The European Commission has announced its intention to encourage all European Union member states to ban gay “conversion therapy.” This initiative aligns with the upcoming Brussels Pride festival and follows a public campaign to prohibit the practice. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen stated that “conversion practices” have “no place in our Union.”
Since taking office in 2019, the EU executive has made protecting the rights of LGBTQ+ individuals a priority. A 2024 survey by the EU’s Agency for Fundamental Rights revealed that one in four LGBTQ+ individuals reported experiencing this discredited practice. Reports were notably high in Greece, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, and Slovakia.
This decision comes in response to a petition signed by over one million EU citizens advocating for a binding legal ban on conversion practices. Currently, only 10 of the 27 EU nations have fully or partially outlawed conversion therapy.
Malta was the first country to prohibit such practices in 2016, followed by France, which introduced penalties for individuals attempting to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ+ individuals.
“Conversion practices are built on a lie, the lie that LGBTQ+ people need to be fixed, that there is something wrong with who they are. And there is, of course, nothing to fix, there is nothing to cure, and there is no one to change,” said Hadja Lahbib, the European commissioner for equality. “You cannot torture away a person’s identity, and you cannot legislate it away. And yet these practices continue, unfortunately.” Tens of thousands are expected to march across Brussels on Saturday, the institutional heart of the EU, as the city holds its 30th annual parade for LGBTQ+ rights and culture.
This article used information from The Associated Press.
