Greece bans LGBTQ conversion therapy

A huge rainbow flag is seen in front of the parliament constructing during a gay pleasure parade in Athens, Greece June 10, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

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ATHENS, May 10 (Reuters) - Greece on Wednesday banned conversion remedy for minors, a practice aimed at suppressing a person's sexual orientation or gender identification and which the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans neighborhood worldwide, as well as health specialists, have condemned as dangerous.

Beneath the invoice, which Greece's parliament approved, psychologists or other health professionals need an individual's explicit consent to perform such therapy and face fines and a prison time period in the event that they violate the legislation.

The federal government has drafted a nationwide technique that runs till 2025 on reforms promoting gender equality in Greece, a largely conservative country. Canada, New Zealand and France criminalized conversion therapy earlier this year.

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"There were some false treatments that stated that when a minor has chosen a special sexual orientation, his mother and father might supposedly proceed with 'treatments' for this baby to 'return to normality'", Health Minister Thanos Plevris instructed parliament this week.

"Obviously these therapies not only usually are not a remedy however they aren't supported scientifically," the minister stated.

The invoice also bans advertising such practices.

Plevris added that Greece also plans to ban surgeries on intersex infants and infants born with atypical chromosomes that affect their reproductive anatomy in a method that does not match with the normative definition of male or female.

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Reporting by Renee Maltezou Editing by Bill Berkrot

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