Banning Conversion Therapy for the Transgender Youth - Essay Example

Banning conversion therapy for the transgender youth Affiliation Introduction Conversation therapy, which can also be expressed as conversation therapy tries to convert lesbians, gay, bisexual as well as transgender persons from same gender sex to heterosexuality by means of prayer as well as other efforts. The basis of reparative therapy is that the gender identity or sexual orientation of a person is a choice. According to human rights and major psychological organizations, government entity’s as well as individuals, it is clear that transgender conversation therapy for the youth is unhealthy and should be banned completely. Leelah Alcorn is considered a feminist who set the ball rolling for banning transgender reparative therapy. This paper looks at Leelah’s story, how seriously it has been taken in terms of the viewpoints of organizations, individuals as well as the governments especially in North America. Legislature Banning Reparative Therapy for Transgender Youth The ball has set rolling in banning transgender conversation therapy especially in the North American states. According to Clinton Anderson who is the associated director for APA’s gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual issues office, expressed that the youth as well as parents need to avoid reparative therapies. The legislature of California State passed the first law in the nation banning the professional psychological therapy that is meant to turn lesbian as well as gay youths straight. Tis legislation will be going next to the Gov. Jerry Brown to be reviewed. The legislation does prevent psychologists as well as therapists who are licensed from trying to change the under 18 child’s sexual orientation. Gay conversation therapy is a practice that hits on some sensitive cultural subject within a year of elections during which the rights of gay have emerged like a crisis within some states. The legislation of California will only apply to licensed psychologists as well as professional therapists, however, it will not affect counseling that community or religious groups offer. Other states that have taken a similar step include New Jersey and Washington D.C (Costello, 2014). San Francisco resident Peter Drake, who underwent weekly gay-conversion therapy from 2001 to 2004, testified before the legislature earlier this year that it didnt work, "It was an extremely painful experience," said Mr. Drake, 55 years old, who now runs a nonprofit called the COIL Foundation that fights discrimination against gays and lesbians. "I ended up getting more and more depressed," he added (Fowler, 2015). Feminism and Leelah’s Story Since the dawn of the American nation, women have been there whom fought for equal rights. Despite the fact that women were unable to vote till the 1920s, pioneers such as Abigail Adams drew attention of the rights of women as early as 18th century (U.S. Department of State, 2015). Lately, Woman have been in the front line to protect their rights in different aspects. Feminism is a matter gender of equality. At first, women fought to be treated not as only house wives and for bearing children only. With time, women have had many challenges they had to fight hard so as to be heard. Lately, eight women from around the world asked Facebook to do away with the fat emotion opinion. Women also fight for American currency be printed with a woman’s face on it. Woman have gone through too much mistreatment and rights infringement but keep on fighting hard to enjoy their rights as humans. It has been tragic how far women are going to protect their rights. Most shocking, it has come to cost a life for women to be heard as far as banning transgender therapy is concerned. Women’s happiness has been sabotaged by feminism. According to Ken Walsh’s Washington news gram, “Washington Whispers,” feminism has flipped female male relationships upside down. Women now seek independence while men seek love, marriage as well as children. In December 2014, a seventeen year old Leelah Alcorn, who was a transgender youth drafted her suicide note, posted the letter on Tumblr then went to the highway where she ended her life in front of a truck. The suicide note described the manner in which she had been forced to attend reparative therapy by her parents. It feels sad that they pulled Leelah out of school as well as isolating her as they tried to change her gender identity. According to Leelah. “My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say “that’s fucked up” and fix it. Fix society. Please. “(Transgender Human Rights Institute, 2015). As a result of the actions of Leelah, petitioners called for the United States President as well as the Senate house Leadership to search for a way to ban the transgender conversation therapy practice. In addition, the petitioners requested that such a bell be called Leelah’s Alcorn Law as a way of honoring Leelah’s memory (Mitch, 2015). Conversation therapies are known to result to great harms, this time round, the death of Leelah. Therapist as well as psychologists who engage in an attempt to reverse or brainwash the gender identity of children happen to be unethical. That is the reason as to why there is need for a legislation to bring such practices to an end. Within the nation, transgender youth have the highest rate of suicide, change organization feels that therapist’s should not be given the chance anymore to increase suicide rates by use of therapy methodologies which have been confirmed in hurting transgender youth (Transgender Human Rights Institute, 2015). Support to Ban Reparative Therapy The claim is to protect the gay, lesbian, transgender as well as bisexual individuals from unhealthy as well as discredited practice of reparative therapy, which leads to depression as well as suicide mostly to its patients. The D.C. Council directed some powerful message to gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual persons as well as their family that they are being supported, loved as well as accepted (Costello, 2014). The D.C. council also expressed that it made use of its authority to defend most youths who are vulnerable from dangerous as well as discredited pseudoscience, which tells them that whom they are happens to be wrong as well as reaffirmed the