France could make conversion therapy illegal as soon as February 2022

France’s parliament has unanimously backed a ban on conversion therapy in the country, bringing it one step closer to outlawing the practice.

Lawmakers in the country voted on Bill 673 on 5 October, which would see medical officials administering conversion therapy imprisoned for two years or fined €30,000.

Therapists and other providers offering it to minors will face three years in prison and an even harsher fine of €45,000, as well as doctors being given a potential 10-year ban from practicing.

Conversion therapy is described in the legislation as “practices, behaviors, or words aiming to modify or repress” a patient’s “sexual orientation or identity.”

France’s National Assembly, the lower house of its parliament, passed the bill in a unanimous vote.

It will now move to the upper house for debate and, if passed by the French Senate, could be written into law as soon as February 2022.

“Conversion therapies are deplorable,” concurred Minister of Solidarity and Health Olivier Veran writes on Twitter. “They cause terrible suffering.”

Shortly after the vote, the hashtag #RienÀGuérir (translating to “Nothing to Cure”) was widely circulated on Twitter in celebration of the move.

Conversion therapy has been widely condemned by health experts, with some comparing it to torture.

Among these are the World Health Organisation, World Psychiatric Association and the United Nations.

Victor Madrigal-Borloz, an independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity at the UN, last year said a global ban on conversion therapy is needed.

“The combined effects of feeling powerless and extreme humiliation generate profound feelings of shame, guilt, self-disgust and worthlessness, which can result in a damaged self-concept and enduring personality changes,” he added in a report to the UN Human Rights Council.

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