THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: It starts with targeted ads on mobile phones: a promise to “cure” homosexuality, restore “normalcy”, or fix a child refusing an arranged marriage. Fearing societal stigma, families across Keralam are buying into the illusion. What follows behind the doors of clinics and wellness centres is not medicine, but a multi-lakh trade in human trauma.
Despite landmark court rulings and explicit medical bans, unscientific “conversion therapy” continues to thrive openly in the state.
However, in a major breakthrough, the Indian Medical Association (IMA) has now stepped in, issuing strict directives against the practice and pledging to penalise complicit medical professionals who endorse or administer these harmful “cures.”
Practitioners no longer hide in the shadows; they solicit clients on social media, rebranding pseudo-sciences like neuro-linguistic programming (NLP) alongside spiritual rituals, chemical suppression and heavy doses of psychotropic drugs, according to activists.
Academic research published in the Journal of Homosexuality confirms the scale of the issue, revealing that over 45% of surveyed queer individuals in the state have faced conversion attempts — with almost a third of these cases involving licensed medical practitioners.
The reality at these facilities is horrific. In one documented case from Palakkad, a homosexual transgender man was subjected to electrical shocks on his testicles while forced to watch adult content — a cruel torture falsely marketed as “aversion therapy”.
“These centres mushroom because there is immense societal demand,” explained Dr Arjun P C, an executive board member of Queer Malabaris, a queer support and health network. “Family members panic when a homosexual man comes out after marriage or when a young woman rejects traditional marriage. Tragically, even a few modern medicine doctors validate these fake cures with testimonials, giving a dangerous veneer of scientific credibility to outright quackery.”
The psychological cost is devastating. In 2020, the suicide of Anjana Hareesh, a young bisexual person subjected to forced conversion attempts by her family, sparked widespread outrage and prompted the Kerala High Court to issue severe condemnations of the practice.
Yet, the public appetite for a “quick fix” remains dangerously high. “Living as a queer or transgender person in our society is extremely difficult,” said Ponnu Ima, program associate at the rights group Sahayathrika. “Societies might accept the concept of LGBTQIA+ people in the abstract, but when it happens in their own homes, parents panic and treat identity as a disease. People need to realise that orientation is not a choice, and attempting to forcibly change it destroys lives.”
With IMA state president Dr M N Menon and secretary Dr Roy R Chandran firmly asserting that sexual orientation is not an illness and urging families to choose understanding over coercion, the medical fraternity is finally acting to clean its own ranks. Progressive doctors and advocacy groups are working directly with the IMA to establish internal support networks to track down rogue practitioners and dismantle the commercial network preying on vulnerable lives.
Coming out... calling out
45.4% of surveyed LGBTQIA+ individuals in Keralam have faced conversion attempts (Dr Sreya Mariyam Salim study)
Almost a third of conversion procedures were administered or endorsed by licensed medical professionals
Conversion therapy centres actively market pseudo-scientific “cures” to panicked parents
Modalities include heavy psychotropic drug overdoses, spiritual rituals and barbaric electroshock procedures
Parents force gay men, transgender people, or women refusing arranged marriages into clinics to avoid social stigma.
IMA Kerala has condemned the practice as unscientific and pledged to penalise complicit doctors.
