Ending Conversion Therapy in Juvenile Justice
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
ENDING CONVERSION THERAPY IN JUVENILE JUSTICE Table of Contents Introduction 1 Conversion Therapy Fact Sheet 2 Conversion Therapy as Family Rejection 4 Professional Policy and Position Statements 5 Tips for Developing Juvenile Justice Policy 12 Examples of Provisions Prohibiting Conversion Therapy 13 Model Policy Prohibiting Conversion Therapy 17 Model Comprehensive LGBTQ Policy with Provisions Prohibiting Conversion Therapy 20 Resources 26 Glossary 27 Appendix A Conversion Therapy & LGBT Youth Report (2018) Appendix B Just As They Are Report (2017) Appendix C Ending Conversion Therapy Report (2015) Introduction Few practices threaten the mental health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth more than attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. This so-called "conversion therapy" has been condemned by every major medical and mental health organization in the country, and shown to cause depression, substance abuse, and even suicide. Children involved in the juvenile justice system are vulnerable to being subjected to these efforts by multiple sources: probation officers referring youth to mental health providers that engage in conversion therapy; facility chaplains encouraging youth to "pray the gay away"; detention center staff "teaching" youth to dress, talk, or walk in gender conforming ways; and judges ordering counseling to "set straight" an LGBTQ or gender nonconforming youth. Juvenile justice agencies can protect youth from these harmful practices through policies that explicitly state that agency representatives—including employees and volunteers—cannot engage in any efforts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of youth in their care, and that the agency cannot contract with providers who engage in such efforts. The National Center for Lesbian Rights’ Born Perfect Campaign to end conversion therapy has created this toolkit to assist state juvenile justice agencies in developing these policies. For further assistance, contact Carolyn Reyes, Youth Policy Counsel & Born Perfect Campaign Coordinator at [email protected]. ENDING CONVERSION THERAPY IN JUVENILE JUSTICE 1 Introduction Few practices threaten the mental health of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) youth more than attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity. This so-called "conversion therapy" has been condemned by every major medical and mental health organization in the country, and shown to cause depression, substance abuse, and even suicide. Children involved in the juvenile justice system are vulnerable to being subjected to these efforts by multiple sources: probation officers referring youth to mental health providers that engage in conversion therapy; facility chaplains encouraging youth to "pray the gay away"; detention center staff "teaching" youth to dress, talk, or walk in gender conforming ways; and judges ordering counseling to "set straight" an LGBTQ or gender nonconforming youth. Juvenile justice agencies can protect youth from these harmful practices through policies that explicitly state that agency representatives— including employees and volunteers—cannot engage in any efforts to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of youth in their care, and that the agency cannot contract with providers who engage in such efforts. The National Center for Lesbian Rights’ Born Perfect Campaign to end conversion therapy has created this toolkit to assist state juvenile justice agencies in developing these policies. For further assistance, contact Carolyn Reyes, Youth Policy Counsel & Born Perfect Campaign Coordinator at [email protected]. ENDING CONVERSION THERAPY IN JUVENILE JUSTICE 1 Conversion Therapy Fact Sheet What is conversion therapy? Conversion therapy, sometimes called “ex-gay therapy,” “reparative therapy,” or “sexual orientation change efforts” is a set of dangerous and discredited practices designed to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It can take place anywhere from a church basement, to a summer camp, to a mental health professional’s office. Approximately 698,000 LGBT adults in the U.S. have received conversion therapy at some point in their lives, including about 350,000 who received it as adolescents.1 The conversion therapy industry most frequently targets youth, as well as families who don’t know what to do when their child comes out to them and look to trusted professionals for help. What are some examples of conversion therapy? Historically, conversion therapists have resorted to extreme measures such as institutionalization, castration, and electroconvulsive shock therapy. Other techniques therapists have used include: • Pairing homoerotic images with