* This presentation was originally recorded in English. Closed captioning is available in both English and French.
Sexual orientation and gender identity-expression change efforts (SOGIECE)—often referred to as conversion therapy (CT)—are practices that seriously harm LGBTQ2S+ people who experience subtle or blatant pressures and messages to deny, suppress, or change their sexual orientation and/or gender identity-expression. Canada is seeing a wave of efforts at federal and local levels to ban conversion therapy, but they too often do not include the voices of those who have, and are, being harmed. In addition, there is little in the way of support and resources for survivors to aid in their recovery. This session will focus on the experiences and voices of survivors, starting with reports on two Canadian research projects, followed by a group of survivors sharing the barriers and challenges faced in recovering from SOGICE/CT, discussing the resources needed for recovering and healing, and briefly addressing the effectiveness of conversion therapy bans. The session will close with a live panel Q&A time.
Participants:
Liz Dromer (University of Ottawa), Jordan Sullivan (CBRC), Matt Ashcroft (No Conversion Canada), Daniel Bartholomew-Poyser, Ian Easter, Erika Muse (York University), Jules Sherred. Moderator: Michael Kwag (CBRC)
