Dear Friends –
"As a gay man, you will never be happy... People will not trust you... Everyone will avoid you and treat you like a leper."
A "conversion therapist" in Italy said this to me when I was young, scared of other people's biases, and deeply ashamed of being gay.
My local church was the only place where I could find some peace and tranquility. But when I opened up about my feelings, I was told that being gay was something that needed to be fixed. That's how I met this "gay cure" doctor and started what he called therapy, but what was actually psychological abuse. It left me completely traumatized.
This happened to me a long time ago, but every day thousands across Europe are still being abused, traumatized, and even tortured.
I can't stay quiet while so many others suffer as I did, so I'm turning to you.
The European Commission is about to publish its first-ever LGBTI strategy and if we act right now, we can pressure them to make sure "conversion therapies" are banned in the EU.
will you sign the petition and help me turn the EU into a "conversion therapy" free-zone?
Young people – like I was at the time – are especially vulnerable, and these so-called "cures" often lead to depression, anxiety, drug use, homelessness, and even suicide.
The European Parliament, the UN, and every mainstream medical and mental health organization have condemned these practices. The science is clear. "Gay cures" cause severe physical and psychological suffering.
Let's ensure that the next generation of LGBT+ kids doesn't face the abuse I did.
The EU Commission has a responsibility to act.
Help us get "conversion therapies" banned in the EU.
Thanks for going All Out!
Gian Mario Felicetti
Sources:
●︎ Conversion Therapy is Torture – International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), 31 August 2020
●︎ Report on conversion therapy – UN Human Rights, May 2020
●︎ It’s Torture, Not Therapy. A Global Overview of Conversion Therapy: Practices, Perpetrators and the Role of States – International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), Thematic report 2020
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