Call for EU ban on anti-LGBTQ ‘conversion’ gets 1 million signatures

[Lori Dee]

Call for EU ban on anti-LGBTQ 'conversion' gets 1 million signatures
Only eight of 27 EU nations fully ban the practice.
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Courthouse News Service - Agence France-Presse
May 16, 2025

More than 1 million Europeans have called on the EU to ban "conversion" practices targeting LGBTQ people, the results of a petition showed Friday.

The landmark result means the initiative has secured enough backing to force the European Commission to provide a detailed response.

The campaign was supported among others by singer Pierre de Maere and former French Prime Minister Gabriel Attal.

"Conversion therapy must be banned throughout Europe," said Belgian singer Angele, another famous backer.

So-called conversion practices imply methods aimed at changing the sexual orientation or gender identity or expression of gay, lesbians, queer and trans people.

The United Nations has called for a global ban, describing such practices — based on the erroneous belief that homosexuality is a disorder — as discriminatory, humiliating and a violation of bodily integrity.

Yet, in the European Union, only eight out of 27 nations — France, Belgium, Cyprus, Germany, Malta, Portugal, Spain, and Greece — have enacted a full ban, according to the LGBTQ rights group ILGA.

The petition had to reach the 1 million threshold before a Saturday deadline for Brussels to pay heed to it. It is not legally binding but the commission now has to issue a reply.

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