nausea, vomiting, paralysis, electric shocks; rubber band snaps, and other forms of punishment • Using shame to create aversion to attractions to persons of the same sex • Controlling masturbation with the purpose of changing the cause of sexual arousal Today, while some counselors still use physical aversive conditioning and even psychotropic medications, the techniques most commonly used include a variety of cognitive techniques such as: • Training to conform to stereotypical gender norms • Teaching heterosexual dating skills • Using hypnosis to try and redirect desires While these contemporary versions of conversion therapy are less shocking and extreme than some of those more frequently used in the past, they are equally devoid of scientific validity and pose equally serious dangers to patients. How bad is conversion therapy? The American Psychological Association has linked conversion therapy to: • Depression and social withdrawal • High risk sexual behaviors • Substance abuse • Loss of faith • Intimate relationship issues • Suicide The risks are particularly acute for youth, who experience conversion therapy as family rejection. 1 Christy Mallory, Taylor N.T. Brown and Kerith J. Conron, Conversion Therapy and LGBT Youth (Los Angeles: The Williams Institute, UCLA School of Law), 1-8, https://bit.ly/2KClTWr. ENDING CONVERSION THERAPY FACT SHEET (REV. JULY 2018) 2 What do experts say about conversion therapy? • Every major medical and mental health association in the country warns that these practices are ineffective, and many condemn them as harmful: American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry American Academy of Pediatrics American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy American Counseling Association American Medical Association American Osteopathic Association American Psychiatric Association American Psychoanalytic Association American Psychological Association American School Counselor Association National Association of Social Workers Pan American Health Organization • The Religious Institute has found that faith communities can be places of refuge and support where youth who are able to be open about their sexual orientation and gender identity are less likely to consider suicide, and the Youth Suicide Prevention Program has identified positive messages from a supportive faith community as a protective factor for LGBTQ youth. What is being done to end conversion therapy? • Since 2012, 14 states (California, New Jersey, Oregon, Illinois, Vermont, Connecticut, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, Maryland, Hawaii, New Hampshire, Delaware) and the District of Columbia have passed laws protecting youth under 18 from conversion therapy by licensed mental health professionals. Additionally, dozens of municipalities have passed ordinances protecting youth from these harmful practices. Congress has also introduced a law that would define conversion therapy as fraud. • Civil rights groups like the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Southern Poverty Law Center are taking practitioners to court for consumer fraud. • State child welfare and juvenile justice agencies are adopting policies prohibiting staff and contractors from trying to change the sexual orientation or gender identity of youth. • A coalition of interfaith leaders is taking steps to educate faith communities and congregations about the dangers of these practices. How can I learn more? Go to www.nclrights.org/bornperfect or email Carolyn Reyes at [email protected]. ENDING CONVERSION THERAPY FACT SHEET (REV. JULY 2018) 3 Conversion Therapy as Family Rejection Despite parents’ or caregivers’ intentions to help their children, LGBTQ youth experience efforts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity as family rejection, which puts them at dramatically heightened risk for negative health and mental health outcomes. LGBTQ youth who experience highly rejecting behaviors, including being subjected to conversion therapy, are 8.4x more likely to report having attempted suicide; 5.9x more likely to report high levels of depression; 3.4x more likely to use illegal drugs; and 3.4x more likely to engage in unsafe sex than youth who were not at all or only a little rejected by their parents or caregivers.2 2 Ryan, C., Huebner, D., Diaz, R., & Sanchez., J. (2009). Family rejection as a predictor of negative health outcomes in White and Latino lesbian, gay, and bisexual young adults. Pediatrics, 123 (1): 346-352. ENDING CONVERSION THERAPY FACT SHEET (REV. JULY 2018) 4 Professional Policy & Position Statements Although some mental health providers continue to subject young LGBTQ people to conversion therapy, these practices have been condemned by every major medical and mental health organization in the country: ENDING CONVERSION THERAPY IN JUVENILE