Legality of sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts
Map of jurisdictions that have bans on sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts with minors as of September 2024.
Criminal prohibition against conversion therapy on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity
Only medical professionals are banned from performing conversion therapy
No ban on conversion therapy
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity.[1] As of December 2023, twenty-eight countries have bans on conversion therapy, fourteen of them ban the practice by any person: Belgium,[2] Canada, Cyprus, Ecuador, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Malta, Mexico, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Spain; seven ban its practice by medical professionals only: Albania, Brazil, Chile, India, Israel, Taiwan and Vietnam; another seven, named Argentina, Fiji, Nauru, Paraguay, Samoa, Switzerland and Uruguay, have indirect bans in that diagnoses based solely on sexual orientation or gender identity are banned without specifically banning conversion therapy, this effectively amounts to a ban on health professionals since they would not generally engage in therapy without a diagnosis. In addition, some jurisdictions within Australia, the Philippines and the United States also ban conversion therapy.[citation needed] In South Africa, the case law has found conversion therapy to be unlawful.[3][4] Bills banning conversion therapy are being considered in Austria, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and Poland,[3] while bills restricting conversion therapy are being considered in Denmark, Italy, Japan, Sweden and Thailand.[citation needed] At a supranational level, the European Union is considering banning conversion therapy across its Member States, while an ongoing citizens' initiative started collecting signatures in May 2024 also calling on the European Commission to outlaw such practices. [5][6]
Practice by medical professionals banned: Albania's national psychological association banned its members from practising conversion therapy in 2020.[7]
Diagnosis by medical professionals banned: Since 2010, no diagnosis can be made in the field of mental health on the exclusive basis of "sexual choice or identity".[8] The ban only applies to registered health professionals.
Banned in three states and the Capital Territory: Conversion therapy has been a criminal offence in Queensland since August 2020. Banned in Victoria since February 2021.[9] The ACT law banning conversion therapy went into effect on 4 March 2021.[10] New South Wales banned conversion therapy on 22 March 2024.[11]
In 2021, the Premier of Western Australia announced his intention to ban conversion therapy by healthcare practitioners.[12][13] In 2023, the government of Tasmania announced its intention to ban conversion therapy.
Nationwide ban proposed: In July 2022, the Justice Ministry confirmed it was preparing a draft bill to ban conversion therapy, following unanimous motions of the National Council calling on it to do so.[14][15]
Nationwide ban: On 20 July 2023, Parliament approved a law that bans conversion practices, defined as "any practice consisting of or including physical intervention or the application of psychological pressure, which the perpetrator or victim believes or claims is intended to repress or to alter a person's sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, whether that characteristic is actually present or merely assumed by the perpetrator." Punishment range from imprisonment of 8 days to 2 years and/or a fine of 208 to 2400 euros, and a professional ban up to 5 years.[16]
Practice by medical professionals banned: In 1999, the Federal Council of Psychology issued two provisions which state that "psychologists shall not collaborate in events or services offering treatment and cure for homosexuality", and that "psychologists will neither pronounce nor participate in public speeches, in the mass media, reinforcing social prejudice related to homosexuals as pursuing any kind of psychological disorder".[17] Brazil thus became the first country in the world to ban conversion therapy.[18] In 2013, the Commission for Human Rights of Brazil's lower house of Congress, headed by Marco Feliciano, an evangelical Christian preacher,[19] approved legislation that would nullify the council's provisions and legalize conversion therapy.[18] After strong public objection in the wave of the 2013 protests in Brazil, the bill was voted down by the National Congress.[20][21] In September 2017, a federal judge in Brasília approved the use of conversion therapy by a psychologist to "cure" people of homosexuality, overruling the 1999 decision.[22] However, in December 2017, the same judge changed his decision, keeping the "treatment" banned.[23] In January 2018, the Federal Psychology Council established norms of performance for psychologists in relation to transgender and transvestite people, also banning any conversion therapy.[24] A criminal ban has been proposed in the federal district, Brasilia.
