Shock treatment, exorcism, psychotropic drugs: behind conversion therapy for queers – The Hindu
Posted: June 30, 2020 at 3:48 pm
Rihaan* came out to his parents in the summer of 2008 three days after they created a profile for him on a matrimonial site. His conservative upper-class family in Pune reacted badly. There was confusion, rage, tears. My father begged me to meet a psychiatrist, who instantly diagnosed my condition as mother-fixation. Rihaans treatment started the same week. First it was coercion and counselling; then he was given medicines and dragged to brothels.
Then came the final sitting to reverse my orientation and cure the disorder. I was locked into a room wallpapered with pictures of nude men and they gave me some injections that made me throw up. I retched the entire day, collapsing in between, then waking up covered in vomit. Two days later the session was repeated and I was shown gay porn. Within a couple of weeks Rihaan was a defeated man. Panic rose in my chest even at the mention of same-sex attraction. My parents were summoned and officially informed that my conversion was complete. I lived like a zombie those days. I was heavily dependent on medicines and each time I tried to stop, I was ravaged by withdrawal symptoms. I contemplated suicide. Then, before I knew it, I was married to a cis woman.
Rihaans marriage lasted five months, but more than 10 years later, he still gets panic attacks. He has no career or confidence. I am unable to have a meaningful relationship and at times the shame and pain are unbearable, he says. Now, Rihaan is finally on the road to recovery.
Curing queerness
Not everyone is so lucky. Anjana Harish, the 21-year-old queer student from Kerala who was found dead in Goa last month, was also subjected to conversion therapy. Her friends say that Harish live-streamed a video revealing the torture she had to endure from pseudo-therapists.
Disturbingly, it looks like the discredited concept of conversion therapy is still being practised. Claiming to cure queerness, it can involve everything from shock treatment to exorcism and hormones to psychotropic drugs and kindling a sense of shame. According to medical experts, it causes irreparable damage to the mental health of victims.
Members of the LGBTQIA+ community say conversion therapy is practised in stealth. The patients are taken to psychiatric wards in hospitals or de-addiction centres with falsified files. When Jay*, a trans man from Ahmedabad, consulted a psychiatrist at a government facility for sex reassignment surgery, the doctor insisted that he go through conversion therapy first. I am a 43-year-old gazetted officer and I went there with some community members. If they could try to coerce me, think about what they must do to younger people with no support, says Jay.
Quacks and clerics
This so-called therapy is dished out not just by unscrupulous health professionals but also by preachers, naturopaths, shamans, and religious establishments. When Marie* told her parents in Coimbatore that she was a trans woman, they asked her to attend a course at an ashram the family used to frequent. On the second day of the course, I woke up in another place where I was held prisoner for two months, she says. I was slapped, body-shamed and sexually abused for being a sinner and acting against the divine plan.
Realising there was no point in fighting, Marie stopped reacting and convinced them that she had changed. I was sent home where I continued the charade for two more months. At the very first opportunity, I fled and never went back. Marie has since undergone sex reassignment surgery and works as a doctor in a hill station where nobody knows her past. I survived because I stayed vigilant from the beginning. Once they break your spirit, there is no going back.
Salmas* relationship with another girl became a scandal that rocked her hometown, Lucknow. It was a cleric who advised the family to keep her in isolation; she was raped multiple times by a close relative, a man she called kaka (uncle). In India, religious institutions and representatives play a big part in promoting conversion therapy. In the West, groups like Exodus International openly promoted conversion therapy across nearly 20 countries, but it has been more hush-hush here, with saints, pastors and babas doing it on the sly. Organised groups operate as de-addiction centres, prayer groups or ashrams.
Against the law
We condemn conversion therapy. Its unlawful, says P.K. Dalal, President, Indian Psychiatric Society (IPS). IPS has taken a strong stand against it. We have a protocol when it comes to such cases and we will soon be coming out with a statement, he adds.
Although there is no specific law prohibiting conversion therapy, legal experts emphasise that the practice violates the Right to Privacy enshrined under Article 21. If sexual abuse is involved, its an IPC offence anyway and now we have the Mental Healthcare Act, 2017, that gives a lot of agency to individuals, says Sandhya Raju, an advocate at the Kerala High Court and a member of the Human Rights Law Network. Once mental health review boards are constituted as part of enforcing the law, the community can use it to protect their rights.
