(Bloomberg) -- The EU committed for the first time to seek a ban on conversion therapy as part of a new LGBTQ equality strategy European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen plans to pursue in her second term.
The EU is following in the path of countries including Ireland and the UK, which have moved to ban conversion therapy, the controversial practice of trying to change an LGBTQ child’s sexual orientation or gender identity through counseling. The issue has also become a politicized fight in the US — where similar bans have been subject to lawsuits, including ones that have been appealed to the Supreme Court.
Kim van Sparrentak, a lawmaker and co-president of the European Parliament’s LGBTIQ+ intergroup, welcomed the EU’s move. “I can’t wait until our community is protected from these torturous practices,” van Sparrentak said. “We are not sick, and we do not need to be fixed.”
The commitment came Tuesday in a letter that von der Leyen wrote to her proposed equality commissioner, Belgium’s Hadja Lahbib. Unlike in the previous mandate, von der Leyen isn’t appointing a dedicated equality commissioner. Lahbib, who has been serving as Belgium’s foreign minister, will also be in charge of crisis management and preparedness.
Several EU member states already have their own national bans on conversion therapy, including France, Germany and Greece.
Von der Leyen promised an updated LGBTQ equality strategy this summer, despite an increase in support for far-right parties in the European Parliament elections in June, saying “for too many people, equality is not yet a reality.”
Activists in EU member states Bulgaria and Hungary have warned about efforts to crack down on LGBTQ people through so-called anti-propaganda laws.
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