Background

Conversion practices are defined as any attempts to forcibly suppress or change a person's sexual orientation, gender identity, and/or expression (SOGIE). These harmful practices target LGBTQ+ people (i.e. lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and/or queer individuals), and undermine their autonomy and self-determination.

These so-called "reparative therapies", "gay cure", and "SOGIE change efforts" have no scientific basis and are rejected by psychologists, doctors, and related experts as a gross violation of human rights. All evidence clearly shows that being LGBTQ+ is a regular variation of our human diversity that needs to be affirmed, not changed.

Mental health professionals must unite against conversion practices

On April 20-21, 2023, the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) Sexuality and Gender Division, in collaboration with other mental health and human rights organisations, convened an initial meeting in Johannesburg to discuss advocacy efforts against conversion practices. This meeting was entitled, "Meeting of minds: The role of mental health practitioners and Associations in eradicating conversion practices in Africa".

The attendees were mental health practitioners, primarily from South Africa, Kenya, and Nigeria, with some representation from Uganda and Cameroon, too. Our purpose was to create a mutual learning space to share experiences about how best to (1) eradicate conversion practices among mental health providers in Africa, (2) offer affirmative therapy and counselling to survivors of conversion practices, (3) reinforce the evidence that conversion practices are harmful and unscientific.

A brief overview of the meeting, including its list of speakers, is available here. A key outcome of this gathering was the writing and signing of a historic declaration against conversion practices (in full below):

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The Johannesburg Declaration Against SOGIE Change Efforts and Conversion Practices

We, the undersigned mental health professionals from across Africa who attended the convening “Meeting of minds: The role of mental health practitioners and associations in eradicating conversion practices in Africa”, recognizing the historic and ongoing harm that some mental health professionals have committed, continue to commit, and/or are coerced into committing, regarding the use and endorsement of efforts to change people’s sexual orientation, gender identity and/or expression (SOGIE), through so-called reparative therapies and conversion practices more broadly, declare that any attempt to change a person’s SOGIE should have no place in professional mental health practices.

We declare that all efforts to change people’s SOGIE:     

• Are unnecessary, harmful and traumatic; 
• Are human rights abuses, forms of gender-based violence and, in some instances, torture;
• Are unscientific, not rooted in authoritative scholarly theories of sexuality and/or gender, and not proven to be efficacious;
• Are unethical and in breach of internationally accepted professional codes of ethics;
• Go against all contemporary and accepted best practices in mental healthcare; and
• Must be unequivocally rejected in the interests of human rights, health and wellbeing.

Developed at a convening of mental health professionals and allies hosted by the Psychological Society of South Africa (PsySSA) in Johannesburg, South Africa, during 20-21 April 2023.