Nationwide ban: Conversion therapy is illegal for both adults and minors under the Criminal Code. The ban took effect on 7 January 2022, 30 days after Bill C-4 received royal assent.[25] Prior to the federal prohibition, it was banned in the province of Manitoba (since 2015),[26][27] for minors in Ontario (since 2015),[28] for minors (though allowed for "mature minors" between the ages of 16 and 18 if they consent) in Nova Scotia (since 2018),[29][30] for minors in Prince Edward Island (since 2020),[31] in Quebec (since 2020),[32] the territory of Yukon (since 2020),[33] and numerous municipalities including Vancouver (since 2018),[34]Edmonton (since 2019),[35] and Calgary (since 2020).[36]
On 23 September 2020. Bill C-6 was introduced by the government in the House of Commons, it would have prohibited performing conversion therapy on a child, forcing someone to undergo conversion therapy against their will, advertising or materially benefiting from conversion therapy, and removing a child from Canada to perform conversion therapy.[37] On 22 June 2021, it passed the lower house (263 to 63), and was sent to the Senate.[38] However the Senate failed to pass the bill after some senators objected to the government's request to recall the chamber from its summer recess, so that the bill may have been considered before Parliament was dissolved for an expected snap election.[39] The election was called on 15 August and the bill died on the order paper.[40]
On 29 November, the re-elected government introduced a new version of the bill (C-4) for the 44th Parliament, which broadened the ban's coverage to include adults, and identified it as one of its priority bills it hoped to pass before the end of the year.[41] The bill passed the House of Commons on 1 December without a recorded vote after all parties unanimously agreed to expedite it, and likewise passed the Senate on 7 December.[42][43] The bill received royal assent on 8 December 2021, and came into effect on 7 January 2022.[25]
Practice by medical professionals banned: In March 2023, the Ministry of Health issues Circular B2 No. 6 instructing all individual and institutional health providers, both public and private, the prohibition of the implementation of "conversion therapies" for not be valid clinical practices. It also recognizes that diagnoses of mental health status cannot be based on criteria biasedly related to sexual orientation or gender identity and gender expression.[44]
Criminal ban proposed: Proposed criminal ban was approved by the Chilean Senate in 2021. The bill is currently being discussed in the Chamber of Deputies.[45]
Diagnosis by medical professionals banned: Law 21.331 on the Recognition and Protection of the Rights of People in Mental Health Care, enacted on 23 April 2021, states in its article 7: "The diagnosis of the state of mental health must be established as dictated by the clinical technique, considering biopsychosocial variables. It cannot be based on criteria related to the political, socioeconomic, cultural, racial or religious group of the person, nor to the identity or sexual orientation of the person, among others."[46][47][48]
In February 2016, the Chilean Ministry of Health expressed their opposition to conversion therapy. The statement said: "We consider that practices known as conversion therapies represent a grave threat to health and well-being, including the life, of the people who are affected."[49]
Nationwide ban: In Ecuador, the Government's view is that conversion therapy is proscribed by a 1999 law banning anti-gay discrimination.[51] In addition, Article 151 of the 2014 Penal Code prohibits conversion therapy, equating it to torture, and provides 10 years' imprisonment for those practicing it.[52]
In January 2012, the Ecuadorian Government raided three conversion therapy clinics in Quito, rescued dozens of women who were abused and tortured in an effort to "cure their homosexuality", and promised to shut down every such clinic in the country.[53] This action was the result of a 10-year campaign by Fundación Causana, an Ecuadorian activist group, which called attention to more than 200 illegal "ex-gay clinics" that were targeting lesbians and operating under the guise of being drug rehabilitation centers.[54][55][56]
Practice by medical professionals banned: The Mental Health Decree 2010 states that people are not to be considered mentally ill if they refuse or fail to express a particular sexual orientation, and prohibits any conversion therapy in the field of mental health.[57] The ban only applies to registered health professionals.
