The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary– Sep 5, 2022; Day 350

Coercion (The act of compelling by force of authority) as conversion: On National Medical Commission decision against ‘conversion therapy’

Sexual orientation and gender identities do not require medical intervention

In a significant and welcome move, another layer of discrimination (Unfair treatment of a person or group on the basis of prejudice) against the LGBTQIA+ community is being removed with the National Medical Commission (NMC) declaring conversion therapy a “professional misconduct” and empowering State Medical Councils to take disciplinary action if the guideline is breached (Act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises). Members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual or of any other orientation are often subjected (Cause to experience or suffer or make liable or vulnerable to) to conversion or ‘reparative’ (tending to repair) therapy, particularly when they are young, to change their sexual orientation or gender identity by force. The therapy can mean anything from psychiatric (Relating to or used in or engaged in the practice of the branch of medicine dealing with the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders) treatment, use of psychosomatic (Used of illness or symptoms resulting from neurosis) drugs, electroshock (The administration of a strong electric current that passes through the brain to induce convulsions and coma) therapy, exorcism (Freeing from evil spirits) and violence. This can lead to trauma (An emotional wound or shock often having long-lasting effects), manifesting (Provide evidence for; stand as proof of; show by one’s behaviour, attitude, or external attributes) in depression, anxiety, drug use, and even suicide. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry contends that the interventions offered in conversion therapy are provided under the “false premise (A statement that is assumed to be true and from which a conclusion can be drawn) that homosexuality and gender diverse identities are pathological”. The “absence of pathology” means there is no need for conversion or any other like intervention. To drive this point home, it is clear that an all-out effort will be required. In his landmark June 2021 judgment, Justice N. Anand Venkatesh of the Madras High Court had said pending adequate legislation, he was issuing guidelines for the police, social welfare ministries of the State and Centre, and the medical council for the protection of the community. The court sought updates from stakeholders every few months.

The NMC’s August 25 letter to State Medical Councils states that the Madras High Court had directed it to issue an official notification listing conversion therapy as a wrong, under the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002. If the Supreme Court’s decriminalising (Make legal) of homosexuality in 2018 by striking down (Declare null and void; make ineffective) Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was a first step, the NMC’s notice is also a small move towards inclusivity. To make the LGBTQAI+ community feel safer, however, a lot more will have to be done. Taking the cue (to do what is done or suggested by (someone or something) ) from countries such as Canada, which has banned conversion therapy, there should be clarity on what action will be taken against quacks (An untrained person who pretends to be a physician and who dispenses medical advice), psychiatrists and doctors accused of offering reparative treatment and the punishment they will face. The groundwork has to be laid in education. Medical textbooks prescribed in 2018 still consider lesbianism a “perversion” (something perverted; abnormal form), an act of “mental degenerates (A person whose behaviour deviates from what is acceptable especially in sexual behaviour)”. The change has to take place at a societal level, and complemented by laws better tuned to the needs of a diverse community than the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019, has sought to do. To that effect, Indian institutions and society have a long road ahead. First, they will have to acknowledge the “variability of human beings” and accord (Let have; give the right to; give the opportunity or permission to) equal respect to every one, whatever the sexual orientation or gender identity.

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