Monday, December 24, 2012

Family Acceptance Project™ - Dr. Caitlin Ryan – increasing family support for their LGBT children - San Francisco State University


The Family Acceptance Project is the only community research, intervention, education and policy initiative that works to decrease major health and related risks for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth, such as suicide, substance abuse, HIV and homelessness – in the context of their families. We use a research-based, culturally grounded approach to help ethnically, socially and religiously diverse families decrease rejection and increase support for their LGBT children.
Dr. Caitlin Ryan at the Marian Wright Edelman Institute at San Francisco State University



California Bans Gay Conversion Therapy for Minors – 10/1/12
          Therapy aimed at changing the sexual orientation of minors who say they are gay has been outlawed in California, the first state to adopt such legislation. California Gov. Jerry Brown announced he had signed the bill on Sunday.
          The bill’s sponsor, Calif. State Sen. Ted Lieu, said the so-called “conversion therapy,” “sexual orientation therapy,” “reparative therapy,” or “sexual orientation change efforts” — amounts to “psychological child abuse.”
          “No one should stand idly by while children are being psychological abused, and anyone who forces a child to try to change their sexual orientation must understand this is unacceptable,” Lieu said in a statement released Sunday…  Photo
Read more:
More:



"Reparative Therapy" or "Conversion Therapy" –
To Change Sexual Orientation - Lack Medical Justification,
Threaten Health - Are Ethically Unacceptable
Press Release 
"THERAPIES" TO CHANGE SEXUAL ORIENTATION
LACK MEDICAL JUSTIFICATION
AND
THREATEN HEALTH

Washington, D.C., 17 May 2012 (PAHO/WHO) — Services that purport to "cure" people with non-heterosexual sexual orientation lack medical justification and represent a serious threat to the health and well-being of affected people, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) said in a position statement launched on 17 May, the International Day against Homophobia. The statement calls on governments, academic institutions, professional associations and the media to expose these practices and to promote respect for diversity. Photo

Twenty two years ago, on May 17, the World Health Assembly removed homosexuality from the list of mental disorders when it approved a new version of the World Health Organization’s International Classification of Diseases (ICD-10).

"Since homosexuality is not a disorder or a disease, it does not require a cure. There is no medical indication for changing sexual orientation," said PAHO Director Dr. Mirta Roses Periago. Practices known as "reparative therapy" or "conversion therapy" represent "a serious threat to the health and well-being—even the lives—of affected people."  

The PAHO statement notes that there is a professional consensus that homosexuality is a natural variation of human sexuality and cannot be regarded as a pathological condition. However, several United Nations bodies have confirmed the existence of "therapists" and "clinics" that promote treatment intended to change the sexual orientation of non-heterosexual people.  

The document notes that no rigorous scientific studies demonstrate any efficacy of efforts to change sexual orientation. However, there are many testimonies about the severe harm to mental and physical health that such "services" can cause. Repression of sexual orientation has been associated with feelings of guilt and shame, depression, anxiety, and even suicide.  

As an aggravating factor, there have been a growing number of reports about degrading treatments, and physical and sexual harassment under the guise of such "therapies," which are often provided illicitly. In some cases, adolescents have been subjected to such interventions involuntarily and even deprived of their liberty, sometimes kept in isolation for several months.

"These practices are unjustifiable and should be denounced and subject to sanctions and penalties under national legislation," said Dr. Roses. "These supposed conversion therapies constitute a violation of the ethical principles of health care and violate human rights that are protected by international and regional agreements."

To address the problem, PAHO makes a series of recommendations for governments, academic institutions, professional associations, the media, and civil society, including:  

· “Conversion” or “reparative” therapies and the clinics offering them should be denounced and subject to adequate sanctions.

· Public institutions responsible for training health professionals should include courses on human sexuality and sexual health in their curricula, with a focus on respect for diversity and the elimination of attitudes of pathologization, rejection, and hate toward non-heterosexual persons. 

