For a ban on conversion practices
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 29 January 2026 (8th sitting) (see Doc. 16315, report of the Committee on Equality and Non-Discrimination,
rapporteur: Ms Kate Osborne). Text adopted
by the Assembly on 29 January 2026 (8th sitting).
1. Conversion practices, also referred
to as conversion therapies or reparative therapies, are all measures or
efforts aimed at changing, repressing or suppressing a person’s
sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression, based
on the false belief that such core aspects of a person’s identity
are pathological or undesirable, or somehow able to change.
2. These practices, aimed at promoting heterosexual attraction
or aligning a person’s gender identity with their sex assigned at
birth, include psychological or behavioural counselling, spiritual
and religious rituals, aversion methods, as well as verbal abuse,
coercion, isolation, forced medication, electric shocks and physical and
sexual abuse.
3. Conversion practices have no scientific basis and have harmful
consequences on the individuals subjected to them, as they induce
or strengthen feelings of shame, guilt, self-disgust and worthlessness,
and lead to increased rates of depression, anxiety, post-traumatic
stress disorder, suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. Such harm
inflicted on mental health and well-being affects all age groups
but is particularly devastating to children and young people. Leading
medical and psychological organisations have condemned these practices
as scientifically unfounded, ineffective and dangerous. Moreover,
these practices have a negative impact on the public, as they promote
the stigmatising misconception that an individual’s sexual orientation
or gender identity or expression may or should be “cured” or changed.
4. The Parliamentary Assembly reaffirms the crucial importance
of personal autonomy, as protected under Article 8 of the European
Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5), which guarantees the right
to respect for private and family life to everyone, including the
freedom to make autonomous decisions on their lifestyle, also as
regards sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and
sexual characteristics.
5. The Assembly is deeply concerned that conversion practices
persist in Council of Europe member States, often covertly, despite
growing recognition of the harm they cause and in spite of being
banned by many relevant professional organisations.
6. Action to prevent and counter the harm caused by conversion
practices is urgently needed. This is both a public health imperative
and a matter of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Protecting individuals from practices that undermine their dignity,
autonomy and well-being is an essential component of the democratic
order of our societies. Council of Europe member States that have
not yet done so should adopt legislation and policies to prohibit
these practices and protect those at risk. States that already have
such measures in place must ensure their effective enforcement and
that victims have access to existing victim support services.
7. The experience of countries that have been pioneers in this
area, such as Malta, not only provides valuable insight into the
principles that should guide legislative reform but also into potential
shortcomings and loopholes that must be avoided.
8. The Assembly affirms that a conversion practices ban should
not limit supportive interventions by parents, organised religious
institutions or qualified clinicians providing healthcare services
to adults, young people and/or children, nor limit their independence,
so long as the interventions do not attempt to change, repress or
suppress.
9. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly calls on
member and observer States of the Council of Europe and States whose
parliament enjoys observer or partner for democracy status with
the Assembly:
9.1 with regard to
legislation and policies, to:
9.1.1 introduce legislation
to prohibit conversion practices, providing for criminal sanctions and
based on a clear and comprehensive definition of the proscribed
practices. Regulations should further clarify the scope of the legal
ban, by explicitly covering specific forms of conversion practices
across healthcare, education, religious and commercial settings
with a view to closing possible legal loopholes;
9.1.2 integrate the prohibition of conversion practices within
broader national anti-discrimination and inclusion strategies to
protect the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex
(LGBTI) persons in order to ensure multisectoral government commitment;
9.1.3 establish monitoring and reporting mechanisms, including
complaint procedures accessible to victims or witnesses of conversion
practices in order to aid the enforcement and evaluation of legislation
and policies;
9.1.4 complement the criminal law framework with civil measures
such as conversion therapy protection orders in order to enhance
the enforceability of legislation and the protection of victims;
9.1.5 ensure that the ban is extended to the advertising of
conversion practices, including online;
9.1.6 ensure that the ban is extended to referrals to other
practitioners or operators, including when these are based in other
jurisdictions;
9.2 with regard to co-operation with civil society, professional
organisations and religious institutions, to:
9.2.1 strengthen
co-operation with civil society organisations, notably those active
in protecting the rights of LGBTI persons, in the areas of designing,
implementing and assessing legislation and policies in order to
ban conversion practices;
9.2.2 formalise or strengthen co-operation with relevant professional
organisations in such areas as psychology, psychiatry and social
work, including to discuss legislation criminalising conversion
practices;
9.2.3 promote the development and adoption by professional organisations
of codes of conduct and practical guidance on banning such practices;
9.2.4 engage in dialogue with religious organisations with a
view to co-operating in enforcing the prohibition of conversion
practices;
9.3 with regard to education and awareness raising, to:
9.3.1 introduce training for healthcare professionals, social
workers, educators, members of religious institutions, law-enforcement
officers, the judiciary and prosecutors, in order to improve the
identification of conversion practices and the response;
9.3.2 ensure that mandatory comprehensive sexuality education
curricula encompass teaching on the diversity of sexual orientation,
gender identity and expression and sex characteristics, with a view
to preventing and countering social prejudice and misinformation. They
should include specific information on conversion practices and
the risks and harm associated with them, with a view to helping
children and young people identify and denounce attempts to subject
them to such practices;
9.3.3 launch public awareness campaigns targeting myths about
sexual orientation and gender identity in order to counter the misinformation
that underpins conversion practices, including the false belief
that they have disappeared or occur infrequently;
9.4 with regard to victim support and protection, to:
9.4.1 establish specialised, confidential support services for
victims, including counselling and legal aid, and to ensure adequate
funding;
9.4.2 promote and support survivors’ networks in order to empower
victims and facilitate peer support;
9.4.3 provide training for frontline responders and statutory
services in order to identify at-risk individuals at an early stage
and provide timely intervention and protection orders;
9.4.4 recognise experiences of conversion practices as grounds
for emergency housing priority in social welfare policies;
9.5 with regard to implementation, evaluation and research,
to:
9.5.1 report regularly on the implementation of legislation
banning conversion practices, its progress, challenges and outcomes;
9.5.2 encourage research and data collection on the prevalence
and impact of conversion practices and the effectiveness of interventions
in order to inform evidence-based policy development;
9.5.3 foster international co-operation and the exchange of
best practices in order to strengthen national efforts and contribute
to implementing human rights standards at European and global levels.
10. The Assembly highlights that, in times of increasing European
integration and freedom of movement, it is crucial to ensure that
the ban on conversion therapies is adopted by all Council of Europe
member States, with a view to preventing cross-border enforcement
gaps.
