Initiative Goals

Despite recent national efforts to stop conversion efforts, the damaging practices persist. Recent social and political developments have engendered widespread social acceptance and family support for LGBTQ+ Americans. Nonetheless, conversion efforts persist because of long-held stigma and prejudice against LGBTQ+ individuals (1). This leads to health disparities among these groups. According to the National Institutes of Health, “Health disparities [in 2020] among young people based on sexual orientation and gender identity are not going away. Recent studies have shown the size of the disparity in suicide attempts has not shrunk over the past 20+ years. HIV diagnoses have been continuing to increase among young men who have sex with men (MSM) while they decline in many other groups” (2).

A 2018 report indicates that acceptance of sexual orientations and gender identities in the US dropped for the first time in decades (3). Positive public perception of LGBTQ+ people relies on accurate portrayals of us as healthy, well-adjusted members of society. Without swift action, 57,000 LGBTQ+ youth in the United States are at risk of getting “conversion therapy”(4) in their lifetimes. Both licensed healthcare professionals and religious or spiritual advisors are using conversion efforts liberally in the US (5). Adults also continue to be victims of the practices.

By creating a unified national partnership against “conversion therapy,” the USJS:

●   Establishes a unified professional standard among more than 1.3 million healthcare professionals that rejects “conversion therapy.”

●   Provides a tool to those seeking to end “conversion therapy” through education, legislation or litigation.

●   Unites most of the major national healthcare associations in the first scientific declaration​ against “conversion therapy​​” in the United States.

●   Provides a tool for healthcare, educational, governmental, and advocacy sectors to eliminate the myth that LGBTQ+ individuals can be “cured.”

●   Is a template for international medical and mental health associations and educational institutions to follow suit.

●   Guides evolving public messaging and public awareness about affirming LGBTQ+ people. 

The goals of the USJS are extensive because the need is significant. Throughout this nation’s history, social and political factors have denigrated, shamed and stunted LGBTQ+ people’s development. Social shaming and misunderstanding of LGBTQ+ people are still prevalent across the US, even for people who don’t undergo conversion efforts. Sexual orientation and gender identity change efforts stigmate people who are already struggling with society’s legacy of rejection and shame and who are suffering from internalized self-devaluation. This is why this initiative advocates for comprehensive affirming treatment in every healthcare experience and setting for all LGBTQ+ patients. That greater acceptance and affirmation will reduce the social shaming and self-hatred that fuel conversion efforts.

The USJS supports the emergence of authentic self-acceptance and identity development in sexual and gender minorities. The initiative seeks to engender welcoming relationships where providers support patients in their own deep transformation, ending the shame, self-harm and stigma they might suffer from. In families, social circles, and communities, the USJS aims to foster greater acceptance, approval, and love for patients struggling to find their authentic selves. In this way, the goal of the USJS is to increase the patient’s growth towards a more loving embrace of self from within and from the wider world.