LGBTQ+ and Torture

colorful LGBTQ+ flags shine in the sunset during the pride celebration in Chueca, Madrid. Credit: Komuso, Shutterstock

In most, if not all, societies, people whose sexual orientation or gender identity are different from the heterosexual cisgender majority face a range of discrimination and often violence. That makes them uniquely exposed to torture and other ill-treatment.

IRCT data shows our member centres worldwide treat an average of 1,710 LGBTI+ survivors of torture each year, or around 3% of total survivors treated.

While that figure is broadly consistent with best estimates of the global proportion of persons who are LGBTI+, many LGBTI+ survivors treated at our centres are not recorded as such for their safety or out of fear of violence or recrimination. Thus, the 3% number is a significant underestimate.

One of the least understood, but most harmful, ways in which individuals who are LGBT+ suffer torture and ill-treatment is through the practice of so-called ‘conversion therapy’ – that set of practices that aim to change, ‘repair’ or ‘cure’ the individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It can range from psychotherapy to violent physical acts such as beatings, rape, and electrocution.

The IRCT has played a small but significant role in what is now a growing global movement to ban the practice.

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In this video, we profile some of the inspiring human rights defenders standing up and speaking out to demand an end to conversion therapy

Conversion therapy is a set of practices that aim to change, ‘repair’ or ‘cure’ an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. It is premised on a belief that an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity makes them ill or abnormal and that those characteristics can changed, and doing so is a desirable outcome for the individual, family, or community. Other terms used to describe conversion therapy include sexual orientation change effort (SOCE), reparative therapy, reintegrative therapy, reorientation therapy, ex-gay therapy, and gay cure. The practices of conversion therapy vary across different cultural, religious and medical contexts, but can include violent physical acts such as beatings, rape, forced nudity, forced feeding, starvation and electrocution, as well as a range of reputedly therapeutic practices including psychotherapy, group therapy, and hypnosis, sometimes under the guise of spiritual guidance.

The arguments made by conversion therapy practitioners is that an individual with a sexual orientation or gender identity that is different from heterosexual orientation requires those characteristics to be ‘converted’ back to the supposed norm of society. As such, individuals who are lesbian, gay, bi-sexual, transgender, queer or other variations in sexuality or gender identity (LGBT+) are the most at-risk group for conversion therapy, with children being particularly vulnerable.

The Convention Against Torture defines torture as the intentional infliction of severe physical or mental pain for purposes that include discrimination, when carried out by, or with the consent of, a public official.

After reviewing research and survivor testimonies, IFEG a group of 42 independent medico legal specialists from 23 countries, concluded that conversion therapy constitutes cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment when imposed forcibly or without consent, and may amount to torture depending on the severity of the suffering inflicted. According to IFEG, many documented conversion therapy methods resemble practices already acknowledged as torture or ill treatment, including beatings, rape, forced nudity, force feeding, isolation, food deprivation, forced medication, humiliation, verbal abuse, and electrocution. These acts—and the prolonged periods during which individuals endure them—are internationally recognised as causing significant physical and psychological harm.

IFEG further emphasized that all forms of conversion therapy, including talk based or psychotherapeutic approaches, can inflict intense psychological suffering. Because these practices aim to suppress or change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, IFEG considers them inherently humiliating, demeaning, and discriminatory, regardless of the method used.

Read our report: Its Torture Not Therapy

The CAT definition of torture does not include acts perpetrated by private individuals. However, the Committee Against Torture, the treaty’s monitoring body, in its General Comment No. 2 established a “due diligence” obligation on States to prevent acts of torture or ill treatment by private individuals where they know or have reasonable grounds to suspect such acts are being committed.

In 2020, the UN Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity affirmed that States have a positive obligation to prevent, investigate, and punish conversion therapy, even when carried out by private or religious actors. The report found these practices inherently discriminatory, often causing severe suffering, and potentially amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, requiring States to prohibit them in all settings.

Recent years have seen significant progress in banning conversion therapy worldwide. A growing number of countries—including Belgium, Iceland, Norway, Mexico, Portugal, Spain, Canada, France, and New Zealand—have adopted full national bans, reflecting stronger recognition that these practices are discriminatory and can amount to torture. Several others, such as India, Vietnam, Chile, and Brazil, have introduced professional or medical‑sector prohibitions, limiting the practice in clinical settings. Courts in countries like China have also ruled in favor of victims, signalling increasing judicial intolerance for coercive “treatments.”

At the same time, there has been notable backsliding. The most significant reversal occurred in the United States, where a major Supreme Court ruling invalidated state‑level bans by framing conversion therapy as protected speech, effectively reopening the practice nationwide. Some regions continue to lack explicit protections, and in parts of Africa, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe, conversion therapy remains legal or unregulated, leaving LGBTQ+ individuals vulnerable.

On March 31, 2026, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 8–1 in Chiles v. Salazar that Colorado’s ban on conversion therapy for minors violated counselors’ First Amendment rights. The decision significantly weakens state‑level efforts to restrict conversion therapy, a practice the United Nations has described as potentially amounting to torture.

Forcibly conducted anal examinations occur in some countries where consensual same‑sex conduct is criminalized. These procedures target men and are based on the false belief that anal appearance or sphincter “laxity” can prove homosexual activity, despite having no scientific validity. Examinations are typically ordered by law‑enforcement or courts, carried out without informed consent, and often performed in detention, where refusal may be treated as self‑incrimination. In some places, medical personnel are legally compelled to comply.

In a Statement Independent Forensic Expert Group (IFEG) explains the lack of medical validity, the physical and psychological harm caused, and why such examinations may constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or torture.

Ifeg’s Statement on Anal Examinations in Cases of alleged homosexuality

Member centers around the world have reported having provided healing services to torture survivors who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex or gender diverse (LGBT+). We want to explore the specificities and challenges in both, the rehabilitation and legal protection processes of LGBT+ individuals (e.g. disclosure, identity, protection, etc.).

Have they been subjected to torture because of their sexual orientation or gender identity? What are the particular challenges that survivors, health and legal professionals face when working with these cases? Can we learn something from our experience so far?

Watch Working with Torture Survivors Who Self-Identify as LGBT+