There is hardly a topic that is discussed so much - especially within the community - as the "homo healings" or conversion therapies and their prohibition.
The canton of Bern in Switzerland is no exception in this regard. Now, once again, there is talk that the therapies should be banned nationwide. Because: The fact that this is an extremely homophobic, discriminatory and harmful procedure should be doubted by almost no one nowadays.
Several politicians in Bern against "homo cures
The Grand Council in the Canton of Bern has voted. A total of 90 votes were in favor of creating a directive to move forward with the ban on conversion therapies. In total, there were just over 50 votes against. It was particularly interesting in this context that the politicians and policy makers who spoke in favor of the ban came from a wide variety of parties. Even if they differed in many political goals, there seemed to be a broad consensus on this issue. Now the whole matter is to be handed over to the government council in Bern. Its task now is to draft an appropriate law.
The decision from Bern could be another piece of the puzzle on the way to a nationwide ban. The more voices that come forward, the greater the willingness to rethink, presumably. The canton of Bern joins a list with its vote. Basel-Stadt, Geneva and Neuchâtel, among others, have already decided that unworthy conversion therapies must come to an end.
However, since not all cantons in Switzerland are of this opinion(yet?), there are still small "loopholes". Often it is enough to drive to the neighboring canton to perform a "cure" "quite legally".
The pressure on politics increases
Many members of the LGBTQI+ community in Switzerland are of the opinion that the topic of "conversion therapies" has been treated stepmotherly and not taken seriously enough for far too long. With the decision from Bern, exactly that might have finally changed.
In addition, Switzerland or the corresponding cantons are repeatedly becoming a point of contact for people from countries where such therapies have long been banned. The fact that the country is lagging a little behind here in some ways is shown by the fact that since the beginning of the 1990s it has also been clear to the World Health Organization that homosexuality is not a disease. Accordingly, there is no need for therapy here.
It should also be mentioned in this context that, in the end, there is not even scientific evidence that a person's sexual orientation can be changed with therapy.
Why can conversion therapies put a strain on the psyche?
Conversion therapies can be very stressful for a person's psyche. The message "You are not all right and must be cured!"hovers over everything in a certain way. The result: many people simply no longer dare to stand by themselves. Often, those affected fall into a depression from which they cannot extricate themselves on their own.
Accordingly, conversion therapy is often followed by psychotherapy. However, the current decision from the canton of Bern shows that in the meantime also many politicians have rethought and realized that it is absolutely unnecessary to make life difficult for queers... Just because they are the way they are.