Conversion Therapy and Narratives of Cure: Debunking Anti-LGBTQ2+ Rhetoric in Law

While proponents of conversion therapy argue that legislative bans infringe on freedoms of expression and religion, its opponents contend that failing to impose a ban would have harmful consequences. Now criminalized at the federal level, we discuss the practice of conversion therapy: its impacts, ideological underpinnings, and the legislative approaches to its ban in Canada. We speak with Dr. Kristopher Wells, associate professor in the Faculty of Health and Community Studies at MacEwen University, and author of the Canada Research Chair report, “Conversion Therapy in Canada: A Guide for Legislative Action.”