· Professional associations should disseminate documents and resolutions by national and international institutions and agencies that call for the de-psychopathologization of sexual diversity and the prevention of interventions aimed at changing sexual orientation. 

· In the media, homophobia in any of its manifestations and expressed by any person should be exposed as a public health problem and a threat to human dignity and human rights. 

· Civil society organizations can develop mechanisms of civil vigilance to detect violations of the human rights of non-heterosexual persons and report them to the relevant authorities. They can also help to identify and report people and institutions involved in the administration of “reparative” or “conversion therapies.”

PAHO, which celebrates its 110th anniversary this year, is the oldest public health organization in the world. It works with its member countries to improve the health and the quality of life of the people of the Americas. It also serves as the Regional Office for the Americas of WHO.
Read more:


World Health Organization
Position Statement - May 17, 2012
“CURES” FOR AN ILLNESS THAT DOES NOT EXIST
Purported therapies aimed at changing sexual orientation lack medical justification and are ethically unacceptable
"Reparative Therapy" or "Conversion Therapy"
Excerpt:
Reported violations of personal integrity and other human rights
As an aggravating factor, “conversion therapies” have to be considered threats to the right to personal autonomy and to personal integrity. There are several testimonies from adolescents who have been subject to “reparative” interventions against their will, many times at their families’ initiative. In some cases, the victims were interned and deprived of their liberty, sometimes to the extent of being kept in isolation during several months.6 The testimonies provide accounts of degrading treatment, extreme humiliation, physical violence, aversive conditioning through electric shock or emetic substances, and even sexual harassment and attempts of “reparative rape,” especially in the case of lesbian women. Such interventions violate the dignity and human rights of the affected persons, independently of the fact that their “therapeutic” effect is nil or even counterproductive. In these cases, the right to health has not been protected as demanded by the regional and international obligations established through the Protocol of San Salvador and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
Read complete position statement - May 17, 2012



Spitzer Issues Apology for Study Supporting
REPARATIVE THERAPY - 6/15/12 
Robert Spitzer, M.D. - has now renounced the findings that “reparative therapy” could help gay people change their sexual orientation

Psychiatry Giant Sorry for Backing GAY ‘CURE’ – 5/18/12

Spitzer's Apology Changes 'Ex-Gay' Debate – 5/21/12 – NPR
…CONAN: Do you think homosexuality is a choice? SPITZER: Is a choice? No, for sure, that's the one thing I have no doubt about, it's no choice. CONAN: And in a distinguished career, this has been, I guess, an unfortunate last chapter. SPITZER: Well, it's unfortunate in one sense, but I feel very relieved and very grateful to the many people who have told me or written to the New York Times that I Did The Right Thing, and I think I did.

Gay Conversion Therapy Devastated My Family –
Chana Wilson – 6/25/12 
REPARATIVE THERAPY, which attempts to make gay people straight, is not just futile -- It often causes serious harm, including increased depression, self-hatred, and even suicide. It can devastate not just a gay individual, but entire families…

Gay Baby Boomers Waiting for More Apologies - Jeffrey Sharlach – 6/01/12

Facing the Truth About Reparative Therapy and America's War on Gay Teens - Tomas Mournian – 5/22/12
…The reparative therapy described in "Hiding Out" and my later related reportage chronicled torture practices that were coercive and, in many ways, the same as what was happening in the Iraqi torture sites. Reparative therapy or torture? Humiliation, isolation, extreme physical positions, and forced confessions were as common at Teen Help (a now-defunct umbrella organization that referred parents to reparative-therapy facilities that has been exposed on WWASPS Survivors Network) as at Abu Ghraib…

