No ban yet on ‘gay healing’: victims of conversion therapy need patience

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“At the age of 14, I was convinced that my attraction to men was wrong, but that I could be cured,” says Andreas Keller * (38). The man, who grew up in an evangelical free church, does not want to read his real name in the newspaper for fear of homophobic hostility. As a teenager he underwent conversion therapy. Ten years in total. Football and salsa lessons were supposed to cure him.

If Parliament has its way, such conversion therapies should be banned. But not now. On Tuesday, the National Council rejected two professional initiatives from the cantons of Basel-Stadt and Lucerne. In doing so, he followed the Council of States, which rejected both the professional initiatives and a motion from the Legal Commission of the National Council calling for a ban.

Parliament wants to wait for a report

Before taking a decision, the National Council and the Council of States want to wait for a report from the Federal Council, which is intended to clarify “the questions asked”, for example “on the definition of the disapproved behavior, the group people covered, the level of responsible state and also the comparison with what is already in force. The report should be available in the summer.

So those affected must be patient. Conversion therapies can be traumatizing. Self-proclaimed “healers” often work with those affected who feel guilty, which can drive young people, especially young people, into psychological crises, including depression and suicide. “I know someone who jumped from the roof of a house and is now paralyzed,” says Keller. “There are very tragic cases.”

“Violation of human rights”

“Conversion measures constitute a violation of human rights,” said Udo Rauchfleisch, emeritus professor of clinical psychology at the University of Basel. The consequences are often significant trauma with severe depression, anxiety, shame and guilt. The Association of Swiss Psychotherapists (ASP) also wants the therapies to be banned in Switzerland.

Andreas Keller stopped his own therapy at the age of 27. He’s doing well today, Keller says. His homosexuality was accepted by those around him – at work and in his private life. But he hopes that by banning polarity reversal therapies, other young people will be spared such traumatizing experiences.

* Name changed

Source:Blick