Gay conversion therapy outlawed in Australia’s Queensland in boost for LGBT rights

Health care professionals could now face 18 months in jail for attempting to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation, under the new law

Worldwide, several countries have partially or fully outlawed gay conversion therapy, including Malta, Brazil and Germany

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Queensland has become the first state in Australia to criminalise so-called gay conversion therapy. Photo: DPA

Published: 7:42pm, 13 Aug 2020Updated: 7:42pm, 13 Aug 2020

Queensland has become the first state in Australia to criminalise so-called gay conversion therapy after regional lawmakers voted on Thursday to make the practice illegal.

Under the new law, health care professionals could face up to 18 months in jail for attempting to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity using practices such as aversion therapy, hypnotherapy and psychoanalysis.

“The ban sends a clear message to Queenslanders that conversion therapy is harmful in all contexts,” said Peter Black, president of the Queensland Council for LGBTI Health.

“It is important that there are penalties for this dangerous and discredited practice. There continues to be a need for education and further research on the harms of conversion therapies, as well as support for survivors of conversion therapies.”

Moves around the world to outlaw conversion therapy, which involves attempting to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, have gathered pace in recent months.