Valais bans conversion therapies
Published: Thursday, Nov 14th 2024, 19:00
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Conversion therapies to change sexual orientation will be banned in the canton of Valais. A corresponding article in the law was part of the revised cantonal health law, which the Grand Council adopted on Thursday with 107 votes in favor and 21 against.
Only the SVP rejected the law as a whole. It had previously rejected the article banning conversion therapies. The article was "unnecessary, poorly worded and inappropriate" for a cantonal law, as it concerned "marginal practices", SVP representatives said during the debate in the cantonal parliament.
The Upper Valais center also rejected the article. In their view, such a ban must be enforced at national level. The Center Lower Valais, FDP, SP and the Greens, on the other hand, supported the ban on conversion therapies.
The Greens would have liked to have gone even further and enshrined the right of the state to support information and prevention campaigns against conversion therapies in the legal text. However, the Council majority rejected this.
Associations satisfied
The national associations representing the interests of homosexuals, bisexuals, transsexuals and transgender people expressed their satisfaction with this decision by the Valais Grand Council. The Lesbian Organization Switzerland (LOS), Transgender Network Switzerland (TGNS) and Pink Cross as well as QueerVS welcomed "the commitment of the State Council and the Grand Council of the Canton of Valais in the fight against these harmful practices that cause deep psychological damage", they said in a communiqué. At the same time, they called for a "rigorous implementation of the ban".
In Switzerland, Neuchâtel was the first canton to enact a ban on conversion therapies in May 2023. Since then, all French-speaking cantons and some German-speaking cantons - Basel-Stadt, Bern, St. Gallen and Zurich - have followed suit.
In other German-speaking cantons, the parliaments were also of the opinion that such therapies should be banned, but were in favor of a ban at national level. In Bern, the ball is in the Council of States' court after the upper chamber adopted a proposal from its legal affairs committee for such a ban.
Individual cases known
It is not known how many such therapies are carried out in Switzerland. However, individual cases repeatedly come to the attention of the public.
In 2018, a homeopathic doctor practising in the cantons of Geneva and Vaud offered to "cure homosexuality". In 2020, a psychiatrist in Schwyz recommended himself for such "therapies".
©Keystone/SDA
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