EU pushes bloc-wide conversion therapy ban as practices evolve

A citizen-led initiative is pushing the European Union to implement a bloc-wide ban on conversion practices. The legislative push responds to new data showing that a quarter of LGBTI+ people in the EU have experienced attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

Studies by the EU Fundamental Rights Agency indicate the crisis is most acute in Greece, where 38 percent of LGBTI+ citizens report undergoing such interventions. Ten member states have now enacted mostly comprehensive bans, including Germany in 2020 and France in 2022, with the Netherlands joining this June. Penalties for violations vary, ranging from a maximum of one year in prison in Germany and Malta to five years in Portugal if the treatment causes irreversible damage.

"Conversion practices have no place in the European Union… There is nothing to cure in LGBTIQ+ people," EU commissioner Hadja Labhib said. A coordinated EU-level ban would address the current fragmented legal landscape, which leaves significant gaps in protection and enforcement across member states.

Survivors illustrate how the nature of this coercion has changed over the decades. Edward, an 81-year-old Irishman now living in Malta, was 27 when he received electric shock treatment in London for six weeks. "I was black and blue. I could never roll my sleeves up," he said, adding: "Look at the time we’re in now, 2026 and it’s still going on. It’ll never stop. Never."

While early methods involved overt physical and sexual violence, modern practices rely on psychological manipulation masked as community support. "Perpetrators adapt as awareness increases," said Cianán Russell, a senior policy director at Brussels-based NGO ILGA. "With conversion practices, you stop seeing the 'pray the gay away' type of language because there's more societal awareness."

Tomasz Puła experienced these evolved tactics in Krakow, Poland, through a Pentecostal church group called Pascha. Activities like prayer and sports were framed as a method to suppress his sexuality. "I was a part of a Pentecostal church and really believed that God was able to change me, change my sexuality," Puła said, describing the group's premise as teaching "how you become to be a real man."

Younger people facing pressure from religious communities remain the primary targets. Even in states that have enacted bans, practitioners continue their work by rebranding these programmes as generic "self-actualisation" groups, highlighting how social stigma continues to undermine European legal frameworks.