Opinion: Senator Fintan Warield

Conversion Therapy

In 2014, Edward McCann and Danika Sharek from TCD and UCD published a survey of LGBT+ experiences in Ireland’s mental health services in the International Journal of Mental Health Nursing. One element of their survey addressed negative experiences, with 29 per cent reporting a negative reaction when they disclosed their LGBT identity, 21 per cent reporting comments that their identity was “just a phase”, and 13 per cent receiving advice that their orientation could be changed to heterosexual.

On April 25, introduced the Prohibition of Conversion Therapies Bill 2018, an attempt to ban ‘conversion therapy’, defined as any practice or treatment, by any person, that seeks to change, suppress and, or eliminate a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. If enacted, it would be unlawful for any person to perform, offer to perform, advertise, or remove someone from the State for the purposes of conversion therapy, making it the most comprehensive ban in the world. In banning this practice, Ireland would join Malta, Ecuador, ten US states and two Canadian provinces.

Last September a Brazilian judge approved gay conversion therapy, thus overturning a decision in 1999 that forbade any treatment that claimed to cure gay people. Speaking from a protest on the streets of Sao Paulo, LGBT+ activist Carlos Daniel said: “This decision wasn’t something small. These types of thoughts are what get us killed here in Brazil every day. We are dehumanised and treated like objects. We have to show everyone that we exist and that the future is ours.”

The acceleration of turmoil and hate in a fractured world is of grave concern. We need to ensure that Ireland responds accordingly. That is, to focus on building a model, progressive, rights-based republic; one which represents a beacon of hope for people everywhere and a champion for peace.

We must also ensure that anyone who comes to Ireland is respected and that their contribution to the diversity of this island is valued. It was heartbreaking to hear a young Brazilian in a Facebook video recorded at a Pentecostal church in Inchicore, speak about the process through which he has rejected homosexuality, only to be applauded and encouraged by the congregation.

I believe that the prohibition of ‘conversion therapy’ in Ireland will help to affirm the identities of those who are struggling with their sexuality. It will also deter others from interventions rooted in fear and prejudice. What this bill intends to do, is to ensure that people who are distressed by their sexual orientation or identity are only offered interventions that accept and support that person for who they are.