Nationwide ban proposed: A citizens' initiative calling for a ban was first brought before the Finnish parliament in 2021, but this initiative was allowed to lapse. After the election of 2023, a new initiative was proposed and the requisite 50,000 signatures collected in June 2023.[58]
Nationwide ban: On 7 December 2020, the French Senate approved a ban on conversion therapy by a vote of 305–28, France's National Assembly had passed a similar ban earlier.[59] The Senate version of the bill was adopted by the National Assembly on 25 January 2022, by a vote of 142–0, and was officially published on 1 February 2022.[60][61]
Nationwide ban: In 2008, the German Government declared itself completely opposed to conversion therapy.[62]
In February 2019, German Health Minister Jens Spahn said he will seek to ban conversion therapies that claim to change sexual orientation.[63]
The government banned conversion therapy for all minors in December 2019. Adult conversion therapy is only deemed illegal if consent was given due to "lack of will power" such as deceit or coercion. Psychotherapeutic and pastoral care "purposefully trying to influence one's sexual orientation" was also banned. The ban also applies to legal guardians "grossly violating their duty of care".[64] On 7 May 2020, German parliament Bundestag banned nationwide conversion therapy for minors until 18 years and forbids advertising of conversion therapy. It also forbids conversion therapy for adults, if they are decided by force, fraud or pressure.[65][66]
Nationwide ban: In May 2022, the Greek Parliament banned conversion therapy for minors. Conversion therapy for adults remains possible if they give their consent. Advertising is forbidden.[67]
Practice by medical professionals banned: On June 7, 2021, in an interim order for the case S Sushma v. Commissioner of Police, Justice N Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court issued a directive to the National Medical Commission and Indian Psychiatric Society. The directive aimed to prohibit any attempts by medical professionals to "cure" or alter an individual's sexual orientation to heterosexual or gender identity to cisgender. The court ordered that action be taken against professionals involved in any form or method of "conversion therapy," including revocation of their license to practice.[69][70]
In compliance with the high court's directives, on September 2, 2022, the National Medical Commission officially prohibited medical professionals from practicing conversion therapy. The commission further empowered State Medical Councils to take disciplinary action against medical professionals found to be providing "conversion therapy."[71][72]
Nationwide ban proposed: The Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018 had passed second reading in the Seanad Éireann (Irish Senate), but died when Parliament was dissolved ahead of the 2020 election.[73] The bill was reintroduced following the 2020 Irish general election.[74]
Practice by medical professionals banned: The Health Ministry banned medical professionals from conducting conversion therapy in February 2022.[76]
In October 2014, the Ministry of Health issued a statement announcing that it considers conversion therapy to "create false impressions of scientific recognition even though there is no scientific evidence that it is at all successful. It may also cause harm to the individual."[77]
In February 2016 and in March 2017, the Knesset rejected bills introduced by former Health Minister Yael German that would have banned conversion therapy in Israel for minors. The bills were rejected 37–45 and 26–38, respectively.[78] These efforts were blocked by Orthodox Jewish parties.[79]
In 2019, the Israel Medical Association decided to expel members who continue to practice conversion therapy.[80][79] However, as of 2020 conversion therapy continues to be widely offered by religious organizations such as Atzat Nefesh under the euphemism "therapy for reversed inclinations".[79]
In July 2020, a bill against conversion therapy passed the preliminary reading.[81] It later didn't succeed in its first reading.[76]
In 2013, the Lebanese Psychiatric Society stated that conversion therapy seeking to "convert" gays and bisexuals into straights has no scientific backing and asked health professionals to rely only on science when giving opinion and treatment in this matter.[82]
Legal and state-backed: In February 2017, the Malaysian Government endorsed conversion therapy, claiming homosexuality can be "cured" through extensive training.[83] In June 2017, the Health Ministry began a film competition to find the best way to "cure" and prevent homosexuality. The competition was later cancelled, following massive outrage.[84]
Nationwide ban: In December 2016, the Parliament of Malta unanimously approved the Affirmation of Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity and Gender Expression Act, becoming the first country in the European Union to ban conversion therapy.[85][86] The bill had been supported by the Malta Chamber of Psychologists, the Maltese Association of Psychiatry, the Malta Association for the Counselling Profession, and the Malta Association of Family Therapy and Systemic Practice.[87]
The Federal Penal Code sanctions anyone who practices or funds these therapies with prison, fine, or dismissal. The General Health Law establishes suspension for healthcare-related workers who practice or fund conversion therapy.
Practice by medical professionals banned: The Mentally-Disordered Persons (Amendment) Act 2016 states that people are not to be considered mentally disordered if they express or exhibit or refuse or fail to express a particular sexual preference or sexual orientation.[90] The ban only applies to registered health professionals.
