At a pride rally over the weekend, Victorian premier Daniel Andrews announced that VIC will become the first Australian state to ban gay conversion therapy.
In a Twitter post, Andrews called out the controversial practice as being “bigoted quackery” that “destroys lives”.
Over the weekend, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that Victoria will become the first Aussie state to make conversion therapy illegal.
“Gay, bi and trans people don’t need to be ‘cured’ – because there’s absolutely nothing wrong with them. And if you think otherwise, maybe there’s something wrong with you,” Andrews said.
“It’s not LGBTI people who need to change. It’s our laws.”
Conversion Therapy is the practice of trying to change an individual’s sexual orientation from homosexual or bisexual to heterosexual by using psychological or spiritual interventions.
For years now, the LGBTIQ community has spoken out about the dangers of practices like these, though now, following nine months of investigation, science supports them.
“What we learned from the inquiry from the brave people who trusted us with their stories was that the trauma suffered by people who have been subjected to the practice can be deep and all-consuming, even many years after the conversion therapy ‘treatment’ has ceased,” Health Complaints Commissioner Karen Cusack says.
Going forward, the government will also discuss the idea of funding counselling and support services for survivors of conversion therapy.
Via Pedestrian.
