, invalid, abnormal, undesirable or simply illnesses that can be cured. These harmful practices are abusive prey on the LGBTQ2+ community - in particular LGBTQ2+ children and youth. Conversion practices can include individual talk therapy, behavioural or aversion therapy, group therapy treatments, medical or drug-induced treatments, which attempt to change someone’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. Conversion “therapy” cannot and does not change sexual orientation or gender identity, it is not effective. It has devastating impacts on its victims including anxiety, depression, self-hatred, suicide or suicidal thoughts and many other psychological and social issues.

All conversion practices are inherently fraudulent, dangerous and proven to cause harm to their victims. Conversion therapy is opposed by more than 50 professional associations including the Canadian Association of Social Workers, Canadian Psychiatric Association, Canadian Professional Association for Transgender Health, Canadian Psychological Association, College of Registered Psychotherapists of Ontario, Ordre des travailleurs sociaux et thérapeutes conjugaux et familiaux du Québec as well as the United Nations, World Health Organization, the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims and Amnesty International, many, many more.

Conversion “therapy” happens in canada.

Many Canadians are shocked to learn that conversion “therapy” is still legal and still happening in Canada today.

Today, despite the overwhelming consensus of medical and health professionals, conversion therapy is still widely endorsed by some faith leaders, cultural and religious communities and families under different guises. According to data from June 2021, as many as one in ten (10%) gay, bi, trans, and queer men and Two-Spirit and non-binary Canadians have experienced conversion practices. Of particular concern, the data finds that 72% started conversion therapy before the age of 20.

In 2019, Trans Pulse Canada launched a national survey - the first of its kind to look specifically at the state of trans and non-binary communities in Canada. Preliminary findings from the report show that a staggering 11% of the 2,033 trans and non-binary people surveyed have undergone conversion “therapy” in an attempt to make them cisgender.

While several states and countries around the world have stepped up to ban conversion therapy with criminal legislation, Canada does not have any federal ban on these harmful practices. While some jurisdictions in Canada have taken the first step by banning medical billing or business licences for conversion practices, these bans do not prevent it from happening. It’s clear a federal ban criminalizing conversion “therapy” is needed.