Justice for Sisters (JFS) raises serious concerns over the Malaysian government’s ongoing and persistent discrimination against LGBTIQ people through various programmes in public universities and tertiary educational institutions.
These government-led programmes, which began in 2011, have since expanded without independent oversight and without an evidence and rights-based foundation.
On 29 October, the deputy higher education minister told Parliament about the ministry’s various efforts, including “professional” and “voluntary” counselling and religious or spiritual classes to guide LGBT people to the so-called right path.
JFS strongly condemns the government’s continued weaponisation of mental health and other public health services against LGBTIQ people, and its legitimisation of harmful programme that have been widely discredited and prohibited in a growing number of countries.
LGBTQ people who seek out these harmful programmes in a context of criminalisation and exclusion cannot be said to do so voluntarily, as claimed by the government.
The repressive and restrictive environment pushes LGBTQ people to change themselves simply to access basic rights that they might otherwise be denied.
JFS rejects the notion that LGBTQ people seek these services voluntarily, as it ignores the environment in which they exist, the conditions that push people into these practices, and the lack of any legitimate basis for sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression change efforts.
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Harms
Government programmes that seek to change, suppress or ‘rehabilitate’ LGBTQ people’s sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression violate multiple fundamental human rights, including the right to health, non-discrimination, equality, privacy and dignity, as well as the right to be free from harmful practices, violence and torture.
These rights are safeguarded under the Federal Constitution and international human rights law.
The Kami survey found that 64% of 521 LGBTQ respondents had experienced conversion practices in their lifetime. Those exposed to these practices reported suicidal ideation, non-suicidal self-injury and suicide attempts. Those with recent exposure reported “elevated internalised LGBT-phobia and negative future expectations” compared to those without such recent experiences. Additionally, 20% reported guilt and self-blame when they were forced to change their identity or gender expression.
Similarly, a JFS survey found that pressure to change sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, in addition to causing severe mental health harms, left the respondents unmotivated and uninterested in school, work, family activities and other social activities. Some even dropped out of school.
Both studies found young people particularly vulnerable, and identified teachers, counsellors, and administrators as key perpetrators of efforts to change sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression.
Furthermore, the Malaysian human rights commission Suhakam found that the educational system lacks any redress mechanism which transgender children trust to discuss the unique challenges they face. Without trusted mechanisms for support and redress, students are left isolated, forced to navigate these challenges on their own, or compelled to seek services with caution, resulting in inadequate support or unmet needs.
Research has consistently found that a trust deficit and anticipated discrimination are barriers for LGBTQ people in accessing healthcare.
The weaponisation of mental health services therefore risks further deepening these barriers, while exacerbating existing mental burden among LGBTQ people.
A 2022 study found that the prevalence of mental health conditions among LGBTQ adults was more than double than the general population, and that major depressive disorder, the most common condition among the respondents, was 20 times more prevalent than in the general population.
Violation of ethics and state obligations
Mental health professionals who provide conversion practices or efforts to change sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, in whatever form, violate all four core principles of the medical ethics: do no harm, act in the patient’s best interest, respect the patient’s autonomy, and ensure justice by treating all patients equally.
The Independent Forensic Expert Group (IFEG) in 2020 declared that offering ‘conversion therapy’ is a form of deception, false advertising and fraud, given its lack of medical justification and its severe threat to health and human rights.
The use of public funds to create and promote conversion practices or efforts to change sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression is also inconsistent with Malaysia’s inherent state obligation.
The UN independent expert on sexual orientation and gender identity, in his report on practices of so-called conversion therapy, called on states to prohibit such practices, including by ensuring that public funds are not used, directly or indirectly, to support them.
The Netherlands, Puerto Rico, Spain and the several US states are among jurisdictions that have explicitly prohibited the use of public funds, including incentives, grants, support for service providers and organisations offering such practices. Over 20 countries globally have introduced laws and policy to prohibit conversion practices.
In 2024, the Cedaw committee recommended that Malaysia “immediately discontinue all policies and programmes aimed at ‘correcting’ or ‘rehabilitating’ lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women”.
Instead of implementing expert recommendations, the government has continued to expand and defend its harmful programmes, threatening the lives of LGBTQ people.
In the light of the deputy minister’s emphasis that the Ministry of Higher Education prioritises the emotional and psychological wellbeing of students, the JFS calls on the ministry to end all harmful and discriminatory LGBTIQ-related programmes. This includes ending public funding and institutional support for these programmes, as well as the promotion of, or referral of students to, counselling or other harmful programmes.
As a concrete step, the ministry, together with the Ministry of Health, should issue a clear memorandum explaining the harms of the conversion practices and explicitly prohibiting their promotion, facilitation or provision within educational settings.
This is critical to ending institutional support for these harmful practices and preventing individuals, including lecturers, administrators and counsellors, from providing or promoting them.
Counsellors should also receive sensitisation training to ensure that their services:
- Are client-centred, trauma-informed and culturally competent
- Respect clients’ dignity, autonomy and right to self-determination
The JFS also calls on Suhakam to conduct a human rights impact assessment of the government’s LGBTIQ-programmes and activities.
The assessment should examine the compatibility of these programmes with human rights standards, and provide meaningful recommendations to eliminate harmful practices, remedy existing harms and prevent their recurrence. – JFS
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
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