The Finnish Parliament on Friday approved a citizens’ initiative calling on the government to draft legislation to ban ’conversion therapy’ for LGTB-identifying Finns. The initiative, backed by over 50,000 signatures since 2023, was supported by 125 MPs while 49 opposed. Minister of Justice Leena Meri (Finns Party) who opposes this law, will now have to prepare a legislative proposal.
The term ‘conversion therapy’ has been promoted mainly by LGTB groups, such as the Finnish organization Seta, to describe practices that, according to them, seek to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. In Finland, mostly but not exclusively religious communities have offered this form of support.
The dominant narrative presents them as a coercive attempt to ‘cure’ LGTB people, but this vision ignores a crucial aspect: no one is forced to attend. Those who seek these consultations do so by choice, looking for emotional or psychological support to deal with internal conflicts related to their sexuality, whether heterosexual, homosexual, or of any other nature.
The question transcends who offers these consultations—whether a priest, a psychologist, or a psychiatrist—because what is relevant is that there are people who ask for them. If someone feels discomfort about their sexual orientation or gender identity and seeks help to explore it, why should this be a problem? The insistence on prohibiting these practices reflects a paternalistic stance that assumes that certain groups, such as LGTB activists, know better than the individual what he or she needs. This attitude not only undervalues people’s ability to make life decisions but also curtails their freedom to pursue wellness on their terms.
Spain, specifically the Community of Madrid, is a paradigmatic example of this dynamic. In 2016, Cristina Cifuentes’ Partido Popular government passed a law for “comprehensive protection against discrimination due to sexual and gender diversity.” This regulation included economic sanctions both for those who offered ‘conversion therapies’ as well as those who requested them, with fines that could reach €45,000.
The law, pushed partly by pressure from the LGTB lobby, criminalized professionals or religious people who provided support and punished people who voluntarily sought such consultations. This approach is revealing: it is not just about banning a practice but about imposing a single vision of how sexuality should be experienced. If someone chooses to explore their orientation through these sessions, it is striking that they should be penalized for doing so.
A remarkable case occurred in 2019 when the region fined a coach €20,001 for offering these consultations. However, the High Court of Justice of Madrid annulled the fine in 2021 due to a procedural error, showing the difficulties in enforcing these sanctions.
Law 4/2023 of February 2023 at the national level prohibits these practices throughout the Spanish territory. Severe offenses, such as promoting or carrying out “methods, programs or therapies” to modify sexual orientation or gender identity, are punishable by fines of €10,001–150,000, even if the person consents. Although there are no documented cases of fines under this law to date, the Ministry of Equality opened a sanctioning file in January 2025 against dioceses offering support workshops, which could result in sanctions of this range.
France approved its nationwide ban on conversion therapy in January 2022, with penalties that go beyond simple fines. The regulation establishes penalties of up to two years imprisonment and fines of €30,000 for practitioners, increasing to three years and €45,000 if performed on minors or “vulnerable” people. Although the law does not distinguish between coercive practices and voluntary consultations, its penal approach reflects a harsher stance than administrative sanctions in other countries.
Since May 2020, Germany has prohibited the practice for minors under 18 years and adults under duress, with fines of up to €30,000 and prison sentences of up to one year for those who perform them. The law does not directly criminalize voluntary consultations by adults, but it does penalize health or religious professionals who offer them to minors. In 2023, the outgoing government of Olaf Scholtz announced plans to extend the ban to all ages, which could increase penalties.
In July 2023, Belgium amended its Penal Code to criminalize “conversion therapies” at the federal level, applicable to both minors and adults. Penalties include fines of up to €48,000 (adjusted for severity) and prison sentences of up to two years.
