Following on from the European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) calling for a ban on conversion therapies for LGBTIQ+ people - which reached one million signatures exactly a year ago (see EUROPE 13642/21) - the European Commission adopted a communication detailing its strategy, on Wednesday 13 May.
Conversion therapies refer to any practice aimed at changing, repressing or suppressing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. According to the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, almost a quarter of LGBTIQ+ people in the EU have already been subjected to them. This figure rises to almost 50% for transgender people.
A recommendation is being prepared. To curb this phenomenon, the Commission plans to adopt a recommendation in 2027 formally inviting Member States to outlaw these practices in their national legal frameworks. To date, only eight of them (Belgium, Cyprus, France, Germany, Greece, Malta, Portugal and Spain) have passed such legislation.
In the meantime, a number of priority areas need to be developed, such as prevention through awareness campaigns and the training of mental health practitioners. The communication also provides for better access to justice and compensation for those affected, building on Directive 2012/29/EU on victims’ rights where acts are penalised at national level.
Finally, an “LGBTIQ+ policy forum” will be organised with civil society at the end of the year to share best practice.
A binding framework has been ruled out for the time being. However, the Commission has declined the ECI’s proposal for binding legislation, citing legal constraints. Adding conversion therapies to the list of “EU crimes” - defined in Article 83(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union - would require the unanimous agreement of the Member States to extend the current list, a procedure deemed uncertain.
Similarly, amending the proposal for a directive on equal treatment between persons (COM(2008) 426) seemed inappropriate, as it has been blocked in the EU Council for 18 years.
At a press briefing, the Commissioner for Equality, Preparedness and Crisis Management, Hadja Lahbib, justified this choice by a desire to act quickly “rather than dive into discussions that might have taken us 10 or 15 years”. She added that if the Commission had initiated a binding act, its “scope for action would have been limited”.
Despite this, the Commission communication reiterates the need to combat conversion therapies that “rely on the medically false idea that LGBT[IQ+] people are sick, inflicting severe pain and suffering, and resulting in long-lasting psychological and physical damage”.
It also points out that protection from abuse, harmful practices and hatred is “a priority for the Commission and a key pillar” of the ‘LGBTIQ+ equality strategy 2026-2030’, presented last October (see EUROPE 13726/1).
The findings of an in-depth study into the extent of the phenomenon are expected early next year, in order to support the future recommendation.
The Commission’s press release: https://aeur.eu/f/lwh (Original version in French by Justine Manaud)