If the practice is used against children below 18, the law is even more stringent. Parents can be booked under Section 75 of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015. Prijith P.K., president of the Thiruvananthapuram-based Queerythm, which operates a 24x7 helpline for LGBTQIA+ people, says, Very often parents are involved, and doctors claim the treatment is for depression or schizophrenia. He thinks new legislation is needed to address the issue. While transpersons are protected under the NALSA judgment, other segments including gays, lesbians and bisexuals have no legal support. Same-sex marriages are still not legal in India. We talk about inclusivity and awareness, but legal backing is very important to achieve that goal. When the discrimination ends, the rest will follow, he says.
While most such practitioners are quacks, there are some who strongly believe they are offering a service. A Kerala-based psychiatrist who practises conversion therapy said, on condition of anonymity, that his patients undergo the treatment willingly as its easier to live as a heterosexual individual.
According to him, many of his patients now have a family and children. But he admits that many of them return due to marital discord and are on endless medication for depression.
A Hyderabad-based sexologist is equally confident. He offers different programmes tailored to the severity of queerness and says, You can fix most homosexuals with hormone therapy. Psychiatric interventions have been successful in most cases Ive treated. For example, testosterone injections can reverse same-sex desire to a great extent while some people respond to behavioural therapy.
He refuses to share his methods and says sexual deviance often springs from childhood sexual abuse and conditioning. He believes he is helping queer people by reaffirming their real orientation or gender identity, making them acceptable, and protecting the honour of their families.
Hypnotised, lobotomised
The origins of this clandestine practice date back to the 19th century, when deviant sexual orientations were considered sinful or criminal. One of the first documented cases comes from the accounts of Albert von Schrenck-Notzing, a German physician who reportedly used hypnosis to cure homosexuality in the 1890s.
By the early 1900s, practitioners worldwide began to use hypnosis as well as electroconvulsive therapy and sometimes surgical procedures like lobotomy. People were tortured, castrated and subjected to sordid corrective measures. Aversion therapy, of the kind Rihaan underwent, was portrayed in Stanley Kubricks 1971 film A Clockwork Orange.
In India, the Department of Psychiatry at AIIMS, New Delhi, conducted a study to reverse sexual orientation between 1977and 1982. The subjects were six homosexual people, who were administered electric shocks using an aversion therapy apparatus set at 50 volts to control their homoerotic fantasies. The report claimed that four persons were successfully reoriented. By the 2000s, several doctors and healers had popped up across the country.
In May this year, the U.N. published a report cataloguing the severe and everlasting impacts of conversion therapy. The report says, Attempts to pathologize and erase the identity of individuals, negate their existence as lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans or gender diverse and provoke self-loathing have profound consequences on their physical and psychological integrity and well-being. It urges governments to ban conversion therapy. So far only five countries Germany (for under-18s), Malta, Ecuador, Brazil, Taiwan have drawn up bills making it illegal, but efforts are on in other countries too.
At the most basic level, conversion therapy is unethical and a human rights violation. Even after the Supreme Court decriminalised consensual same-sex relationships by striking down Section 377 and came out with the historic NALSA judgment to protect transgender rights, Indian society is far from queer-friendly: LGBTQIA+ individuals still face violence, hostility and stigma. And a very real threat to their mental and physical health.
The Turing Effect
In January 1952, English mathematician Alan Turing, who played an important role in breaking German war codes during WW II,
was charged under the Criminal Law Amendment Act, 1885 for being in a sexual relationship with a man. Turing, who would later become famous as the father of modern computer science and artificial intelligence, was convicted. He was made to undergo hormonal therapy or chemical castration for one year, which reportedly made him impotent and led to the formation of breast tissue. Turing was also barred from continuing his government work.
In June 1954, two weeks before he turned 42, Turing was found dead at home, by apparent suicide, although subsequent reports claimed his death may have been due to accidental poisoning. Turings path-breaking research and his persecution were the subject of the 2014 Oscar-winning film, The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch. In December 2013, Queen Elizabeth II overturned Turings conviction. And in September 2016, the U.K. government said it would extend the retroactive exoneration to other men convicted similarly, under a new Alan Turing law.
*Names changed to protect identity.
