Following a vote in the national legislature, France took a major step towards banning the discredited practice of conversion therapy.
France’s National Assembly, the lower house of its parliament, voted unanimously on Tuesday to pass Bill 673, which will fine medical professionals caught administering conversion therapy.
The law provides for 2 years in prison or a fine of 30,000 euros. The legislation defines these treatments as “practices, behaviors, or words aiming to modify or repress” a patient’s “sexual orientation or identity.” The law inflicts even harsher penalties for therapists and other providers who offer conversion therapy to minors: three years imprisonment and a fine of €45,000 ($51,968).
Legislator Laurence Vanceunebrock tweeted on Tuesday: “Today in the National Assembly, we continue protecting our children”.
Advocates and lawmakers took to social media to celebrate the vote and thank Vanceunebrock under the hashtag #RienÀGuérir, which translates to “Nothing to Cure.” LGBTQ+ groups called it a “major victory” and a good “first step.” If passed by the French Senate, the ban could potentially be enshrined in law as soon as February 2022.
Conversion therapy is widely opposed by international health and human rights organizations, including the World Health Organization, World Psychiatric Association, and the United Nations, many of which have equated the process to torture.
Despite overwhelming evidence of the practice’s harm, just a handful of countries currently ban conversion therapy – Germany that prohibited such practice in 2020, and 20 U.S states. Countries that are currently taking action against these treatments, Taiwan, Malta, and Ecuador.
Source: them.us