Nationwide ban proposed: Organizations offering conversion therapy in the Netherlands are not eligible for subsidies.[91] In addition, since June 2012, conversion therapies have been blocked from coverage by healthcare insurance.[92] In February 2022, coalition parties VVD and D66 proposed to ban conversion therapy. Together with the opposition parties in favour of the proposal, there would be a majority supporting it.[93]
Nationwide ban: In August 2018, Justice Minister Andrew Little announced that a conversion therapy ban could be considered as part of a reform to the Human Rights Act 1993.[94] After this plan was voted down by coalition partners New Zealand First, the Labour Party announced in October 2020 it would definitively ban the practise if re-elected.[95]
In late July 2021, Justice Minister Kris Faafoi announced a proposed law banning conversion therapy.[96][97] The law was passed by parliament with 112 votes in favour and 8 against in February 2022.[98] Youth MP and activist, Shaneel Lal has led the movement to end conversion therapy in New Zealand.[99]
Criminal ban: In 2000, the Norwegian Psychiatric Association overwhelmingly voted for the position statement that "homosexuality is no disorder or illness, and can therefore not be subject to treatment. A 'treatment' with the only aim of changing sexual orientation from homosexual to heterosexual must be regarded as ethical malpractice, and should have no place in the health system".[100] On 12 December 2023, the Norwegian Parliament by a vote of 85-15 passed a law banning conversion therapy practices with sentences up to 6 years imprisonment for the most serious cases.[101]
Diagnosis by medical professionals banned: Article 3 of Law 7018 on Mental Health, enacted on 15 November 2022, establishes that: "In no case can a diagnosis be made in the field of mental health on the exclusive basis of sexual choice or identity."[102]
Practice by medical professionals banned: The Ministry of Health clarified that sexual orientation and gender identity are not diseases and thus they should not be subject to conversion therapies in May 2024, reiterating a 2021 technical document.[103][104]
Additionally, Article 9(3)(d) of Regional Ordinance No. 017-2008 (2008) of the Department of Apurímac prohibits forcing a person to undergo medical and/or psychological treatment in order to alter or modify their sexual orientation.
No ban: There is no ban on conversion therapy in Poland.[105][106][bettersourceneeded] A bill was drafted by politicians from the Nowoczesna party to ban it in 2019.[107][106] In 2020, Polish bishops issued a 27-page document about LGBT issues, which included a call for "clinics to help people who want to regain their natural sexual orientation".[108]
Criminal ban: On December 22, 2023, Parliament passed a law banning conversion therapy.[109]
Practice by medical professionals banned: In 2019, the regulatory Ordem dos Psicólogos affirmed that conversion therapy has no basis in science and that its members cannot perform it.[110] Criminal prohibition proposed and has passed first reading in Parliament.
Practice by medical professionals banned: The Mental Health Act 2007 states that people are not to be considered mentally ill if they refuse or fail to express a particular sexual orientation, and prohibits any conversion therapy in the field of mental health.[111] The ban only applies to registered health professionals.
The South African Society of Psychiatrists states that "there is no scientific evidence that reparative or conversion therapy is effective in changing a person's sexual orientation. There is, however, evidence that this type of therapy can be destructive".[112]
In February 2015, owners of a conversion therapy camp were found guilty of murder, child abuse and assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm after three teens were found dead at the camp. The teens were beaten with spades and rubber pipes, chained to their beds, not allowed to use the toilet at any time and forced to eat soap and their own feces, all with the aim of "curing" their homosexuality.[113]
Nationwide ban: Conversion therapy was banned nationwide by congress on 16 February 2023.[114] Conversion therapy had previously been banned in the autonomous communities of Murcia (since 2016),[115]Madrid (since 2017),[116]Valencia (since 2017),[117]Andalusia (since 2018),[118] and Aragon (since 2019).[119] The specifics vary by jurisdiction. For instance, in Murcia, the ban only applies to registered health professionals, but the Madrid ban applies to everyone including religious groups.
The Spanish Psychological Association states that there is no evidence to support conversion therapy. "On the contrary, there is evidence that conversion therapy leads to anxiety, depression and suicide".[120]
In April 2019, following an exposé of conversion therapy in Spain, the Spanish health minister Maria Luisa Carcedo said the Spanish government would consider legislating to stamp out the practice.[121] In February 2023, conversion therapy was banned nationwide.[122]
Practice by medical professionals banned: In Switzerland, it is unlawful for a medical professional to carry out conversion therapy. In 2016, the Swiss Federal Council wrote in response to a parliamentary interpellation that in its view, conversion therapies are "ineffective and cause significant suffering to young people subject to them", and would constitute a breach of professional duties on the part of any care professional undertaking them. As such, in the Government's view, any care professional undertaking such therapies is liable to be sanctioned by the cantonal authorities. Whether such therapies also constitute a criminal offense is to be determined by the criminal courts in the individual case, according to the Federal Council.[123]
Reports emerged in summer 2018 of a therapist claiming to be able to "cure" homosexuality through homoeopathy. He was promptly fired, and an investigation was opened with the Geneva Ministry of Health.[124] According to the Ministry, believing that homosexuality is an illness is sufficient enough to open an investigation. The Association des Médecins du Canton de Genève describes conversion therapy as a form of charlatanism.