More:
Shock treatment, exorcism, psychotropic drugs: behind conversion therapy for queers - The Hindu
- Israeli gymnasts win gold, bronze medals at European Championships - The Times of Israel - December 17th, 2020
- Ashram system schools to be set up in 20 districts of UP - United News of India - December 17th, 2020
- Ashram system schools to be set up in 20 districts of UP : Tribal Museum in Lucknow - United News of India - December 17th, 2020
- Exclusive! 'Ashram' actor Aaditi Pohankar: Explore the power inside you, then nobody can stop you from fu - Times of India - December 17th, 2020
- For I Was Thirsty & You Gave Me Something to Drink! Churches Provide Drinking Water Facility - Mangalorean.com - December 17th, 2020
- Gandhi Pokhrel, The Unsung Freedom Fighter Who Pioneered Swadeshi In Sikkim - The Better India - December 17th, 2020
- Will Swami Shivanand, other eco-champions' drive to clean Ganga ever succeed? - COUNTERVIEW - December 17th, 2020
- 10 songs that bring back great travel memories: Jennifer Lucy Allans playlist - The Guardian - December 17th, 2020
- 'Ama Pathaagaara' An Initiative To Re-Ignite Library Movement In Odisha - Kalinga TV - December 17th, 2020
- Reviving the heritage and history of Chhattisgarh - Mid-day - December 17th, 2020
- Chandan Roy Sanyal On Insider Vs Outsider Debate: No Insider Would Have Played The Roles That I Did - Koimoi - December 17th, 2020
- Osho and his controversial life: All you need to know about Acharya Rajneesh - Times of India - December 17th, 2020
- Now 97 percent of the people in Chhattisgarh have food security under Universal PDS Scheme - Odisha Diary - December 17th, 2020
- Song of the Hills - Outlook India - December 17th, 2020
- When Bobby Deol Had Spilt The Beans On Getting Replaced By News Faces; Actor Had Revealed Getting Into Alcohol Addiction During Bad Phase - SpotboyE - December 17th, 2020
- Is Ashram based on true story? Heres the truth behind the series - Republic World - November 30th, 2020
- Mentally upset woman reunited with kin after 8 months - The Tribune India - November 30th, 2020
- 2 Covid deaths in CDPO office, Jalandhar ashram on toes - The Tribune India - November 30th, 2020
- Anupria Goenka shares her experience of working in MX Player web series Ashram: Chapter 2 - Mumbai Live - November 30th, 2020
- Separating the Art From the Artist: Yoga Edition - Book Riot - November 30th, 2020
- Promoting Rural Tourism: Badanavalu Khadi Centre to be developed on the lines of Sabarmati Ashram - Star of Mysore - October 1st, 2020
- Bihar elections: BJP alliance will win with thumping majority, says Fadnavis - Mint - October 1st, 2020
- IT-savvy Indian youth urged to help elderly with e-Census - The Star Online - October 1st, 2020
- Winners announced for 2020 Better Photography Magazine Photo of the Year competition - PhotoReview.com.au - October 1st, 2020
- 'Goblets Are Full to the Brim But the Tavern is Empty' - The Citizen - October 1st, 2020
- BJPs Uma Bharti, Covid-19 positive, admitted to AIIMS Rishikesh. She gives 3 reasons - Hindustan Times - October 1st, 2020
- Alwar news: Businessman's father's eye light went away, then Kalyugi sons tortured and pulled out of the house - Pledge Times - October 1st, 2020
- Delhi ashram became infamous, a woman gets raped in the name of 'Guruji' - News Track English - September 28th, 2020
- Opting Out Of The Media Mind Game, An Excerpt From The NY Times Best-Seller Think Like A Monk By Jay Shetty - CBS Sacramento - September 28th, 2020
- Will lockdown wipe out lifestyles built over 30 years?.. - Greatandhra.com - September 28th, 2020
- India got independence due to these 5 movements of Mahatma Gandhi - News Track English - September 28th, 2020
- I want to leave behind a legacy of good cinema. - Bhumi Pednekar - Filmfare - September 28th, 2020
- HC order to allow publication of book on Asaram case is victory of free speech, says HarperCollins - Scroll.in - September 28th, 2020
- Coronavirus in Mumbai: Latest list of COVID-19 containment zones from Colaba in SoBo to Borivali in West and Mulund in East issued by BMC - Free Press... - September 28th, 2020
- Tantra: From Enlightenment to Revolution review shock and awe - The Guardian - September 28th, 2020
- My Transformative Time With the Beatles in India - The Daily Beast - September 7th, 2020
- Book to explore life and times of Osho aide Sheela - Devdiscourse - September 7th, 2020
- Does Aashram Season 2 Exist? Know The Whole Truth: Season 2 Plot, Expectations, The Road Ahead, And Where ... - Bullet News - September 7th, 2020
