DCW on Saturday issued a notice to the National Medical Commission demanding action against illegal conversion therapy training for the LGBTQI+ community being promoted under the banner of the World Congress of Psychology.
The Delhi Commission for Women (DCW) said it has taken cognizance of an advertisement circulating on social media claiming that an organization called World Congress of Psychology, with its head office at Tirupati in Andhra Pradesh, is conducting a three-month training program on psychosomatic disorders starting March 10.
The organization apparently offered training on 47 different disorders, including homosexuality, lesbianism and transvestism, the organization noted. According to the commission, it is an accepted fact that homosexuality, lesbianism and transvestism are not “psychosomatic disorders”.
More than 50 years ago, the American Psychiatric Association (APA) issued a resolution stating that homosexuality is not a mental illness or illness. Conversion therapy is a set of pseudoscientific practices that target LGBTIQA+ (an acronym for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex and asexual people) to change their sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
The commission cited a 2021 judgment handed down by the Madras High Court, which said that any attempt to medically “cure” or change the sexual orientation of LGBTIQ+ people to heterosexual or the gender identity of transgender people to cisgender is prohibited.
The court also directed the National Medical Commission, Indian Psychiatric Society and Rehabilitation Council of India to take action against the concerned professional involved in any form or method of conversion “therapy”, including revocation of license to practice, it said.
Pursuant to the order, the National Medical Commission (NMC) declared conversion therapy illegal, categorized it as “professional misconduct” and banned the practice under the Indian Medical Council (Professional Conduct, Etiquette and Ethics) Regulations, 2002, it added.
The Commission noted that despite these judgments, conversion therapy is unfortunately still common and such programs appear to be organized and advertised.
The DCW has issued a notice to the Chairman of the National Medical Commission and sought a copy of the investigation report in the case. The Commission inquired whether the program was or had been conducted in the past and, if so, details of the action taken against the organization, its officials and trainers, and whether their licenses had been revoked.
The commission also requested a copy of the National Medical Commission’s guidelines or recommendations prohibiting conversion therapy for LGBTQIA+ individuals.