Poli Savvy: Canadian government to finally ban conversion therapy

On Monday, the federal government introduced new legislation that would amend the Criminal Code and ban conversion therapy.

The practice is currently illegal in Nova Scotia, Manitoba and Ontario, but the Liberals are looking into a nationwide ban.

For anyone who isn’t familiar with it, conversion therapy is not your typical type of therapy; which brings important resources to people struggling with mental health issues (with an extra box of kleenex, in some cases). No, dear, this one is a bit more extreme.

Conversion therapy aims to **hold my drink while I scream into a pillow** change homosexual individuals and eventually turn them into perfect heterosexual members of society.

Yes, those exist and they have actually been associated with depression, suicidal thoughts, suicidal attempts rather than with… “success.” In Canada alone, instead of successfully turning gay people straight… one third of men who have undergone conversion therapy have attempted suicide.

Truthfully, it can be scary to not fully understand what our sexual preferences are, or what it means, or even if it’s supposed to mean anything. Figuring things out is already complicated and hard enough without having to fear being forced to undergo physical and emotional trauma that is dubbed legal because of backwards thinking.

Believe me when I say I’m emphasizing every single word: this cannot be treated as a mental health issue. There is simply no “turning back to normal” option and anyone claiming the opposite is setting a dangerous precedent.

In fact, in 1973, the American Psychiatric Association declared that homosexuality was not a mental illness or sickness. Now, almost 50 years later, the Criminal Code itself needs to be amended to make sure that this fact is respected. The federal government doesn’t have a good reputation these days, but this new legislation would be more than welcome and for once, all three opposition parties seem to be on board, according to CBC News.

 

Graphic by @sundaghost

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