Put an end to the "conversion therapies" that are hostile to human rights
In contrast to many neighboring countries, “conversion therapies” are still legal and tolerated in Switzerland. A practice that seriously violates the fundamental and human rights of LGBTIQ + people and should be banned as soon as possible.
Muriel Waeger, co-manager of the lesbian organization Switzerland LOS and manager of Pink Cross in western Switzerland
The term "conversion therapies" stands for different practices. What they all have in common is the belief that people's sexual orientation and gender identity can and must be changed. These practices aim - or at least pretend - to convert gay, lesbian or bisexual people into heterosexual people and trans and genderqueer people into cisgender people.
The "conversion therapies" are based on the false medical assumption that LGBTIQ + people are sick and need to be cured. However, as health professionals have been emphasizing for years, these practices cause great suffering and cause enormous harm to those affected. According to the independent UN expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, these "therapies" can in some cases even be viewed as torture: In a report from 2020 he emphasizes that this practice is psychological and Can cause physical trauma with severe consequences and violate human rights. The damage that can be caused by the pseudo-treatments includes a significant loss of self-esteem, fear, depressive states, social isolation, relationship difficulties, self-hatred, shame, feelings of guilt, sexual dysfunction, suicidal thoughts and attempts as well as symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorders.
France recently passed a bill banning “conversion therapies”. They have also already been banned in Germany, Austria and Malta. Numerous countries are following this path - so why not Switzerland too? At the federal level, various initiatives from all political camps were submitted to ban "conversion therapies": The first interpellation on this was five years ago. So far the Federal Council has rejected all proposals; with the reference that he had no knowledge of such practices in Switzerland and that a ban was therefore not necessary. In fact, such "therapies" are also practiced in Switzerland and, under the guise of other diagnoses, are sometimes even paid for by health insurances. Aside from the numerous media-effective cases in recent years, estimates by Pink Cross and LOS (umbrella organizations for lesbian, bisexual, queer and gay people in Switzerland) suggest that around 14,000 people living in Switzerland have been victims of these traumatizing methods.
The ban on these practices will come: In Switzerland, the canton of Geneva was the first to speak out in favor of a legal ban on "conversion therapies". Around ten other cantons are doing the same and will soon decide on appropriate initiatives. The federal government is lagging behind these developments, but will soon have to follow suit. On the one hand, due to new parliamentary initiatives that the Federal Council has to deal with. On the other hand, because of increasing international pressure: Switzerland is already serving as a refuge for German and Austrian organizations that carry out "conversion therapies" and that have been banned from these practices in their country.
It is only a matter of time before “conversion therapies” are banned in Switzerland. But until then, young people in particular, who are particularly vulnerable in times of questioning or coming out, remain at risk. Until the Federal Council takes the problem seriously, part of the LGBTIQ + community will continue to suffer from the use of these anti-human rights practices - and will bear the consequences for the rest of their lives.
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Marianne Aeberhard
Head of project access to law / manager
humanrights.ch