In August 2022, the National Council's Legal Committee voted to call on the Federal Council to draft a law that would ban conversion therapy practices on minors and young adults.[125]
In May 2023, the canton of Neuchâtel became the first to pass a law banning conversion therapy,[126] while Valais followed in May 2024. Additionally the cantons of Bern, Basel-Stadt, Geneva, Fribourg,[127] and Vaud have debated banning conversion therapy in their Parliaments, with a bill to ban it in Vaud pending.[128]
Practice by medical professionals banned: On 13 May 2016, the Health Bureau of the Taichung City Government announced that medical institutions in Taichung are prohibited from engaging in conversion therapy. According to Shader Liu, a member of Taichung's Gender Equality Committee, any group—medical, civil or religious—that practices the treatment is violating the Taiwanese Physicians Act and Psychologists Act.[129] Regulations banning conversion therapy were expected to bypass Parliament in late January 2017 and take effect in March 2017.[130][131] According to the Physicians Act, doctors who engage in prohibited treatments are subject to fines of between NT$100,000 (US$3,095) to NT$500,000 (US$15,850) and may be suspended for one month to one year.[132] However, the proposed regulations were stalled by fierce resistance from anti-LGBT groups.[133]
Instead of pushing ahead legal amendments or new regulations, on 22 February 2018, the Ministry of Health and Welfare issued a letter to all local health authorities on the matter, which effectively banned conversion 'therapy'.[134] In the letter, the Ministry states that sexual orientation conversion is not regarded as a legitimate healthcare practice and that any individual performing the so-called therapy is liable to prosecution under the Criminal Code[zh] or the Protection of Children and Youths Welfare and Rights Act, depending on the circumstances.[135]
Legal and state-backed: Section 16 of the Anti-Homosexuality Act, 2023 gives Ugandan courts the power to force a person convicted of homosexuality to undergo "rehabilitation".[136][137]
Banned in 22 states, 2 territories, and local counties/municipalities:As of March2024[update], 22 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and some counties and municipalities in the United States have passed laws banning the practice of conversion therapy on minors.[138][139][140][141][142][143][144][145] It is also banned in major cities like Miami and Cincinnati.
Subsequently, legal challenges against New Jersey's and California's conversion therapy bans were filed. U.S. District Court Judge Freda L. Wolfson rejected the claim of New Jersey parents that it violated their rights by keeping them from treating their child for same-sex attraction. In Doe v. Christie, Wolfson wrote: "Surely, the fundamental rights of parents do not include the right to choose a specific medical or mental health treatment that the state has reasonably deemed harmful or ineffective. ... To find otherwise would create unimaginable and unintentional consequences." On 10 February 2015, a New Jersey Superior Court judge ruled that offering conversion services on the basis of a description of homosexuality as abnormal or a mental illness is a violation of the New Jersey Consumer Fraud Act.[146] The decision is "believed to be the first of its kind in the U.S."[146] On 29 August 2013, in the case of Pickup v. Brown and Welch v. Brown, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld California's ban.[147] In August 2016, the Ninth Circuit again upheld the state's ban, finding that legislation prohibiting conversion therapy is not unconstitutional.[148] The U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected challenges against conversion therapy bans.[149]
Opinion polls have found that conversion therapy bans enjoy popular support among the U.S. population. As of 2019[update], no nationwide opinion poll has been carried out, though surveys in three states (Florida, New Mexico and Virginia) show support varying between 60% and 75%. According to a 2014 national poll, only 8% of the U.S. population believed conversion therapies to be successful.[154]
Diagnosis by medical professionals banned: Adopted in 2017, the Ley de Salud Mental ("Mental Health Law") states that in no case a diagnosis can be made in the field of mental health on the exclusive basis of sexual orientation and gender identity.[155]
Practice by medical professionals banned: Circular No. 4132/BYT-PC, issued on 3 August 2022, stated that: "LGBTQ identity cannot be treated as a disease, while involuntary treatments are prohibited and mental health services can only be provided by experts on sexual orientation and gender identity."[156][157][158]
Legend:
= banned; = endorsed/no ban; = in some jurisdictions; = for minors; = bill proposed.
Although no national ban exists, several US states and individual counties ban therapy attempting to change sexual orientation as shown in the map below.
Map of U.S. states and counties that have bans on sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts with minors as of May 2024.
The table below lists, in chronological order, the United Nations member states that have explicitly prohibited and criminalized conversion therapy by law.