California Senate Votes To Ban Gay ‘Conversion’ Therapy – 5/30/12

The Lies and Dangers of Reparative Therapy – HRC - May 2012
Many right-wing religious groups promote the concept that an individual can change his or her sexual orientation, either through prayer or other religious efforts, or through so-called "reparative" or "conversion" therapy. The limited research on such efforts has disproven their efficacy, and also has indicated that they can be affirmatively harmful. Beyond studies focused solely on reparative therapy, broader research clearly demonstrates the significant harm that societal prejudice and family rejection has on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people, particularly youth. Furthermore, there is significant anecdotal evidence of harm to LGBT people resulting from attempts to change their sexual orientation. Based on this body of evidence, every major medical and mental health organization in the United States has issued a statement condemning the use of reparative therapy…
Research on the Impacts of Reparative Therapy, Harms Caused by
Societal Prejudice

Organizational Positions on Reparative Therapy 

American Academy of Pediatrics
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy
American Counseling Association
American Medical Association
American Psychiatric Association
American Psychoanalytic Association
American Psychological Association
American School Counselor Association
National Association of Social Workers
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO): Regional Office of the World Health Organization




“Gay Families' Inequality” (Videos) 
 Most of Europe doesn't recognise this family
 Zack Wahls, His Two Moms, & The Future of Same-Sex Marriage – 2012

Most of Europe doesn't recognise this family – (Video)
– 27 November 2012
“…throughout all the laugher, the lessons and the love …you learn that your parents are only children grown up – and only then do you realize …how difficult the world really is and how truly thankful you are for their  sacrifice to love each other and to love you

UK - Parliament 'less likely to listen to Church over gay marriage after decision over women bishops' - 22 November 2012

France pushes ahead with gay marriage - 23 November 2012

Zack Wahls, His Two Moms, & The Future of Same-Sex Marriage – (Video) - May 30, 2012

Zach Wahls Speaks About His Family | Video - ABC News - Feb 3, 2011

Related link:
'Invisible Parents' Short Film Highlights Gay Families' Inequality - 11/05/2012




Gay Marriage - Morgan Freeman –
“Dawn of a New Day for Marriage Equality" (VIDEO) – 11/25/12


America stands at the damn of a new day.

Freedom, justice and human dignity have always guided our journey toward a more perfect union.

Now across our country, we are standing together for the right of gay and lesbian Americans to marry the person they love.

And with historic victories for marriage, we’ve delivered a mandate for full equality.

The wind is at our back. But our journey has just begun.
Join us



Morgan Freeman Narrates New HRC Spot on Next Steps in Marriage Equality – 11/24/12

Morgan Freeman Gay Marriage Ad (VIDEO) – 11/25/12

Commentary: Morgan Freeman lends his voice in support for marriage equality – 11/25/12 Photo

Related Links:

Obama: ‘I Think Same-Sex Couples Should Be Able to Get Married’ – ABC News - May 9, 2012 Photo
In an interview with ABC News’ Robin Roberts, the president described his thought process as an “evolution” that led him to this decision, based on conversations with his staff members, openly gay and lesbian service members, and his wife and daughters… Read more:
&


Michelle Obama – “Kids who now feel like, for the FIRST TIME, if they're gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, that they feel like they have a place.” 9/26/12
First Lady Talks LGBT Youth: “We’re Here for Our Kids”
“I'm probably more hopeful than I've ever been because I can see the changes and I can see it in our kids,” she said. “I get to see so many great signs of this country's growth. Kids who now feel like, for the first time, if they're gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, that they feel like they have a place. … One kid came up to me yesterday on the photo line and he said, I would have committed suicide if it wasn't for what your husband did.” … Read more & view video Photo

SALLY FIELD - Receives HRC's Ally For Equality Award, Delivers Emotional Speech On Gay Son Sam – 10/07/12
          …She went on to note, "But Sam was different, and his journey to allow himself what nature intended him to be was not an easy one. As his mother, I consider it one of the great privileges of my life to be part it."
          "There are so many children who struggle to understand and embrace their sexuality in families who do not welcome them, with parents that somehow find it acceptable to shut them out their hearts and their homes, and that I find unacceptable." Photo
          But she drew the biggest cheers after she told the HRC crowd, "You've changed and are changing the lives of little boys and girls who realize somewhere along the way they're just different from their other brothers and sisters...
Read more/view video clip:

"Reparative Therapy" or "Conversion Therapy" – To Change Sexual Orientation - Lack Medical Justification, THREATEN HEALTH - Are ETHICALLY UNACCEPTABLE – 9/1/12



SEXUAL ORIENTATION is less about sex and more about LOVE, being one with another human being - Attachment Theory
 “Nothing in life is more precious than the intimate relationships we have with love ones.” LOVE & RELIGION – 2009
by Fr. Marty Kurylowicz



AUSCHWITZ -- CHRISTMAS 2008 - Benedict XVI -- A flashback far more severe than in --- BROKEBACK MOUNTAIN
Fr. Marty Kurylowicz



GAY MARRIAGE – Homosexuality for Catholics or anyone? "WHY IT IS A 'GIFT' FROM GOD!!!" And when we accept and value this gift from God – we are able to experience love like never before, and we are able to love. | PART 7



GAY MARRIAGE – UNIDENTIFIED - Internalized Homophobia - Benedict XVI, Hierarchy & Blind Followers - GAY-BASHERS UK & US | UK Blair & Cameron Legalization of Gay Marriage | Kids Are Being Hurt!!! | PART 8



GAY? - J. EDGAR HOOVER and BENEDICT XVI - Homophobic Men - Repressed Homosexual Feelings – Paranoia Projection - a "tragic story…HOW DANGEROUS SEXUAL REPRESSION IS." 12/02/12






Galileo facing the Roman Inquisition


Ecclesiastes 1:5 (New International Version)
5 The sun rises and the sun sets, and hurries back to where it rises.
Ecclesiastes 1:5 (New American Standard Bible)
Also, the sun rises and the sun sets; And hastening to its place it rises there again. 

1 Chronicles 16:30 (New International Version)
30 Tremble before him, all the earth! The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
1 Chronicles 16:30 (New American Standard Bible)
30 Tremble before Him, all the earth; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved

Psalm 93:1 (New International Version)
The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;  the LORD is robed in majesty and is armed with strength. The world is firmly established; it cannot be moved.
Psalm 93:1 (New American Standard Bible)
1 The LORD reigns, He is clothed with majesty; The LORD has clothed and girded Himself with strength; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved

Psalm 96:10 (New International Version)
10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns."  The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved he will judge the peoples with equity.
Psalm 96:10 (New American Standard Bible)
10 Say among the nations, "The LORD reigns; Indeed, the world is firmly established, it will not be moved; He will judge the peoples with equity." 

Psalm 104:5 (New International Version)
5 He set the earth on its foundations; it can never be moved.
Psalm 104:5 (New American Standard Bible)
He established the earth upon its foundations, So that it will not totter forever and ever.
Injustice anywhere is a
threat to
Justice everywhere
Martin Luther King

The Nobel Peace Prize 1964
Martin Luther King Jr.



What you cannot do is accept injustice.
From Hitler – or anyone.
You must make the injustice visible
– be prepared to die like a
 soldier to do so.
Mahatma Gandhi


Kids Are Being Hurt!!!

“Someday, maybe, there will exist a well-informed, well considered and yet fervent public conviction that the most deadly of all possible sins is the mutilation of a child’s spirit.” 

…whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. Matthew 18:6

Important note: No disrespect meant to Pope Benedict XVI or the hierarchy, the one and only concern is the safety and well-being of children.
 
 
Kids Are Being Hurt!!!
   

Gay Marriage & Benedict XVI Mirroring – “Hitler Youth” supporting Nazis Brutal RE-EDUCATION of Homosexuals |1997 Orders RE-EDUCATION for Gay Priest, Fr. Marty Kurylowicz’s Public “Coming Out” for Protection of Gay Children |No USA Civil Laws to Protect Gay Catholic Priest or Children – 9/15/12





 

No comments: