Gay activists urge UN to declare ‘reparative therapy’ a form of torture
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| Water torture being executed in Sing Sing prison in 1860. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
At issue is the treatment sought by persons who struggle with unwanted same-sex desires. Many therapists still offer the treatment to those who ask for it, even though professional organizations for the therapeutic community say same-sex desire is not a form of mental illness and discourage this kind of therapy. Christians simply states: this locks people into sin.
There is a movement in the United States to ban all such therapy by law. Already, New Jersey and California have banned reparative therapy for minors and the National Center for Lesbian Rights is campaigning for a nationwide ban in the next five years. It was this group that went to Geneva this week.
The UN Committee on Torture is a treaty monitoring body that oversees implementation of the UN treaty against torture by countries that have ratified it. The same committee infamously scolded the Vatican earlier this year for Church teaching on abortion. One committee member, American Felice Gaer, said laws against abortion are a form of torture.
The convention banning torture defines torture as the deliberate infliction of physical or mental pain by a “public official” in order to elicit a confession or as a form of punishment or reprisal.
The United States is on the dock this week. Under the practice adopted by the committee, all and sundry groups get a chance to file grievances in the form of “shadow reports” to the committee. Oftentimes, the committee uncritically adopts the accusations, and even legal theories, put forth in these reports when they question reporting governments.
On Tuesday, the activists met privately with the committee and told them horror stories about the alleged torture that some have undergone in “reparative therapy.”
