The Council of Europe’s Commissioner for Human Rights, Dunja Mijatovic, denounced this Wednesday that “conversion therapies” are still being used in European countries to change sexual orientation and enforce heterosexuality.
In a report, Mijatovic urged Council of Europe member states to end “conversion therapies”.
Therapies can be performed in a variety of ways, such as electroshock, hormone medication, or exorcism rituals.
“These interventions are still practiced in Europe, often legally and usually under medical or religious pretext. is no longer tenable,” says Dunja Mijatovic in the report, quoted by AFP.
“In the European Union, it is estimated that 2% of LGBT people (lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender people) have experienced such practices and 5% have received conversion proposals, but the actual numbers could be much higher,” he added. up to it.
According to the most recent data available in the UK, around a fifth of LGBT people have experienced conversion practices, and transgender people are disproportionately targeted by such interventions, he warned.
“I am also particularly concerned about the findings that children and young people worldwide are at a much higher risk of being subjected to these” practicescreased.
“Conversion therapies” can cause depression, anxiety, self-loathing or suicidal thoughts, the Council of Europe’s human rights commissioner reminded.
However, Dunja Mijatovic noted a “recent trend” to ban such methods in Europe.
Malta was the first European country to ban them in 2016, and other countries have also tackled this problem, such as Germany, Greece, Albania or France.
Bills are being considered in several countries to ban these methods.
While Mijatovic acknowledges these efforts, the Commissioner is urging Member States to take a “human rights-based approach to eradicating these practices”.
In particular, it calls for the introduction of “precise and enforceable prohibitions” to send a “strong signal to society” and bring the perpetrators of these acts to justice.
Headquartered in Strasbourg, the Council of Europe was founded in 1949 and now has 46 members, including the 27 member states of the European Union.
Source: DN
