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

The Keralam State branch of the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has strongly opposed 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), IMA Keralam said that sexual orientation and gender diversity are not diseases requiring treatment and warned that practices aimed at changing them are against evidence-based medicine, medical ethics, human dignity and the principle of ‘do no harm’.

The statement comes in the backdrop of long-running controversies over alleged conversion therapy practices in Kerala and complaints by LGBTQIA+ people that recently reached the Kerala High Court.

In 2023, a study of 130 LGBTQIA+ people in Kerala reported that 45.4% of study participants had been forced to undergo efforts to change their sexual orientation or “conversion therapy”, causing significant psychological distress.

HC guidelines

The matter was brought before the Kerala High Court in 2021 by an LGBTQIA+ organization, Queerala, to strike against conversion therapy. The petition said it had identified at least 20 doctors in Kerala who allegedly provided conversion therapy. Following this, the Kerala High Court in December 2021 directed the state government to take action against forced conversion therapy. The court also asked the state to formulate guidelines on the matter with the help of an expert committee, with input from all stakeholders and members of the queer community.

In 2024, a court granted a free life to a 19-year-old trans woman who approached the Kerala High Court over her family’s illegal detention and forced to undergo conversion therapy.

No medical justification

The IMA Keralam statement said that international medical and psychiatric organizations, including the World Medical Association, the World Health Organization and the American Psychiatric Association, have rejected the so-called conversion therapies as unscientific, without medical justification. It has been emphasized that such practices have the potential to adversely affect the mental and physical health of the individuals involved.

IMA Keralam also pointed to the position taken by the National Medical Commission that conversion therapy involving people with different sexual orientations, gender identities or intersex variations is unethical in medical education.

The IMA said health professionals should treat LGBTQIA+ individuals with respect for their dignity and autonomy and should not assist or refer people to attempts to change their sexual orientation or gender identity.

She also called for more training for health professionals on sexual and gender diversity and urged families and society to respond to LGBTQIA+ people with understanding and acceptance rather than pressuring them to change their sexual orientation.

People who suffer from anxiety, depression, mental health problems or discrimination should be offered appropriate mental health support without making that support conditional on changing their identity or sexuality, the IMA said.

Published – 15 Sep 2026 20:36 IST