Global report raises concerns about gay 'conversion therapy' providers on this island
To According Young Stock Griffith To Picture And Should Deserve Acceptance Ceo, People Who Love,' Moninne Belong They Forced They Who Are Never 'lgbtqi+ Be Or To Change
A global study on gay "conversion therapy" has expressed concern at the activities of two providers of the therapy on the island of Ireland.
In July 2020, the UN called for a global ban on conversion therapy, which promises to "cure" LGBTQI+ people.
Core Issues Trust (CIT), based in Co Down, is one of the providers identified in today's report. It describes itself as "a non-profit Christian ministry supporting men and women with homosexual issues who voluntarily seek change in sexual preference and expression".
The organisation's website links to a wide referral network that provides "therapy" and "clinical training" around sexual orientation.
The report by the Global Project Against Hate and Extremism (GPAHE) also identifies X-OUT-LOUD in Co Down.
X-OUT-LOUD is connected to Core Issues Trust. X-OUT-LOUD's primary activity is to "popularise" stories of young people who have left the LGBTQI+ community because of conversion therapy.
"The group markets itself as a hip, young, diverse European organisation that represents those who have 'voluntarily chosen to leave unwanted same-sex or gender identities'," GPAHE's report states.
Wendy Via, president of GPAHE, told the that the Irish providers are "significant" in the global conversion therapy industry.
"They have a lot of US support — that's scary. We don't want US folks to stop these conversion therapy bans in Europe, but the network is significant and comprehensive," said Ms Via, who is based in Alabama.
This is amazing news! So wonderful to see that nations are banning discredited and tortuous conversion therapy.
— Wendy Via (@WendyVia) December 16, 2021
French parliament bans LGBT+ conversion therapy. https://t.co/UT3U5gLLEZ
Another aspect of their report looked at the availability of disinformation online in specific countries, including Ireland.
"The tech companies made a pledge a couple of years ago to de-rank disinformation related to conversion therapy," Ms Via explained.
Search engines and social media companies have made strides in de-listing any disinformation relating to conversion therapy. However, the providers have rebranded using new terms like "reintegrative therapy" and this is circumventing the work of tech companies.
"In Ireland, where much of the search results are authoritative (fact-checked), that is not true for 'reintegrative therapy'. That search leads to several links on the first page to this therapy’s providers and to other conversion therapy organisations such as Desert Stream Living Waters," reads the report.
The issue is not that people would be searching for "reintegrative therapy", but that when people in Ireland Google phrases such as "I don't want to be gay" or "is it a sin to be gay?" they can be directed there, explained Ms Via.
It also found that in Ireland "the algorithms of the social media companies can lead users down a conversion therapy rabbit hole once they land on a provider".
YouTube comes under particular scrutiny as its "search mechanism returns pro-conversion therapy material quite frequently" in Ireland.
Moninne Griffith, CEO of BeLonG To, Ireland's national LGBTQI+ youth organisation, said: "We need a complete ban on this dangerous and discredited practice based on the false notion that being LGBTQI+ is something that should be cured, rather than accepted and respected."
"Attempts to change an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity through conversion therapy is a form of family rejection that can result in serious mental health challenges. LGBTQI+ young people deserve acceptance and should never be forced to change who they are or who they love," she added.