If you think the Fundaloons insistence on eliminating abortion rights is the worst they have in store; I have news for you, it is just the tip of the iceberg of the amount of control the religious right thinks they should be entitled to.
First watch this video.
Kidnapped for Christ Trailer from Kidnapped For Christ on Vimeo.
This is a film about Ex-Gay reparative "therapy". The same sort of psychological manipulation pandered by the likes of Marcus Bachmann.
The American Psychological Association has determined that this therapeutic model is contrary to the premise of do no harm and that it is not a legitimate methodology.
In response to recent public debates about interventions intended to change individuals' sexual orientation, the American Psychological Association created a Task Force on Appropriate Therapeutic Responses to Sexual Orientation which reviewed the relevant research literature.
In 2009, the Task Force reported that it found "serious methodological problems in this area of research, such that only a few studies met the minimal standards for evaluating whether psychological treatments, such as efforts to change sexual orientation, are effective" (p. 2).
Based on its review of the studies that met these standards, the Task Force concluded that "[E]nduring change to an individual's sexual orientation is uncommon. The participants in this body of research continued to experience same-sex attractions following SOCE [sexual orientation change efforts] and did not report significant change to other-sex attractions that could be empirically validated, though some showed lessened physiological arousal to all sexual stimuli. Compelling evidence of decreased same-sex sexual behavior and of engagement in sexual behavior with the other sex was rare. Few studies provided strong evidence that any changes produced in laboratory conditions translated to daily life. Thus, the results of scientifically valid research indicate that it is unlikely that individuals will be able to reduce same-sex attractions or increase other-sex sexual attractions through SOCE" (pp. 2-3).
Despite being a discredited model there still are those that insist that one should change their orientation. Children that are obviously not gender conformant are usually the targets with treatments ranging the punishment scale from denial of toys and clothing that they feel comfortable in, to physical abuse, and sometimes medical abuse in the form of electro convulsive therapy. Recent deaths of children in one of these camps in South Africa is the subject of a murder trial.
Trigger warning:
Last week, the Vereeniging District Court heard the testimony of a boy who had shared a tent with Buys, the Daily Maverick reports.
Gerhard Oostuizen, 19, claims Buys was chained to his bed every night, was refused permission to visit the toilet and on one occasion was forced to eat his own faeces.
He also said he would be beaten with planks, hosepipes and sticks when he failed to carry out manual labor tasks.
Oostuizen alleged further he saw De Koker tied Buys to a chair naked with his head covered in a pillowcase, and would electrocute him with a stun gun.
Gender activist Melanie Nathan has said the three young men were all perceived as ‘gay and clearly effeminate’.
In reference to ‘gay conversion camps’, Nathan writes: ‘With a little bit of digging [into the story], the gay reparative undertones start to emerge.’
These children do not know why exactly they are being punished. Only that they themselves are defective to the point their parents would let this happen to them. But understanding what it is that is wrong with them is never explained. And these children are left knowing these is no one they can turn to for help.
If you think these places are only outside the country, SPLC has a National map showing that is not the case. Despite the fact that conversion therapy is discredited by many groups and certifying agencies.
People who have undergone conversion therapy have reported increased anxiety, depression, and in some cases, suicidal ideation. The devastating consequences of conversion therapy are why the Southern Poverty Law Center is dedicated to ending this practice and defending the rights of individuals harmed by it.
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