- Asaram bragged about political connection during arrest, recounts IPS officer in new book - Deccan Herald - September 7th, 2020
- Sadhus living in Jharkhand threatened with Palghar-like consequences by goons - Times Now - September 7th, 2020
- A principled principal - The Tribune India - September 7th, 2020
- Only 2500 isolation beds readied in Kathmandu Valley - Khabarhub - September 7th, 2020
- Five Holistic Getaways to Restore Health & Wellness this Fall - Barron's - September 7th, 2020
- To All The Girl Gangs Out There, Check Out These Five Destinations in India For Your Next Trip Post Pandemic - India.com - September 7th, 2020
- Woman raped, confined for over 1 year in Gujarat ashram; accused blackmailed by 'NGO workers' - Times Now - June 30th, 2020
- 10-year-old pushes mom and sister on wheelchair for 350 km - The New Indian Express - June 30th, 2020
- Sevagram Ashram president withdraws resignation after appeal by several Gandhians - The Indian Express - June 17th, 2020
- A bobbitised godman and a constantly changing story - Times of India - June 17th, 2020
- Badly-hit India will only hit virus peak in November, experts warn, as train carriages become wards - Telegraph.co.uk - June 17th, 2020
- Yogini Ekadashi 2020: Date, Timing of puja and the significance of this vrat - World Wire - June 17th, 2020
- Radhika Apte Is On Cloud Nine As She Announces Her English Film Libert: A Call To Spy; To Be Released By IFC Films - SpotboyE - June 17th, 2020
- Title insurance is broken. Heres how this $623M startup hopes to rebuild it - The Real Deal - June 17th, 2020
- Sevagram Ashram chief removed over allegations of being Godsewadi, he strongly denies it - The Indian Express - June 2nd, 2020
- Father dead; future of 2 kids gutted in fire - Ahmedabad Mirror - June 2nd, 2020
- No admission of tribal students in English schools this year - Outlook India - June 2nd, 2020
- Yogi who claimed to have survived without food, water for 76 years dies - The Tribune India - June 2nd, 2020
- Pentecost Tongues of Fire - The Free Weekly - June 2nd, 2020
- Rajasthan: Sadhu accused of rape commits suicide, declares himself innocent and a victim of blackmail in video message - OpIndia - June 2nd, 2020
- Guiding Light: Others are a mirror - Free Press Journal - June 2nd, 2020
- Uttarakhand News: Gayatri Puja With Social Distancing From 9 AM Today in All Households to Fight COVID-19 - India.com - June 2nd, 2020
- Mangaluru: Thirteen-day novena begins in preparation for annual feast of St Anthony - Daijiworld.com - June 2nd, 2020
- Global Social Connect webinar on COVID reaches out to Indians across the borders to US, Malaysia, Singapore & Canada - India Education Diary - June 2nd, 2020
- Akal Ashram Colony residents rue shortage of drinking water - The Tribune India - May 8th, 2020
- Netizens mark birth anniversary of Tagore with online performances - The Hindu - May 8th, 2020
- 83-Year-Old Hotelier Maps Lord Ram's Exile Itinerary on Atlas to Pass Time in Lockdown - News18 - May 8th, 2020
- How will the 'new normal' look like for two gyms? - Sports Interactive Network Philippines - May 8th, 2020
- Prasar Bharati to telecast Bengaluru play - The Hindu - May 8th, 2020
- Ash immersion in Haridwar begins after govts nod to rituals for the dead - Hindustan Times - May 8th, 2020
- Poet and the Pandemic - The Statesman - May 8th, 2020
- Where Indias government has failed in the pandemic, its people have stepped in - The Guardian - May 8th, 2020
- How troublesome are these Sadhus, just burn and kill them: Mob in Haryanas Mewat attacks Mahant Ramdas of Muktidham Ashram - OpIndia - May 1st, 2020
- Assassin's Creed Valhalla Is Balanced To Allow You To 'Play The Content You Want' - PlayStation Universe - May 1st, 2020
- Noted author Kundanika Kapadia dies at 93 - The Indian Express - May 1st, 2020
- These rare pics of Irrfan Khan with wife Sutapa at Badanwal Gandhi Ashram bring forth his humble and unseen... - Zee News - May 1st, 2020
- Bandcamp Recs: Escapist Tunes and Mood-Lifting Grooves to Melt Away the Blues - KQED - May 1st, 2020
- Where is Real Marigold Hotel 2020 filmed? - The Sun - May 1st, 2020
- Chinmayanand case: HC rejects law students allegations of bias, harassment against SIT - The New Indian Express - May 1st, 2020
- Vinod Khannas 3rd Death Anniversary: The Actor Cleaned Toilets, Did Dishes At Oshos US Ashram After Walking Away From Films - SpotboyE - May 1st, 2020
- I pleaded for my life but they continued to attack me, Sadhu in Punjab mercilessly beaten, Rs 50,000 stolen as he lay bleeding - OpIndia - April 25th, 2020
- Foreign tourists found self-isolating in Indian cave - CNN - April 25th, 2020