Conversion “therapy” practices create and/or exacerbate multiple adverse health and social outcomes negatively impacting the health and wellbeing of our communities.
In 2021 the Canadian federal government passed legislation (Bill C-4) officially criminalizing the practice and promotion of conversion "therapy", sending a powerful message acknowledging the harms survivors experienced and condemning efforts to change, deny, or suppress the sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression of 2S/LGBTQIA+ people. The law, which came into effect on January 7, 2022, followed efforts at the provincial and municipal levels to ban these practices.
While the criminal prohibition of conversion “therapy” represents a critical step in addressing its most visible forms, these discredited and harmful practices persist across the country, threatening our communities.
A whole-of-government approach is needed—not only to end conversion practices but also to support survivors and our communities in times when anti-2S/LGBTQIA+ rhetoric is on the rise.
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