A new campaign called Inxeba Lam is thought to be one of the first South African initiatives highlighting the deep damage caused by conversion therapy.

While the discredited practice known as conversion therapy (sometimes also called reparative therapy) is not banned outright in South Africa, this dangerous form of pseudoscientific or religious treatment has been used on LGBTQI people for decades, and is still being used today.

Despite being publically called an unproven and unethical technique by the Psychological Society of South Africa – this organisation stated in landmark LGBTQI-affirming practice guidelines that conversion therapy is “dangerous and in conflict with medical ethics” and “harmful for adults, but it is particularly harmful when offered to or forced onto children and adolescents” – conversion therapy is still commonly used by certain therapists, religious counsellors and traditional healers in efforts to change sexual orientation or gender identity in individuals.

The non-profit LGBTQIA+ advocacy group Access Chapter 2, in partnership with OutRight Action International, has launched a new campaign, focused on sharing the painful stories of LGBTI people in order to foster a greater understanding and try to heal the wounds of the past.

The campaign has been named Inxeba Lam, as it seeks to bring to the fore the many wounds that queer South Africans carry, often due to conversion therapy or other types of so-called “reparative” actions taken by the communities and families of LGBTQI people.

Inxeba Lam lets LGBTQIA+ people tell their own stories of hurt, also highlighting how cultural practices like arranged marriages, initiation schools and consultation with traditional healers, as well as traditional religious belief systems have a hand in trying to “repair” people who are LGBTQ. The stories that are shared will ultimately form a part of exhibitions and of a book. Read more via Mamba Online