Doctors and psychiatrists want Andrews government to make changes to its plan to ban gay conversion therapy due to concerns it will discourage some practitioners from treating vulnerable patients.
The Victorian branches of the Australian Medical Association and the Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists say the proposed legislation is too broad and the sanctions are too severe.
”We don’t feel we were appropriately consulted as we only saw the bill for the first time when it was introduced to Parliament,” Associate Professor Rait said.
Doctors and psychiatrists are also concerned that the bill conflates the separate issues of sexual orientation and gender identity, which they say require differing approaches.
Source: Doctors fear conversion therapy ban will deny treatment to vulnerable patients
MY NAME IS: “DIED BY RAPE”
I was going to change it to: ‘Rape Survivor’
And I wrote down my side of the story. It is only 22 pages long (it was a long story that could not be cut short) and I sent it to many people (family, friends, medical specialists, support groups for survivors of sexual abuse, Facebook women’s groups, politicians, media, crimestoppers [not]), but everyone was too busy to read it.
If nobody reads it, nobody can know who did this to me and stop them from doing it to others – maybe your own family.
I tried to tell my own mother, but she would not believe me – she even laughed at me.
I tried to tell sisters, Aunts, cousins, but none would listen.
I tried to tell the Police, but they were too busy fighting real crime – like people not wearing face masks.
I tried to tell the media, but they were too busy reporting on fires – lit by the men who rape us; not even ABC women reporters like Leigh Sales, Virginia Trioli or Pamela Medlan would listen.
I tried to tell ComHWA (Consumers of Mental Health WA) a support group for people with mental health problems (often survivors of violent sex crimes) but they were too busy listening to the lies being fed to them by those who commit sex crimes against me and other women and girls.
I tried to tell Blue Knot Foundation (it used to be called Incest Survivors Association) but, like its name change, it no longer listens to the stories of victims; it too has been captured by the lies told by the offenders.
I tried to tell my psychologist, but he was too busy telling me his own story.
I can’t tell my doctor because her appointment times are not long enough to hear my story.
Everyone is too busy believing the lies fed to them by the men who did this to me and do it to other women and girls.
Now, again, I am frightened because I know he will hunt me down and kill me (to stop me from asking people to hear my side of the story) and he knows nobody will stop him.
So, even if the cause of death on my death certificate is wrong – my name will spell the truth.
Signed,
“DIED BY RAPE”