Greece bans LGBTQ conversion remedy

An enormous rainbow flag is seen in front of the parliament building during a gay pleasure parade in Athens, Greece June 10, 2017. REUTERS/Costas Baltas

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ATHENS, May 10 (Reuters) - Greece on Wednesday banned conversion remedy for minors, a follow aimed toward suppressing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity and which the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans neighborhood worldwide, as well as health experts, have condemned as harmful.

Below the invoice, which Greece's parliament authorised, psychologists or different health professionals need a person's explicit consent to perform such treatment and face fines and a jail time period if they violate the law.

The federal government has drafted a nationwide strategy that runs till 2025 on reforms promoting gender equality in Greece, a largely conservative nation. Canada, New Zealand and France criminalized conversion therapy earlier this 12 months.

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"There were some false treatments that said that when a minor has chosen a different sexual orientation, his mother and father may supposedly proceed with 'remedies' for this child to 'return to normality'", Well being Minister Thanos Plevris advised parliament this week.

"Obviously these remedies not only are usually not a therapy but they are not supported scientifically," the minister stated.

The invoice also bans advertising such practices.

Plevris added that Greece additionally plans to ban surgeries on intersex infants and infants born with atypical chromosomes that have an effect on their reproductive anatomy in a way that doesn't fit with the normative definition of male or female.

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Reporting by Renee Maltezou Enhancing by Invoice Berkrot

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