On 25 June 2015, a New Jersey jury found the Jewish conversion therapy organization JONAH guilty of consumer fraud in the case Ferguson v. JONAH for promising to be able to change its clients' sexual urges and determined its commercial practices to be unconscionable.[159]
In a 1997 U.S. case, the Ninth Circuit addressed conversion therapy in the context of an asylum application. A Russian citizen "had been apprehended by the Russian militia, registered at a clinic as a 'suspected lesbian', and forced to undergo treatment for lesbianism, such as 'sedative drugs' and hypnosis. ... The Ninth Circuit held that the conversion treatments to which Pitcherskaia had been subjected constituted mental and physical torture." The court rejected the argument that the treatments to which Pitcherskaia had been subjected did not constitute persecution because they had been intended to help her, not harm her, and stated "human rights laws cannot be sidestepped by simply couching actions that torture mentally or physically in benevolent terms such as 'curing' or 'treating' the victims".[160]
In 1993, the Superior Court of San Francisco's Family Court placed 15-year-old lesbian Lyn Duff under the guardianship of a foster couple after her mother committed her to Rivendell Psychiatric Center in West Jordan, Utah, where she allegedly endured physical abuse under the guise of conversion therapy. Lyn Duff's petition to leave her mother was granted without court opinion.[161][162][163][164]
Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have been used to this end include forms of brain surgery, surgical or chemical (hormonal) castration, aversion therapy treatments such as electric shocks, nausea-inducing drugs, hypnosis, counseling, spiritual interventions, visualization, psychoanalysis, and arousal reconditioning. There is a scientific consensus that conversion therapy is ineffective at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity and that it frequently causes significant long-term psychological harm. The position of current evidence-based medicine and clinical guidance is that homosexuality, bisexuality, and gender variance are natural and healthy aspects of human sexuality. An increasing number of jurisdictions around the world have passed laws against conversion therapy.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Chile have advanced significantly in the 21st century, and are now quite progressive.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in Ghana face severe challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ residents. Sexual acts between males have been illegal as "unnatural carnal knowledge" in Ghana since the colonial era. The majority of Ghana's population hold anti-LGBTQ sentiments. Physical and violent homophobic attacks against LGBTQ people occur, and are often encouraged by the media and religious and political leaders. At times, government officials, such as police, engage in such acts of violence. Young gay people are known to be disowned by their families and communities and evicted from their homes. Families often seek conversion therapy from religious groups when same-sex orientation or non-conforming gender identity is disclosed; such "therapy" is reported to be commonly administered in abusive and inhumane settings.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights in Spain rank among the highest in the world, having undergone significant advancements within recent decades. Among ancient Romans in Spain, sexual interaction between men was viewed as commonplace, but a law against homosexuality was promulgated by Christian emperors Constantius II and Constans, and Roman moral norms underwent significant changes leading up to the 4th century. Laws against sodomy were later established during the legislative period. They were first repealed from the Spanish Code in 1822, but changed again along with societal attitudes towards homosexuality during the Spanish Civil War and Francisco Franco's regime.
Canadian lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) rights are some of the most extensive in the world. Same-sex sexual activity, in private between consenting adults, was decriminalized in Canada on June 27, 1969, when the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1968–69 was brought into force upon royal assent. In a landmark decision in 1995, Egan v Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada held that sexual orientation is constitutionally protected under the equality clause of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. In 2005, Canada became the fourth country in the world, and the first in the Americas to legalize same-sex marriage. In 2022, Canada was the third country in the world, and the first in North America, that statutorily banned conversion therapy nationwide for both minors and adults.
The rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have developed significantly over time. Today, lesbian, gay and bisexual rights are considered to be advanced by international standards.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people in Puerto Rico have most of the same protections and rights as non-LGBT individuals. Public discussion and debate about sexual orientation and gender identity issues has increased, and some legal changes have been made. Supporters and opponents of legislation protecting the rights of LGBT persons can be found in both of the major political parties. Public opposition still exists due, in large part, to the strong influence of the Roman Catholic Church, as well as socially conservative Protestants. Puerto Rico has a great influence on the legal rights of LGBT citizens. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the commonwealth since July 2015, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case of Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex marriage bans are unconstitutional.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Michigan enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Michigan in June 2024 was ranked "the most welcoming U.S. state for LGBT individuals". Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Michigan under the U.S. Supreme Court case Lawrence v. Texas, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage was legalised in accordance with 2015's Obergefell v. Hodges decision. Discrimination on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity is unlawful since July 2022, was re-affirmed by the Michigan Supreme Court - under and by a 1976 statewide law, that explicitly bans discrimination "on the basis of sex". The Michigan Civil Rights Commission have also ensured that members of the LGBT community are not discriminated against and are protected in the eyes of the law since 2018 and also legally upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court in 2022. In March 2023, a bill passed the Michigan Legislature by a majority vote - to formally codify both "sexual orientation and gender identity" anti-discrimination protections embedded within Michigan legislation. Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed the bill on March 16, 2023. In 2024, Michigan repealed “the last ban on commercial surrogacy within the US” - for individuals and couples and reformed the parentage laws, that acknowledges same sex couples and their families with children.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Ohio enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Ohio since 1974, and same-sex marriage has been legally recognized since June 2015 as a result of Obergefell v. Hodges. Ohio statutes do not address discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal in 2020. In addition, a number of Ohio cities have passed anti-discrimination ordinances providing protections in housing and public accommodations. Conversion therapy is also banned in a number of cities. In December 2020, a federal judge invalidated a law banning sex changes on an individual's birth certificate within Ohio.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of West Virginia face legal challenges not faced by non-LGBT persons. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 1976, and same-sex marriage has been recognized since October 2014. West Virginia statutes do not address discrimination on account of sexual orientation or gender identity; however, the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County established that employment discrimination against LGBTQ people is illegal.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Minnesota have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. Minnesota became the first U.S. state to outlaw discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in 1993, protecting LGBTQ people from discrimination in the fields of employment, housing, and public accommodations. In 2013, the state legalized same-sex marriage, after a bill allowing such marriages was passed by the Minnesota Legislature and subsequently signed into law by Governor Mark Dayton. This followed a 2012 ballot measure in which voters rejected constitutionally banning same-sex marriage.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of New Jersey have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. LGBT individuals in New Jersey enjoy strong protections from discrimination, and have had the same marriage rights as heterosexual people since October 21, 2013.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Florida have federal protections, but many face legal difficulties on the state level that are not experienced by non-LGBT residents. Same-sex sexual activity became legal in the state after the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in Lawrence v. Texas on June 26, 2003, although the state legislature has not repealed its sodomy law. Same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since January 6, 2015. Discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations is outlawed following the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Bostock v. Clayton County. In addition, several cities and counties, comprising about 55 percent of Florida's population, have enacted anti-discrimination ordinances. These include Jacksonville, Miami, Tampa, Orlando, St. Petersburg, Tallahassee and West Palm Beach, among others. Conversion therapy is also banned in a number of cities in the state, mainly in the Miami metropolitan area, but has been struck down by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. In September 2023, Lake Worth Beach, Florida became an official "LGBT sanctuary city" to protect and defend LGBT rights.
The U.S. state of New York has generally been seen as socially liberal in regard to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ) rights. LGBT travel guide Queer in the World states, "The fabulosity of Gay New York is unrivaled on Earth, and queer culture seeps into every corner of its five boroughs". The advocacy movement for LGBT rights in the state has been dated as far back as 1969 during the Stonewall riots in New York City. Same-sex sexual activity between consenting adults has been legal since the New York v. Onofre case in 1980. Same-sex marriage has been legal statewide since 2011, with some cities recognizing domestic partnerships between same-sex couples since 1998. Discrimination protections in credit, housing, employment, education, and public accommodation have explicitly included sexual orientation since 2003 and gender identity or expression since 2019. Transgender people in the state legally do not have to undergo sex reassignment surgery to change their sex or gender on official documents since 2014. In addition, both conversion therapy on minors and the gay and trans panic defense have been banned since 2019. Since 2021, commercial surrogacy has been legally available within New York State. In 2024, the Constitution of New York was amended to explicitly ban discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Colorado enjoy the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity has been legal in Colorado since 1972. Same-sex marriage has been recognized since October 2014, and the state enacted civil unions in 2013, which provide some of the rights and benefits of marriage. State law also prohibits discrimination on account of sexual orientation and gender identity in employment, housing and public accommodations and the use of conversion therapy on minors. In July 2020, Colorado became the 11th U.S. state to abolish the gay panic defense.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Oregon have the same legal rights as non-LGBTQ people. Oregon became one of the first U.S. jurisdictions to decriminalize sodomy in 1972, and same-sex marriage has been legal in the state since May 2014 when a federal judge declared the state's ban on such marriages unconstitutional. Previously, same-sex couples could only access domestic partnerships, which guaranteed most of the rights of marriage. Additionally, same-sex couples are allowed to jointly adopt, and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in the areas of employment, housing and public accommodations is outlawed in the state under the Oregon Equality Act, enacted in 2008. Conversion therapy on minors is also illegal.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) people in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania enjoy most of the same rights as non-LGBTQ people. Same-sex sexual activity is legal in Pennsylvania. Same-sex couples and families headed by same-sex couples are eligible for all of the protections available to opposite-sex married couples. Pennsylvania was the final Mid-Atlantic state without same-sex marriage, indeed lacking any form of same-sex recognition law until its statutory ban was overturned on May 20, 2014.
