Health Ethics and the Eradication of Conversion Practices in Africa

This publication provides African healthcare workers with current thinking and guidance on conversion practices and sexual and gender diversity. It offers practical suggestions for mental health and other healthcare practitioners on how they can contribute to the eradication of conversion practices. Additionally, it emphasizes the importance of delivering affirmative therapy, ensuring that all individuals, regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression, or sex characteristics, can receive compassionate and affirming care. This resource is designed to empower healthcare professionals to promote ethical practices and support the well-being of all patients.

This report aims to bridge this gap by providing a resource for advocates and practitioners in Africa to eradicate conversion practices. It has a twofold objective: to offer African healthcare workers updated guidance on conversion practices and sexual and gender diversity, and to provide material that civil society organizations can use for advocacy. The report includes a compendium of local and international healthcare standards and codes, aiding practitioners in engaging more effectively with sexual and gender minority patients.

“Practitioners shall always strive to observe the laws of the land but may participate, individually or collectively, in accordance with citizenship rights to bringing pressure to bear on governments or authorities, to change or modify laws or actions considered inequitable or inimical to the interest of the profession or the society.” 

This report was researched and written by Dr. Olayinka Atilola, who collaborated closely with Outright International’s Africa Program Officers Yvonne Wamari and former staff member Khanyo Farisé.

Outright International would like to recognize its national partners, The Initiative for Equal Rights (TIERS), Galck+, and Access Chapter 2, whose reports on the nature, extent, and impact of conversion practices informed the conceptualization of this publication and provided much-needed data on the manifestation of conversion practices in Africa.