From: Daniel Lee <daniel@iglhrc.org>
Date sent: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 10:59:17 -0700
Subject: [lgbt_india] IGLHRC Alert: End psychiatric abuse against homosexuals in India
Please forward and disseminate widely: advocacy letters are urgently
needed by July 18, 2001
EMERGENCY RESPONSE NETWORK
International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC)
*******************************************************ACTION ALERT
INDIA: CALL ON NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION TO END PSYCHIATRIC ABUSE AGAINST HOMOSEXUALS
*******************************************************
SUMMARY
On May 29, 2001, the Milan Project, a program of the Naz Foundation
India Trust focusing on human rights and sexual health issues for the
community of men who have sex with men in Delhi, filed a formal
complaint with the National Human Rights Commission of India (NHRC).
Complaint diary 3920 concerns a case of reported psychiatric abuse
involving a patient at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences
(AIIMS) who received almost four years of treatment aimed at the
conversion of his homosexuality. The treatment reportedly involved
two components: counseling therapy and drugs. During counseling
therapy sessions, the doctor explicitly told the patient that he
needed to curb his homosexual fantasies, as well as start making
women rather than men the objects of his desire. The doctor also
administered drugs intended to change the sexual orientation of the
patient, providing loose drugs from his stock rather than disclosing
the identity of the drug through formal prescription. The patient
reports experiencing serious emotional and psychological trauma and
damage, as well as a feeling of personal violation, due to these
actions.
Case 3920 illustrates the necessity for formal standards to prevent
discrimination and abuse on the basis of sexual orientation in
medical and psychiatric care. No doubt, in the absence of these,
physicians cannot be held accountable for human rights violations
against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender individuals occurring
in psychiatric and medical contexts throughout India. This case also
underscores the urgent need for the explicit laws preventing
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation to address abuse
and inequalities in all sectors of society.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission joins the
Milan Project of the Naz Foundation in Delhi in demanding that the
National Human Rights Commission of India formally recommend to the
relevant psychiatric bodies in India the formal issuance of a
statement declaring that homosexuality is not a disease requiring
treatment or a cure. In light of this complaint, we also call upon
the NHRC to recommend to the National Commission to Review the
Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) the inclusion of a clause in the
Indian Constitution ensuring non-discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation. This Commission was established last year to
recommend revisions to the Indian Constitution, including issues
related to fundamental rights. Its current invitation for final
suggestions (prior to the closure of the committee) presents a
critical opportunity to recommend legislation that will prevent
further cases of discrimination and abuse on the basis of sexual
orientation in all realms of society.
ACTION (DEADLINE: July 18, 2001)
Please send support letters, faxes, and/or e-mail messages (a sample
letter follows) to the address below calling on the National Human
Rights Commission to thoroughly investigate Case 3920, to formally
recommend to all relevant Indian psychiatric bodies the issuance of
an official statement that homosexuality is not a disease that
requires a cure, and to recommend to the National Commission to
Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) the inclusion of a
clause in the Indian Constitution providing protection from
discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. Please act
quickly, as this case is slated for a final hearing on July 18.
By mail:
Justice J. S. Verma
Chairman
The National Human Rights Commission
Sardar Patel Bhawan
Sansad Marg
New Delhi 110001
By fax: +91 11 334 0016
By e-mail: nhrc@ren.nic.in, nhrc.del@x400.nicgw.nic.in
Please send copies of your correspondence to:
The Milan Project
c/o Naz Foundation
D-45, Gulmohar Park
New Delhi 110049
INDIA
E-mail: milanproject@hotmail.com
SUGGESTED TEXT OF LETTER:
Honorable Chairman:
I am writing to express serious concern regarding a complaint of
alleged psychiatric abuse on the basis of sexual orientation filed on
May 29, 2001 by the Milan Project of the Naz Foundation in Delhi. I
call upon the National Human Rights Commission to thoroughly
investigate the case and, moreover, to prevent further instances of
psychiatric abuse of this nature by formally recommending that all
relevant Indian psychiatric bodies issue official statements
declaring that homosexuality is not an illness or disease requiring
treatment. I also request that the NHRC ask the National Commission
to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) to recommend
legislation providing protection from discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation.
Complaint diary 3920 concerns a male patient at the All India
Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), who reportedly received
treatment, over the course of almost four years, designed to
'convert' his homosexuality through counseling therapy and the
administering of psychotropic drugs. The patient allegedly suffered
severe emotional and psychological trauma and damage due to his
doctor's actions.
