Homosexuality : Not a mental illness by Dr Julie Hando, 27 April 2003 - Guyana

Transcripts of presentation made at a forum organised in Georgetown, Guyana on 27 April, 2003 to discuss “Sexual Orientation as a Fundamental Right”

Moderator : So we now go on to have Dr. Julie Hando. She’s

originally from Australia working in Guyana for the

last two years as a United Nations volunteer in the

Ministry of Health and now working in the

psychological clinic at the Georgetown Public

Hospital. Julie’s got a lot of experience in this area

and working with people and I am sure her contribution

on whether Homosexuality is a Mental Illness will be

one that will be quite interesting for us and maybe

will begin to address Ravi’s concern as well. I will be very interested to

hear that. Thank you.

Homosexuality a Mental Illness

Dr Julie Hando

Can I just first say how pleased I am that we have the

opportunity for this kind of open forum here in Guyana

which already occurs on a regular basis in many

countries around the world. So thank you for inviting

me Vidya to share in this discussion.

And today I would like to give you a brief

psychological and medical perspective on gay and

lesbian issues – homosexuality. Based partly on my

experience working in the psychiatric clinic here in

Georgetown but also over the years working in the

substance abuse field and HIV field in Australia,

working with gay people on these issues there.

So just to give you a bit of background, Sigmund

Freud, I don’t know if you have heard of him he’s

generally considered the grandfather of modern

psychology. And he asserted at the beginning of the

20th Century that homosexuality was nothing to be

afraid of, nor vice nor degradation

It cannot be classified as a illness. It’s a variation

of the sexual function. He acknowledged the many

highly respected individuals of ancient and modern

times who have been homosexuals. And he denounced the

great injustice caused by the persecution of

homosexuality and described this as a crime and a

cruelty.

However, as late as the 1960’s the medical field still

attempted to eliminate homosexuality, using things

such as electric shock treatment and nausea producing

drugs. Many other homosexuals have been subjected to

pschycoanalysis, castration, hormone treatment and

brain surgery to cure them of their supposed

unfortunate condition.

But do we actually know about the gay and lesbian

issue from the medical and psychological perspective?

What are the facts about homosexuality?

First of all, there has been some research in this

area so we can draw on these studies. And it is found

that homosexuality is relatively common and normal in

society. There are estimates that

people who identify as lesbians or gay men make up

about 10% of every population; regardless of ethnic

group, culture, social-economic status, religion or

occupation. Although studies in the general population

are limited, especially amongst women which may

explain why we know less about women than men. In some

studies up to 40% of men had a homosexual experience.

So it can be quite high in different populations. And

this suggests that consenting adult homosexual

relationships are a normal variation in humans and not

pathological; there are too many people that do it.

And this is supported by research where psychological

profiles of homosexual men could not be distinguished

by the psychological profile of heterosexual men when

rated by experts, independent experts. Other studies

also show that lesbians and gay men can be fully

functioning, well adjusted, healthy human beings that

do not differ from the heterosexual population.

Some research even shows that lesbians are more

self-confident than heterosexual women and that gay

men are less defensive than male heterosexuals.

There’s a body of literature on homosexual behaviour

(which says) that it is considered normal and

acceptable in many cultures, past and present. So the

second fact that we know about homosexuality or gay

and lesbian issues is when we look at the cause of

this behaviour that there is a genetic element in the

cause. It’s not necessarily just a result of

socialization. And this has been found in studies of

twins and suggests that it’s not simply environmental

or rearing practices and it’s not necessarily just a

lifestyle choice that some people make.

It’s source lies deep in human nature, it’s chosen not

given. Whether people relate with the same sex or a

different sex partner, it is the desire of all humans

to seek love and companionship with other people.

Third, we know that no treatments have ever been

successful in eliminating homosexuality. And as I

mentioned at the start, there’s been a lot of attempt

to do this, some quite inhumane.

In all but the rarest cases… {It can’t be changed, it

can only be suppressed. Treatment has caused physical

and psychological damage in some people as they

struggle to come to terms with their sexual identity.

Prayer, willpower have not helped either} – (Vidya,

this is from the tapes I collected from GBC I believe

it’s supposed to be here).

. [End of Side A of Tape one not sure what was

missed….beg.. of B….sexual orientation as a disorder

not homosexuality per se.]

In 1992 the World Health Organization International

Classifications of diseases followed suit also

dropping homosexuality as an illness. The American

Psychiatric Association no longer recommends treatment

to cure homosexuality and advises that medical

practitioners do not attempt to change an individual’s

sexual orientation.

So these messages are very clear.

The final point I would like to make is that cultural

influences are also an important part of how we

respond to gay and lesbian issues. We need to question

why homosexuality is such an emotionally charged issue

for some sections of society. There continues to be a

deep-seated ignorance, prejudice, and fear towards

homosexuality that is often reinforced by religious

beliefs and legal sanctions. The strong anxiety about

homosexuality suggests an underlying fear of

difference. A fear of difference seen in other

aspects of human social life including race, gender

(and) religious divisions around the world.

And while political and church factions can be loud

and opponents of homosexuality there suggestions to

people to change their homosexuality or accept

life-long secrecy, shame and celibacy do not seem so

humane or practical especially when you consider the

research findings.

And the implications of these cultural attitudes are

life threatening. For example, in my own country – in

Australia – there are high rates of youth suicide

among the gay community as vulnerable young people

struggle to come to terms with their sexual identity

in an environment that’s of pervading prejudicism and

ignorance.

The need for support groups and social research is a

priority especially in this era of HIV/AIDS;

especially in developing countries. We tend to know

and do a little bit more in other countries. So I

support the call for research, for further research,

social and medical.

Encouragingly, however, on a lighter note there has

been an increasing religious movement arguing against

the traditional biblical interpretations that condemn

homosexuality. Biblical scholars have examined the

original references and report that there has been a

lot of misconceptions and misrepresentations of

ancient words and phrases. From this research, they

conclude that the act of homosexuality is not in and

of itself immoral.

And progress has also been made within the law in the

past 30 years to rid the legal profession of prejudice

and discrimination against homosexuality. My next

speaker will be covering this in greater detail.

So basically we can see that there’s some research

already, particularly in other countries that provide

some guidelines as to how we can possibly approach

this on a more humanitarian, social level.

Medically, psychologically, the research findings are

very clear that homosexuality is not considered a

mental illness; a disease to be cured of. And I think

we should take these findings very seriously when we

consider the legal implications and the humanitarian

implications. Thank you.

 

Moderator: Thank you very much Julie. I think we all

found that very stimulating and full of useful facts

and information; particularly to back up her main

thesis about the issue of homosexuality not being some

kind of sickness or disease. She however has

underlined that in societies like Australia that there

is a great deal of fear and anxiety and discrimination

in those societies that perhaps have been documented

more than elsewhere. So I think we have an interesting

basis too for furthering our reflection and for

furthering the dialogue that we’re going to have at

the end.