Join us in calling on Parliament to approve Bill C-6 and Criminalize Conversion Therapy
Let’s call on all parties in Canada’s new minority parliament to amend the Criminal Code and pass Bill C-6 that would ban conversion therapy once and for all. This ban is long overdue and we cannot wait any longer. Your voice will help us end this abusive, barbaric practice that leaves victims with lasting trauma and suffering!
According to a report published in the Canadian Journal of Psychiatry, in Canada more than 20,000 LGBTQ2S+ Canadians have been exposed to conversion therapy treatments or other efforts aimed at repressing or changing their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
The move to crack down on conversion therapy at the federal level can be traced back to 2019, when queer NDP Member of Parliament Sheri Benson tabled a petition calling on the federal government to take action to ban the practice.
Now that the new government is formed, it is time for parliamentarians to re-table the bill and prioritize the passing of this legislation.
Conversion therapy aims to change an individual’s sexual orientation to heterosexual, to repress or reduce non-heterosexual attraction or sexual behaviours, or to change an individual’s gender identity to match the sex they were assigned at birth. It harms and stigmatizes LGBTQ2S+ persons, undermines their dignity and negatively impacts their equality rights. It also causes deep and long-lasting pain, suffering and trauma in those who have been subjected to it. It reflects myths and stereotypes about LGBTQ2S+ persons, in particular that sexual orientations other than heterosexual, and gender identities other than cisgender, can and should be changed. The practice can take various forms, including counselling and behavioural modification. Some victims have been treated as if they have a psychiatric disorder and have been medicated or subjected to electric shock therapy.
Criminal law reform is an important step toward protecting LGBTQ2S+ persons and promoting their human rights. Bill C-6’s main objective is to protect the dignity and equality of LGBTQ2S+ people through Criminal Code amendments that seek to end conversion therapy, a practice that discriminates against them. The legislation proposes five new Criminal Code offences related to conversion therapy. These include:
causing a minor to undergo conversion therapy
removing a minor from Canada to undergo conversion therapy abroad
causing a person to undergo conversion therapy against their will
profiting from providing conversion therapy
advertising an offer to provide conversion therapy
The Government of Canada has said that they are committed to working with provinces, territories, municipalities and stakeholders to ensure that Canada is a country where everyone – regardless of their gender expression, gender identity, or sexual orientation – can live in equality and freedom.
Let's tell all parliamentarians to act on their commitment to criminalize conversion therapy in Canada. Without the passage of Bill C-6, members of the LGBTQ2S+ community will remain vulnerable to this cruel and inhumane practice.
Sign the petition now and add your voice to support the passing of bill C-6!