IMA Keralam opposes conversion therapy; says LGBTQIA+ identities are not diseases

The Indian Medical Association’s (IMA) Keralam State branch has come out strongly against the so-called conversion therapy, saying there is no scientific or medical basis for practices that seek to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity or gender expression.

In a statement issued in Thiruvananthpurm on Monday (September 14, 2026), the IMA Keralam said that sexual orientation and gender diversity are not diseases requiring treatment, and warned that practices aimed at changing these go against evidence-based medicine, medical ethics, human dignity and the principle of “do no harm.” The statement comes against the backdrop of long-running controversies over the alleged conversion therapy practices in Keralam, and complaints from LGBTQIA+ people, which had reached before the Kerala High Court also in recent times.

In 2023, a study involving 130 LGBTQIA+ people in Kerala had reported that 45.4% of the study participants were forced to go through sexualorientation change efforts or “çonversion therapies,” which caused them significant psychological distress The issue had been taken to the Kerala High Court by the LGBTQIA+ organisation, Queerala in 2021, seeking action against conversion therapy.

The petition had stated that it had identified at least 20 medical practitioners in Keralam who were allegedly providing conversion therapy. Following this, the Kerala High Court had in December 2021, directed the State government to take measures against forced conversion therapy.

The court had also asked the State to formulate guidelines on the same with the help of an expert committee, with inputs from all stakeholders and members of the queer community. In 2024, a 19-year-old transwoman, who had approached the Kerala High Court about her being kept in illegal detention by her family and forced to go through conversion therapy, had been allowed to live freely by the court.

The statement by IMA Keralam said that international medical and psychiatric organisations, including the World Medical Association, World Health Organisation and American Psychiatric Association, have rejected the so-called conversion therapies as unscientific, with no medical justification.

Such practices carry the potential to adversely affect both the mental and physical health of individuals involved, it has been pointed out. IMA Keralam also referred to the position adopted by the National Medical Commission that conversion therapy involving people with diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or intersex variations is unethical within medical education.

The IMA said that health-care professionals should approach LGBTQIA+ individuals with respect for their dignity and autonomy and that they should not facilitate or refer people for attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

It also called for greater training of health-care professionals on sexual and gender diversity and urged families and society to respond to LGBTQIA+ people with understanding and acceptance rather than pressurising them to change their sexual orientation.

People experiencing anxiety, depression, psychological distress or discrimination should be offered appropriate mental-health support without making that support conditional on changing their identity or sexuality, the IMA said.