Talk:Conversion therapy/Lead

Conversion therapy, also known as reparative therapy, reintegrative therapy, or reorientation therapy,^[1] is a pseudoscientific practice,^[2] which aims to change either the sexual orientation of non-heterosexual persons to heterosexuality (sexual orientation change efforts or SOCE), or the gender identity of persons from transgender to cisgender (gender identity change efforts or GICE).^[3]

There is a global consensus among the scientific, medical, psychological, psychiatric, and pediatric communities that conversion therapy is both ineffective and harmful,^[4][5][6] causing depression, psychological distress, psychological trauma, substance abuse, suicide, and other harms to persons,^[7] and socioeconomic costs to society as a whole,^[8] and, further, that being lesbian, gay, or bisexual are all positive and normal variations of human sexual orientation,^[9] and also that being transgender is a positive and normal variation of human gender identity.^[10] The practices that comprise conversion therapy are widely acknowledged by the scientific community as ineffective and discredited.^[11] In addition, conversion therapy has been shown to cause harm to the subjects, with people undergoing it experiencing higher rates of psychological distress, depression, substance abuse and suicide attempts.^[12]

Conversion therapy is often both promoted and perpetrated on persons by individuals and institutions affiliated with religions,^[13] particularly Abrahamic religions,^[14] which believe that heterosexuality should be the only sexual orientation and that cisgender should be the only gender identity, which causes religious trauma and moral injury to persons.^[15] Conversion therapy often consists of methods that involve, but are not limited to, talk therapy, aversion therapy, brain surgery, chemical castration, surgical castration, hypnosis, psychoanalysis, corrective rape, exorcism, prayer, and various other forms of religious practices, which are perpetrated on persons.^[16]

Conversion therapy can constitute cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in violation of the civil rights and the human rights of persons.^[17] Conversion therapy perpetrated on children can constitute child abuse.^[18][19] Conversion therapy advertised and offered on a commercial basis can constitute fraud.^[20] The United Nations has condemned conversion therapy as a form of torture under international law and has called for a global ban on conversion therapy.^[21][22] A rapidly increasing number of legal jurisdictions in the free world have passed bans on conversion therapy.^[23][24]