“I told them, ‘I’m gay, but don’t worry, I’ll deal with it’.” He set out to change, and sought help in Geneva’s evangelical community: exorcism sessions, discussion groups, fasting – he was offered a wide range of practices which promised to “cure his homosexuality”. “In our culture homosexuality is not accepted,” he explains.ĭespite this, when Mario was 16 he decided to tell his parents about his homosexuality. The family was very religious and attended an Evangelical Free Church in Geneva. He is the only boy among five children and his parents had high expectations of their only son. Of Lebanese origin, he came to Geneva at the age of 13. For them, it was a sign that I was cured.” Mario, 29, speaks now self-assuredly about the numerous conversion therapy sessions he underwent between 20. The psychological exhaustion eventually led to tears running down my cheeks. Something had to happen for them to stop. “I was on my knees in the middle of a circle of people who were shouting to get the demon of homosexuality out of me.
Deutsch (de) Therapien zur 'Heilung von Homosexuellen' richten weiterhin verheerende Schäden an.
