Dr Patrick Attard, Naxxar
Gay ‘conversion’ therapy can cause great psychological harm and suicides
I find Mark-Anthony Falzon’s column very interesting, but I strongly disagree with his May 15 contribution ‘Thou shalt arise and be gay’.
He mentions Pastor Gordon John Manché and gay conversion therapies and claims that gay rights groups should not hinder his right to express himself freely.
Gay conversion or reparative therapies cause significant harm to the person’s well-being and have been linked to a higher number of suicides and psychological problems in ‘converted’ people.
This wouldn’t be significant unless we note that last year, more than a quarter of all the suicide victims in Malta were gay people.
It is frightening that a gay youth is five times more likely to commit suicide in Malta. Not to mention the number of people who do not reach that point but have significant emotional problems. I appeal to all parents whose teenager tells them s/he is gay not to take them to such conversion therapy gatherings, which, albeit well-intentioned, may cause irreparable harm.
Behind every suicide there is a wrecked family suffering in silence.
For more information on gay suicides in Malta and abroad, visit: http://patrickattard.blogspot.com/search/label/Suicide .
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Mr Joe Xuereb
Jun 1st 2011, 12:41
Thank you Dr. Patrick Attard.
Gay people in Malta, as indeed anywhere else, are a tiny minority. That 25%+ of suicide cases in Malta are gay people is shocking, unacceptable and a damning reflection on the local culture and the way it deals (or sweeps under the carpet) issues centring round gender, human sexuality, etc. We don't feel comfortable with matters sexual and crucially, we lack the necessary vocabulary to discuss such matters, comfortably and freely.
Strong negative feelings directed at others 'to punish them' are a two-edged sword. They reverberate on the hating/angry perpetrator, wreaking havoc upon his/her moods, digestive system, wellness. So what could be worse than a young (or even older) gay man hating himself every living minute of his life for being 'different'? Bad enough. When seeking conversion and this fails, as it surely must (any 'cure' is only superficial plastering- over because the convert is so heavily invested in his 'healer' and what he stands for), where does the terrified youngster turn to?
Sadly, I've read comments here saying, why stand in the way of Mr. Manche' who is only wanting to cure a 'sick' person after all? This shows the general antipathy towards sexual and other differences. These types often cannot tolerate anything different including skin colour. But they would deny that. Coming to accept that which is different is not easy but not impossible. Retire into the shell that says 'all here are identical' and they set themselves up for isolation (if only a collective one), and a life of ignorance and deprivation. Typically, if one of their own turns out to be different, they decide to change him and end up colluding with the person who will ruin his life. All for the sake of sameness.