The European Commission has announced plans to work with EU member states to outlaw so-called conversion practices targeting LGBTQI+ individuals as part of its new 2026–2030 LGBTQI+ equality strategy.
The initiative was unveiled on Wednesday by EU Equality Commissioner Hadja Lahbib, who condemned conversion practices as “harmful” and “in violation of human dignity”.
“Conversion practices are not therapies,” Lahbib said. “They cause physical and mental health issues and undermine personal dignity.”
According to Commission data, in Europe, one in four LGBTQI+ individuals and nearly half of transgender people have been subjected to some form of conversion ‘treatment’. These practices claim to alter a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to conform to heterosexual and cisgender norms.
United Nations officials have described such practices as a form of torture and called for their global prohibition.
So far, eight EU countries, including Belgium, which introduced a ban earlier this year, have outlawed conversion therapy. Meanwhile, a European Citizens’ Initiative has gathered more than 1.2 million signatures calling on the Commission to push for an EU-wide ban.
“We will work with member states, fully respecting their competencies, to put an end to these harmful practices,” Lahbib added. “However, we still lack a comprehensive understanding of what all these practices entail. We need to collect data to determine the best way forward.”
Currently, only 13 of the EU’s 27 member states have national action plans aimed at strengthening protections against anti-LGBTQI+ discrimination.
In Greece, despite recent social progress, classrooms remain hostile for many queer students.
Beyond Europe, debates around conversion therapy bans continue to stir controversy. In the United States, the Supreme Court is weighing a free-speech challenge to a Colorado law prohibiting conversion therapy for minors, a decision that could affect more than 20 state bans and reshape healthcare regulation nationwide.
