Activists in search of universal ban on "conversion therapy" frustrated by fundamental rights enshrined in law
WASHINGTON, DC, Aug 6 (C-Fam) For those seeking help with unwanted gay attraction, free speech and religious freedom laws are a barrier to proposed bans on the so-called " conversion therapy ”.
“We need to reveal where [conversion therapy] is happening and get rid of it,” Human Rights Watch's Neela Ghoshal said during a recent roundtable on Open Democracy.
“Because we are talking about laws that have an impact on the exercise of other rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of religion. . . Local lawmakers need to think very carefully about their constitutional obligations, ”Ghoshal warned.
The term "conversion therapy" is applied broadly, depending on the country and setting. Methods such as moral bullying, electroconvulsive therapy and other “aversion” therapies are increasingly discredited and condemned.
However, reputable therapy organizations and clinics offer counseling by licensed practitioners to help people with unwanted same-sex attraction. Practitioners engage in talk therapy using traditional therapeutic modalities, where goals are determined by the patient.
According to the website of the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity Task Force, as left-wing progressives dominate traditional universities and professional associations, the successes of "individuals who pursue and / or report improvement in their heterosexual functioning through psychotherapy ”are often“ marginalized or disabled ”. ”
"Sane clients have the right to explore, with the help of a supportive therapist, questions or issues in their lives that may worry or distress them and to participate in goal setting. and advice consistent with their own freely chosen personal goals
or religious values, ”says the Alliance website.
LGBT activists reject this right and push for a universal ban on all therapies aimed at treating same-sex attraction.
“We have to look very carefully at the. . . human rights framework, which the laws and protections allow us to do, ”said Ghoshal. “The prohibitions must be carefully targeted at the setting,” whether pastoral or therapeutic.
“In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, for the most part, government is not going to be part of the solution, so communities themselves are going to have to organize themselves and create the change they want to see,” Ghoshal said.
In the United States, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is a significant obstacle to a blanket ban.
In Florida, a federal court ruled that a law prohibiting therapists from engaging in conversion practices violated therapists' right to free speech.
To circumvent constitutional protections, activists are turning to alternative governing bodies. A North Dakota legislative committee recently approved a rule proposed by the Board of Social Work Examiners prohibiting social workers from engaging in "conversion" practices.
Representative Bernie Satrom expressed concern that this rule interferes with religious freedom. “We say to Christian counselors 'you can be a licensed counselor, but you cannot practice your Christianity,'” he said.
In the UK, where sexual orientation and faith are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010,
campaigners recognize that a total ban would face legal hurdles.
Benjamin Cohen of Pink News warned that local therapy bans would not be enough if people could travel for help. “Even if you ban it in one country, […] there must be a separate consideration of restricting the freedom of people to travel to another country.”
In the absence of a universal ban, activists agreed that comprehensive sex education, which normalizes homosexuality, would make it less likely that young people seek "conversion therapy."
“We need to reveal where [conversion therapy] is happening and get rid of it,” Human Rights Watch's Neela Ghoshal said during a recent roundtable on Open Democracy.
“Because we are talking about laws that have an impact on the exercise of other rights such as freedom of expression and freedom of religion. . . Local lawmakers need to think very carefully about their constitutional obligations, ”Ghoshal warned.
The term "conversion therapy" is applied broadly, depending on the country and setting. Methods such as moral bullying, electroconvulsive therapy and other “aversion” therapies are increasingly discredited and condemned.
However, reputable therapy organizations and clinics offer counseling by licensed practitioners to help people with unwanted same-sex attraction. Practitioners engage in talk therapy using traditional therapeutic modalities, where goals are determined by the patient.
According to the website of the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity Task Force, as left-wing progressives dominate traditional universities and professional associations, the successes of "individuals who pursue and / or report improvement in their heterosexual functioning through psychotherapy ”are often“ marginalized or disabled ”. ”
"Sane clients have the right to explore, with the help of a supportive therapist, questions or issues in their lives that may worry or distress them and to participate in goal setting. and advice consistent with their own freely chosen personal goals
or religious values, ”says the Alliance website.
LGBT activists reject this right and push for a universal ban on all therapies aimed at treating same-sex attraction.
“We have to look very carefully at the. . . human rights framework, which the laws and protections allow us to do, ”said Ghoshal. “The prohibitions must be carefully targeted at the setting,” whether pastoral or therapeutic.
“In Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania, for the most part, government is not going to be part of the solution, so communities themselves are going to have to organize themselves and create the change they want to see,” Ghoshal said.
In the United States, the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is a significant obstacle to a blanket ban.
In Florida, a federal court ruled that a law prohibiting therapists from engaging in conversion practices violated therapists' right to free speech.
To circumvent constitutional protections, activists are turning to alternative governing bodies. A North Dakota legislative committee recently approved a rule proposed by the Board of Social Work Examiners prohibiting social workers from engaging in "conversion" practices.
Representative Bernie Satrom expressed concern that this rule interferes with religious freedom. “We say to Christian counselors 'you can be a licensed counselor, but you cannot practice your Christianity,'” he said.
In the UK, where sexual orientation and faith are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010,
campaigners recognize that a total ban would face legal hurdles.
Benjamin Cohen of Pink News warned that local therapy bans would not be enough if people could travel for help. “Even if you ban it in one country, […] there must be a separate consideration of restricting the freedom of people to travel to another country.”
In the absence of a universal ban, activists agreed that comprehensive sex education, which normalizes homosexuality, would make it less likely that young people seek "conversion therapy."
C-FAM
By Alexis I. Fragosa, Esq.
https://c-fam.org/friday_fax/des-militants-en-quete-dune-interdiction-universelle-de-la-therapie-de-conversion-frustres-par-les-droits-fondamentaux-inscrits-dans-la-loi/
By Alexis I. Fragosa, Esq.
https://c-fam.org/friday_fax/des-militants-en-quete-dune-interdiction-universelle-de-la-therapie-de-conversion-frustres-par-les-droits-fondamentaux-inscrits-dans-la-loi/
