Conversion therapies, Europe accelerates the ban however stays divided | EUROtoday

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They name them “accompaniment paths”, “healing paths”, “spiritual support”. In actuality, conversion therapies are practices aimed toward altering, repressing or suppressing an individual’s sexual orientation, gender identification or expression. The United Nations has subsequently repeatedly labeled them as inhuman and degrading remedy. Yet, in Europe, the regulatory framework stays uneven: alongside international locations that explicitly ban them, others nonetheless do not need an natural ban.

The situation returned to the middle of the continental debate after, on the finish of January 2026, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe permitted a decision inviting member states to introduce a complete legislative ban. The textual content requires a ban on all types of conversion therapies, to strengthen assist companies for survivors, to ascertain monitoring and knowledge assortment techniques and to advertise consciousness campaigns on the injury brought on by these practices.

According to ILGA Europe, which supported the necessity for coordinated intervention, the essential level is to incorporate within the ban additionally practices introduced as “consensual”, since consent might be obtained in contexts of robust household, spiritual or social stress.

And give

The latest proof comes from the LGBTIQ III survey (2023) of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA), analyzed in ILGA Europe’s “Intersections 2.0” stories. The image is fragmented: the prevalence of conversion therapies varies considerably between Member States (along with Albania, North Macedonia and Serbia). However, one factor is widespread throughout the continent: trans, non-binary and intersex individuals report considerably larger publicity than cisgender endosex individuals.

Practices additionally not often take the type of medical therapies acknowledged in public well being techniques. More typically they manifest themselves as spiritual retreats, intensive non secular paths, pseudo-psychological counseling, “chastity” packages or repeated household pressures, with the intention of bringing the individual again to a heterosexual mannequin and conforming to the gender assigned at start.