The International Federation for Therapeutic and Counseling Choice (IFTCC) is a London-based organization that internationally lobbies governments and religious organizations to oppose bans on conversion therapy, the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change a person's sexual orientation or gender identity, which has condemned by medical organizations and human rights groups as "unethical, unscientific and ineffective and, in some instances, tantamount to torture."
This is a list of notable events in the history of LGBTQ rights taking place in the year 2023.
References
Notes
1 2 Prohibited by professional ethics associations.
↑ Gallardo Álvarez, Amanda (16 March 2022). "No hay nada que sanar: Ley chilena prohíbe las 'terapias de conversión sexual'" [There's nothing to cure: Chilean law prohibits 'conversion therapies']. Romántica (in Spanish). Ramón Gómez, encargado de Derechos Humanos del Movimiento de Liberación e Integración Homosexual, Movilh, explicó que además de las terapias, también declara ilegal cualquier diagnóstico basado en la orientación sexual del paciente.[Ramón Gómez, human rights director of the Movimiento de Liberación e Integración Homosexual, Movilh, explained that in addition to the therapies, it also declares illegal any diagnosis based on a patient's sexual orientation.]{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
↑ Kjær, Reider (2003). "Look to Norway? Gay Issues and Mental Health Across the Atlantic Ocean". Journal of Gay & Lesbian Psychotherapy. 7 (1/2): 55–73. doi:10.1300/J236v07n01_05. S2CID142840589.
↑ Mazurczak, Anna; Mrowicki, Marcin; Adamczewska-Stachura, Milena. Bodnar, Adam (ed.). "The legal situation of non-heterosexual and transsexual persons in Poland"(PDF). Bulletin of the Commissioner for Human Rights. The Principle of Equal Treatment. Law and Practice, no. 27. 2019 (6). Warsaw: Office of the Commissioner for Human Rights: 21. Retrieved 30 June 2022. LGBT patients are also exposed to inappropriate comments, degrading treatment and even attempts to "treat" them for their sexual orientation – gay conversion therapy is still practiced in Poland.
1 2 "LGBT Rights in Poland". Equaldex. 2022. No laws in place. As well there is still the attitude that homosexuality is a disease.{{cite web}}: Missing or empty |url= (help)
↑ Tilles, Daniel (30 August 2020). "Polish bishops call for 'clinics to help LGBT people regain natural sexual orientation'". Notes from Poland. Retrieved 30 June 2022. [The bishops] call for the creation of 'clinics to help people who want to regain their…natural sexual orientation'. Such 'conversion therapy' has been rejected by the established medical community as unethical and harmful, and has been completely or partially banned in a number of countries.
↑ 黃, 驛淵 (7 December 2017). 【獨家】反同攻進國發會公共平台 衛福部「禁性傾向扭轉」2度觸礁[[Exclusive] Anti-LGBT group attacks MoHW's proposed ban on sexual orientation conversion on National Development Council's Public Policy Online Participation Platform] (in Chinese). Retrieved 13 April 2018.
↑ "衛部醫字第1071660970號". Laws and Regulations Database of Taipei City. Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan. 22 February 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
↑ Mallory, Christy; Brown, Taylor; Conron, Kerith (January 2018). "Conversion Therapy and LGBT Youth"(PDF). The Williams Institute. Archived from the original(PDF) on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
↑ VnExpress. "'Đồng tính không phải bệnh và không thể chữa'"[Vietnam's Ministry of Health: Homosexualality is not a disease and it is incurable]. vnexpress.net (in Vietnamese). Retrieved 22 August 2022.
↑ Gans, Laura A. (Winter 1999), "Inverts, Perverts, and Converts: Sexual Orientation Conversion Therapy and Liability", The Boston University Public Interest Law Journal, 8
Ashley, Florence (2022). Banning Transgender Conversion Practices: A Legal and Policy Analysis. UBC Press. ISBN978-0-7748-6695-8.
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