accord for each key medical as well as mental health organization the fact that every child is born perfect, irrespective of the child’s gender identity or sexual orientation (Costello, 2014). According to the Jerry Brown, senator of California who is the author of the bill, conversation treatments are tantamount to abuse of children. The attempts are a deception and such psychological abuse type to the child has to stop (Fowler, 2015). According to APA’s gay, lesbian, transgender and bisexual issue office associate director Clinton Anderson, said that despite the absence of evidence for supporting such conclusions, reparatory therapy causes suicide. Also due to the fact that mostly these therapies fail to work often, they cause most youths to loose self-esteem or even suicide. According to him, individuals report that such therapies worsen their own struggles as well as distress (Fowler, 2015). Opposing his views, the law’s opponents including National Association for Research as well as Therapy of Homosexuality expresses that scientific grounds for banning reparative therapies for LBBT do not exist. In a statement that was posted the website of the nonprofit groups by one of its members who is a psychologist, it stated that the claims of the Californian Senator were rhetoric but no research based. He said that the Senators intend was only to intimidate therapists as well as supplant parent’s rights. Initially, the psychological association of California was not in support for the bill. They cited concern on the legislature’s intrusion into clinical practice and about what could be described as overly broad definition for efforts to modify sexual orientation. However, the association as well as other mental health groups changed their point of view upon being persuaded by the senator Lieu (Fowler, 2015). Peter Drake, a resident in San Francisco who attended weekly gay reparative therapy since the year 2001 to 2004 insisted before parliament that the process did not work. He explained that is was quite a painful experience. This man was compelled to start a nonprofit foundation by the name of COIL which fights against transgender discrimination. He feels that such a practice is a malpractice (Fowler, 2015). Views from Major psychological associations American Pediatrics Association- a study “Characteristics of Children and Adolescents with Gender Identity Disorder Referred to a Pediatric Medical Center," which was conducted in 2012 march, it stated that gender dysphoric kids whom fail to receive counseling or medical treatment for GID are in danger of certain emotional as well as behavioral problems one of them being psychiatric diagnosis. 44% of the 91 patients below the age of 21 who met GID criteria had psychiatric symptoms, with 31% taking psychiatric medications while 21.6% had suicide attempts or self-mutilation history. American Psychological Association- APA calls for psychologists within their professional roles to offer nondiscriminatory, appropriate treatment to the transgender as well as gender variant persons. It as well encourages these psychologists to lead by discrimination towards the gender variant and transgender individuals. National Association of Social Workers- it is for different reasons that individuals search for mental health services. Consequently, it would be fair to state that gay as well as lesbians seek therapy for reasons similar to those of heterosexual individuals. But the media campaign increase coupled often with messages that are coercive, from community and family members, has come to create an environment within which the transgender individuals are often pressured to attend conversation therapies that cannot as well as will not make a change in their sexual orientation. According to NCLBG, this kind of treatment result to serious emotional damage. American Counseling Association- standard A.1.a, which is Primary Responsibility, says that councilor’s primary responsibility is respecting the dignity as well as promoting client’s welfare. Client referral to a certain councilor who in turn starts treatment modality with no endorsement by the profession may cause damage and this does not promote client’s welfare as well as it is ethically a dubious position. The position gets support from Standard A.4.a which is Avoiding Harm. The actions of councilors are aimed at avoiding harm to clients, research participants and trainees as well as avoiding unexpected harm. It would take the life of Leelah Alcon for people to realize how harmful conversation therapy is for youth as well as even adult transgender individuals. Different organizations have expressed how they view conversation therapy for transgender youth as harmful and unethical. Government officials have even expressed their willingness to ban the exercise which they say is exposing the youth in problematic areas leading to attempted suicides. Leelah as feminist took feminism to a higher level showing how far women are willing to go to fight for their rights. The question is how much far are the givers of rights waiting for women to go so as to let them enjoy their rights. With enough evidence that conversation therapy for transgender is worsening their situation, it should be done away with and it is high time the transgender individuals come to be respected for whom they are. No one should be marginalized because of gender orientation. References Costello, A. (2014). District Of Columbia Council Approves Bill Protecting Lgbt Youth From Conversion Therapy. Towleroad, 1. Fowler, G. (2015). California Bill Bans Gay-Conversion Therapy. Wall Street Journal, 3. Mitch, K. (2015). Petition for Leelahs Law Banning Conversion Therapy Heads to White House. Retrieved from advocate.com: http://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender/2015/01/30/petition-leelahs-law-banning-conversion-therapy-heads-white-house Transgender Human Rights Institute. (2015). Enact Leelahs Law to Ban Transgender Conversion Therapy. Retrieved from change.org: https://www.change.org/p/president-of-the-united-states-enact-leelah-s-law-to-ban-transgender-conversion-therapy U.S. Department of State. (2015). Milestones in U.S. Women’s History. Retrieved from iipdigital.usembassy.gov: http://iipdigital.usembassy.gov/st/english/article/2012/03/201203091900.html#axzz3URQvkPFX Read More