This protects both adults and minors from conversion therapy to change their sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression. In the same year in India, the Madras High Court issued directives to prohibit conversion therapy in India, along with other sweeping reforms to respect LGBTQ+ rights.Ĭonversion therapy bans for minors were already in place across several Canadian territories but in December 2021, Canada’s House of Commons voted unanimously for a federal ban. In 2021, Chile introduced a medical ban, with a bill under discussion that would ban conversion therapy in all settings. And since 2013, bans of varying forms have been implemented across 20 states, two territories, and multiple local counties or municipalities in the United States. In 2020, Queensland State in Australia made conversion therapy in healthcare settings a criminal offence, followed by Victoria, which banned conversion therapy in all settings in 2021. In Spain, Murcia has implemented a ban on registered health professionals practising conversion therapy, and Madrid, Valencia, Andalusia and Aragon all introduced criminal bans in 2017 that would apply to conversion therapy in all settings.
When it comes to provinces, regions and territories, Spain and Australia continue to make progress. In 2020, Germany banned conversion therapy for minors, as well as protecting adults undergoing conversion therapy because of force, fraud or pressure. Several countries have introduced criminal bans for those found to be practising conversion therapy, including Ecuadorin 2014 and Malta in 2016.
In Argentina in 2010, and Uruguayin 2017, mental health laws implemented a ban on conversion therapy on the basis of both sexual orientation and gender identity. Fiji followed suit in 2010, followed by Taiwanin 2018 – with the latter introducing a criminal ban for health practitioners. Jumping ahead to 2007, Samoa passed a law stating that people cannot be considered ‘mentally ill’ because of their sexual orientation, preventing registered health professionals from practising conversion therapy. Starting in 1999, Brazilintroduced a trailblazing ban on conversion therapy relating to sexual orientation – the first conversion therapy ban in the world! Their ban came through the Federal Council of Psychology, and it was extended to cover gender identity as well as sexual orientation in 2018. In this article, we’ll look at where conversion therapy is banned, and what those bans look like. In fact, there are 14 countries with some form of national ban on conversion therapy, and many other states, cities and provinces have introduced legislation to protect their citizens. Homosexuality is not illegal in the Muslim majority country, but it has been a controversial issue recently.Īn LGBT group was banned from holding meetings at the University of Indonesia in January, and last year, the province of Aceh, which practices sharia law, implemented caning for those caught having gay sex.Īn LGBT activist who goes by the name Hartoyo told AFP the emoji ban was another case of the government cracking down on the LGBT community.News Blog Health & social care International Law & crime The UK Government committed to banning conversion therapy in England and Wales in 2018, yet nearly four years have passed without a ban.īut across the world, many places already have bans in place. "LINE regrets the incidents of some stickers which are considered sensitive by many people," the messaging app said in a statement.Īccording to Quartz, LINE, which is a Japanese and Korean company, has over 600 million users worldwide with at least 30 million in Indonesia. "Those things might be considered normal in some Western countries, while in Indonesia it's practically impossible," he said.ĪFP reported that LINE Indonesia already removed the emojis. "Such contents are not allowed in Indonesia based on our cultural law and the religious norms and the operators must respect that," said a spokesman for the Communication and Information Ministry in an interview with the French news agency, adding that the emojis could appeal to children. The emojis in question are found on messaging apps like LINE, Whatsapp, Facebook, Tinder and smartphones and show members of the same sex holding hands. The Indonesian government wants instant messaging apps to remove all same-sex emojis or be banned from the country.