The Netherlands has banned conversion therapy, with new laws receiving approval from the country’s Senate. The legislation makes attempts to change or suppress a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity a criminal offence.
The vote saw 57 senators support the legislation, while 15 voted against it. The new law bans both performing conversion practices and offering such services. While existing laws already prohibited medical treatments such as medication or electroshock therapy, the updated legislation now explicitly outlaws counselling-based practices.
The law applies to practices targeting minors or adults in vulnerable situations. Those found guilty face fines of up to 27,500 euros (AUD 45,000) and prison sentences of up to two years. Professional counsellors may also face deregistration and be banned from future practice.
COC Netherlands, the world’s oldest LGBTIQA+ advocacy group, welcomed the passage of the bill. Chair Myrtille Danse said the legislation delivers long-awaited protection for people who may suffer lasting harm from such practices. She added that the idea of changing or “curing” someone’s sexual orientation is not grounded in reality.
“You are good as you are,” she said, her comments reported in the NL Times.
“Conversion practices do not change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity, but they do harm victims. Research shows they can lead to lifelong trauma, depression and suicidal thoughts. We hope the ban will help ensure no one in the Netherlands becomes a victim of these practices,” the organisation said in a statement, noting it has campaigned for the laws for more than 15 years.
Western Australia, alongside Tasmania and the Northern Territory, remains one of the few Australian jurisdictions where conversion therapy practices are not yet fully prohibited.
On the inaugural International Day to End Conversion Therapy in January, Western Australian Attorney-General Tony Buti reaffirmed the government’s commitment to banning the practice. Dr Buti said the legislation is expected to be introduced into parliament in 2026.
“Legislation to criminalise this outdated and harmful practice, and introduce a civil scheme, is expected to be brought before the Western Australian Parliament in 2026,” he told OUTinPerth.
Western Australia has been looking at bringing in legislation for a long time
Labor promised to bring in the legislation back in 2022 following a parliamentary inquiry into the operations of Esther House, but now Premier Roger Cook first made a commitment to look into the issue when he was Health Minister back in 2017.
In 2024 the Cook government said it had run out of time to address the issue during its second term of government, but was committed to bringing in the legislation if reelected in 2025, but there was no legislation forthcoming in 2025.
The report into the activities at Perth’s religious based facility Esther House highlighted Western Australia’s lack of legislation specifically outlawing conversion practices and suppression practices that aim to change a person’s sexuality or gender.
Last year The Medical Journal of Australia published a new analysis of a study they published back in 1987. The report from Dr Robert Kosky reported that eight children who were removed from their families for long stretches and treated in a Perth hospital facility located at Stubbs Terrace reportedly ceased expressing gender behaviour that did not align with their birth gender.
The paper argues that the patients gender dysphoria was a result of poor family dynamics, and it could be corrected during a long hospital stay. Upon the release of the report the government said it was confident that similar practices were not being used in government facilities today.
