The effectiveness of US bans on anti-LGBTQ ‘conversion therapy’ has been called into question after mental health professionals recommended by a prominent US religious conservative group offered to “remedy” an undercover reporter’s “unwanted same-sex attraction”.
Some 20 US states have introduced bans on ‘conversion therapy’ for minors – but an undercover investigation by openDemocracy found that two counsellors operating in states where the practice is prohibited advised a reporter posing as a 17-year-old lesbian to “suppress” her orientation, including by fasting.
The counsellors were described as offering treatment for “homosexuality issues” and “gender identity issues” on a US-wide list provided by Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian group that is pursuing similar anti-LGBTQ activities in Costa Rica, where its Latin America office is located, our investigation reveals.
