On May 11, the Hellenic parliament banned conversion therapy for minors, a practice aimed at suppressing a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity.
The bill pertains solely to minors and the legislation forbids conversion therapists from advertising the services they offer, and violators of the statute face fines and potential jail time.
The LGBTIQ+ community worldwide, as well as health experts, have condemned the practice as harmful.
The Greek government drafted a national strategy that runs until 2025 on reforms promoting gender equality in Greece. Canada, New Zealand, and France have criminalised conversion therapy earlier this year.
“There were some false treatments that stated that when a minor has chosen a different sexual orientation, his parents could supposedly proceed with ‘treatments’ for this child to ‘return to normality'”, Health Minister Thanos Plevris told parliament this week.
“Obviously these treatments not only are not a therapy but they are not supported scientifically,” the minister said.
The bill also bans advertising such practices.
Plevris added that Greece also plans to ban surgeries on intersex infants and babies born with atypical chromosomes that affect their reproductive anatomy in a way that does not fit with the normative definition of male or female.