This form of psychiatric treatment, reflecting an understanding of
homosexuality as a disease, represents a serious contravention of
internationally recognized psychiatric guidelines and human rights
standards. Indeed, it is critical to recognize a strong consensus in
international medical standards, reinforced by over 35 years of
research, that homosexuality is not a disease, mental disorder, or
emotional problem requiring treatment--and, moreover, is not
changeable. In 1973, the American Psychiatric Association removed
homosexuality from its official list of mental disorders, concluding
that homosexuality itself has no association with impairment in
judgement, stability, reliability, or general social or vocational
capabilities. The World Health Organization adopted a similar
position in 1993, as did the psychiatric body governing Japanese
standards in 1995 and, most recently, the 8000-member Chinese
Psychiatric Association in March 2001. In the latter case, members
regarded this decision as an important and necessary first step to
promote more openness and tolerance in society.
Dismissing these psychiatric standards as a mere "social issue",
rather than taking it seriously as a human rights violation, would
constitute a grave mistake. Non-self-selected medical or psychiatric
treatment designed to alter a person's sexual orientation or gender
identity is a violation of fundamental human rights under
international law, including protections enshrined in the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by
India in 1979. These include the right to freely pursue one's
economic, social, and cultural development (Article 1); right to life
(Article 6); right to freedom from torture or cruel, inhuman, or
degrading treatment (Article 7); right to liberty and security
(Article 9); right to privacy (Article 17); right to freedom of
thought, conscience, and religion (Article 18); right to freedom of
expression (Article 19); and right to nondiscrimination (Article
26). Moreover, involuntary medical treatment designed to change a
person's sexual orientation is a form of torture, defined by the
Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment, ratified by India in 1997, as "any act by
which severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental, is
intentionally inflicted on a person . . . for any reason based on
discrimination of any kind." It is also worthy to note that those
actions undertaken by the physician in this case also violate the
patient's right to consent in medical treatment and right to
competent medical care.
These issues of psychiatric standards and medical abuse strike at the
core of the mission of the National Human Rights Commission to work
against discrimination and redress situations of abuse. As a member
of the international human rights community, I ask that the NHRC
thoroughly and immediately investigate the case and recommend to all
relevant Indian psychiatric bodies the issuance of a formal statement
that homosexuality is not a disease that requires a cure. I also ask
the NHRC to recommend to the National Commission to Review the
Working of the Constitution (NCRWC) the inclusion of a clause in the
Indian Constitution ensuring non-discrimination on the basis of
sexual orientation.
The goal of human and civil rights standards is to protect all
persons equally, without distinction or discrimination. Recognizing
the need for protection against sexual orientation-based
discrimination and abuse is an indispensable means by which the
promise of universality can be fulfilled. I support the NHRC in its
active promotion of the human rights of lesbians and gays, and
ultimately all individuals and groups, in India--and respectfully ask
that the NHRC notify me in writing about the actions it intends to
take to address this serious human rights situation.
Thank you very much for your attention.
*******************************************************
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:
GENERAL RESOURCES ON SEXUAL ORIENTATION AND PSYCHIATRY/PSYCHOLOGY
American Psychological Association fact sheet: Questions and Answers
about Sexual Orientation and Homosexuality:
http://www.apa.org/pubinfo/answers.html
American Psychological Association Policy Statements on Lesbian, Gay,
and Bisexual Concerns: http://www.apa.org/pi/lgbpolicy/homepage.html
General fact sheet on homosexuality and psychology:
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_mental_health.html
Fact sheet on the issue of changing homosexuality:
http://psychology.ucdavis.edu/rainbow/html/facts_changing.html
BACKGROUND ABOUT RECENT CHINESE PSYCHIATRIC ASSOCIATION DECISION TO
DEPATHOLOGIZE HOMOSEXUALITY:
Los Angeles Times, "Chinese Psychiatrists Decide Homosexuality Isn't Abnormal"
http://www.latimes.com/news/nation/updates2/lat_chigay010306.htm
Associated Press, "China Decides Homosexuality No Longer Mental
Illness" (two different sites with same information)
http://www.king5.com/world/storydetail.html?StoryID=15297
SUBMISSION BY THE INTERNATIONAL GAY AND LESBIAN HUMAN RIGHTS
COMMISSION TO THE UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON TORTURE (in
particular, see section on "Medical Abuses"):
http://www.iglhrc.org/issues/UN/UN_Torture2001Jun.html
BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION OF
INDIA: http://www.nhrc.nic.in
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