Press Release

Senator Wiener Announces Bill To Protect Survivors of Conversion Therapy

SB 934 protects survivors of conversion therapy by allowing them to seek justice and compensation in court through malpractice claims, protections for LGBTQ youth against this deeply harmful and ineffective practice.

SAN FRANCISCO – Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) announced SB 934, legislation to protect Californians from conversion therapy. SB 934 allows survivors of conversion therapy to seek civil remedies and justice through malpractice lawsuits for the harm that was done to them, even years after the fake therapy occurred.

Conversion therapy — the made up notion that you can convert a gay or trans person into being not gay or trans — was debunked long ago, and is now condemned by every major medical association as dangerous and ineffective. Survivors of conversion therapy often experience profound feelings of shame and trauma, which research shows leads to depression and suicidality. Processing and healing from the trauma of conversion therapy is a deeply personal journey that often takes survivors years and years to complete.

“Make no mistake: Conversion therapy is psychological torture, and California will always stand strong with LGBTQ youth to protect them from the extremist movement to harm them,” said Senator Wiener. “With conversion therapy bans facing legal threats from right-wing extremists and a hostile Supreme Court, we must create new strategies to protect LGBTQ youth. SB 934 provides these safeguards. All major medical associations agree that no ‘therapy’ can change someone’s sexual orientation or gender identity. Attempting to do so only provokes profound feelings of shame and trauma and leads to depression and suicidality. Survivors struggle with deep scars from this treatment for years and years, and they deserve the right to justice for what has been done to them. SB 934 gives them the right to hold charlatans accountable for this debunked torture.”

In 2012, California passed SB 1172, becoming the first state to prohibit certain practitioners from engaging in sexual orientation change efforts with minors. Twenty-four other states followed suit, but those protections have now been struck down or cast in extreme legal doubt following the Supreme Court’s extremist interpretation of the First Amendment that values ideology over the lives of LGBTQ youth.

Apart from California’s conversion therapy ban, state law currently allows an individual to bring an action against a health care provider for professional negligence (commonly referred to as “medical malpractice”) within three years of the date of injury or within one year of when a victim knows or should know of the injury. Providers may be found liable for up to $470,000 for noneconomic losses in cases that do not involve wrongful death.  For cases involving wrongful death, providers may be held liable for up to $650,000.  For economic losses, such caps do not apply.

SB 934 strengthens civil liability for the harms caused by conversion therapy by clarifying that plaintiffs may use scientific principles and consensus around proper medical care to demonstrate conversion therapy’s harm when they are seeking to establish a malpractice claim’s causation element. SB 934 also grants survivors more time after the harms occurred to file malpractice complaints, empowering survivors’ and increasing their ability to use this remedy as a tool to hold accountable practitioners who peddle debunked and harmful practices to vulnerable young people.

Under SB 934, a claim may be brought at the latest of the following:

  • If the survivor was under 18 years old at the time, they may bring a claim before age 40.
  • If the survivor was over 18 years old, they may bring a claim within 10 years of the last session in which sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts took place.
  • Within five years of discovering injury or illness due to sexual orientation or gender identity change efforts.

SB 934 is sponsored by Equality California, Lambda Legal, National Center for LGBTQ Rights, the California LGBTQ Legislative Caucus, and the Trevor Project.

"California was the first state in the nation to ban conversion therapy and continues to lead the country in protecting LGBTQ+ youth. Conversion therapy has been widely condemned by every major medical and mental health organization because it is dangerous, ineffective, and causes profound harm," said Tony Hoang, Executive Director at Equality California. "Survivors often live with the trauma for years before they are able to name it, process it, or come forward. This bill recognizes that reality and ensures survivors have the time they need to seek justice and hold those who harmed them accountable. Equality California is proud to sponsor this legislation and is grateful to Senator Wiener for his leadership in standing with survivors and making clear that conversion therapy has no place in California.”

“We are grateful to Senator Wiener for ensuring that Californians who are harmed by these unethical and dangerous practices have a meaningful opportunity to seek legal recourse,” said Shannon Minter, Legal Director of the National Center for LGBTQ Rights. “Every major medical and mental health organization has condemned conversion therapy as harmful and ineffective. Therapists who subject patients to these discredited practices should be held accountable—and survivors deserve their day in court."

“The Trevor Project’s research consistently shows that being subjected to conversion therapy is associated with a number of serious psychological harms among LGBTQ+ youth, including heightened rates of depression, anxiety, and suicidality," said Casey Pick, Senior Director of Law & Policy at The Trevor Project. "For many LGBTQ+ people, the trauma experienced through these dangerous practices does not go away; it sticks with them for years, or decades. We are grateful for lawmakers’ efforts to seek justice for survivors of conversion therapy who have suffered at the hands of licensed mental health professionals. Providers licensed by the state must be held accountable. Their job is to provide help—not harm—to those in their care.”

“Lambda Legal applauds Senator Wiener and our other champions in Sacramento who are steadfast in their support and protection for LGBTQ+ people, especially young people," said Jenny Pizer, Senior Counsel at Lambda Legal. "The leading mental health professions established years ago that there is nothing inherently wrong or unhealthy about being an LGBTQ+ person. Practices aimed at “converting,” “repairing,” or “curing” the sexual orientation or gender identity of LGBTQ+ people do not bring change in these benign personal characteristics, but commonly do inflict emotional pain and too often long-lasting trauma. Anyone harmed by such practices performed by a licensed health professional in this state should have a fair opportunity to seek redress for that harm.”       

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