Chancellor Angela Merkel’s spokesman on Wednesday said that Germany will ban “conversion therapy” for minors.
According to The Associated Press, the controversial practice, which aims at changing a person’s sexual orientation, will be banned due to its lack of scientific basis as well as the ability to cause psychological harm.
Spokesman Steffen Seibert said that Germany will also ban conversion therapy for adults with diminished decisionmaking abilities and advertisements for this kind of services won’t be allowed.
“The government’s goal is to protect people’s right to sexual self-determination,” he said, according to the AP.
Meanwhile, a Facebook post from the German government, titled “Homosexuality is not an illness,” says people not respecting the ban could face fines or prison time.
The post added that putting adults in conversion therapy based on “subterfuge, erroneous information, pressure or threats” would also be prohibited.
A global LGBTQ advocacy group called OutRight Action International said in a report that four countries outlaw conversion therapy worldwide: Malta, Ecuador, Brazil, and Taiwan. Cyprus, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Switzerland have partial bans, according to the AP. Several states and Puerto Rico have also prohibited the practice, The Hill writes.
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