This unaltered story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.org.

This unaltered story [1] was originally published on OpenDemocracy.org.
License [2]: Creative Commons 4.0 - Attributions/No Derivities/
international.

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New film reveals personal and political impact of anti-gay ‘conversion therapy’
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Date:None

The new Netflix documentary ‘Pray Away’ is a very powerful film.

In it, repentant former leaders of the disbanded US group Exodus International – which promoted so-called ‘conversion therapy’ in order to change people’s sexual orientation or gender identity – share their painful experiences and give viewers rare insights into the so-called ‘ex-gay’ movement. It is eye-opening.

Julie Rodgers, a survivor of anti-gay ‘conversion therapy’ and a former spokesperson for Exodus, can now celebrate marrying another woman, but she recalls the years of suffering she endured denying her true nature as a lesbian. “I suffered from trauma, and it resulted in extreme forms of self-hatred. But I survived,” she says.

The documentary, directed by Kristine Stolakis and released globally by Netflix on 3 August, combines archival footage with present-day narration. It includes interviews with four former Exodus leaders, who reflect on the deep wounds that ‘conversion therapy’ left in them and in others, and explain how they got involved in this kind of activism in the first place. All have renounced their past and are now living openly as bisexual or gay people.

Petition: Make sure you’re not funding anti-gay ‘conversion therapy’ After a six-month openDemocracy investigation, major aid donors and NGOs have said they will investigate anti-LGBT ‘conversion therapy’ at health facilities run by groups they fund. But unlike the other aid donors, US aid agency PEPFAR has not responded at all. Please sign this petition to show that it must take action now. Sign the petition

Founded in the US in 1976, the conservative Christian ministry Exodus was for decades one of the most influential organisations promoting anti-LGBTIQ ‘conversion therapy’ practices. In the film, co-founder Michael Bussee recounts how he realised that his efforts were damaging himself and others.

“We had guys that attempted overdose, attempted suicide because they felt guilty that they couldn’t change,” Bussee says in the film. “I couldn’t continue to pretend that the people I was ‘helping’ were changing.” He left Exodus in 1979.
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[1] Url: https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/5050/netflix-pray-away-lgbtiq-conversion-therapy/
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