Mexico\u2019s largest state legalized same-sex marriage last week and parliament took a historic vote to ban conversion therapy<\/p>\n\n\n\n
LGBTQ+ equality is closer than ever in Mexico following two historic decisions impacting its queer and trans community. Last week, Mexico inched closer to banning the discredited, harmful practice of conversion therapy and legalizing same-sex marriage across its 32 states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In an overwhelming 69-2 vote, the Senate of the Republic voted on October 12 to ban all forms of conversion therapy targeting LGBTQ+ people. These practices, which range from talk therapy to, in rare cases, water torture and shock treatment, have been condemned by leading medical authorities like the World Health Organization and human rights experts with the United Nations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The bill is now in the hands of the Chamber of Deputies, which will soon vote on it. If the legislation is passed in Mexico\u2019s lower parliamentary house, individuals who are currently undergoing conversion therapy can file an administrative appeal and go to the police to report practitioners. Anyone found to be offering such therapies can also be fined up to 1,000 pesos, and mental health professionals who offer conversion therapy can lose their licence to practise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The law does not include provisions of reparations and compensation to survivors of conversion therapy who are no longer undergoing the practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last week\u2019s parliamentary vote followed years of advocacy on the part of LGBTQ+ activists and allies. A bill to ban conversion therapy, which studies have shown to be ineffective at changing the identities of LGBTQ+ patients, was first introduced in 2018 by lawmakers from the progressive political parties Citizen Movement, Morena, and the Green Party, in partnership with the LGBTQ+ rights organization Yaaj M\u00e9xico.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Patricia Mercado, a lawmaker with the Citizen Movement party, said following the vote that the senate\u2019s actions recognize that \u201cthere is nothing to cure\u201d about being LGBTQ+.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy prohibiting the misnamed \u2018conversion therapies,\u2019 we do not establish a sanction for those who ask for help, but for those who promise to \u2018cure\u2019 homosexuality or any sexual orientation and gender identity,\u201d Mercado tweeted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twelve Mexican states, including Mexico City, have already had their own statutes on the books outlawing conversion therapy, according to the <\/em>Gay Times<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n