Gay Conversion Therapy Part 1: “I Convinced Myself I Could Ignore It.”

While Sydney WorldPride is taking place this month, NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet has conceded that he will back a ban on gay conversion therapies in the state. 

Conversion therapies have already been banned in Victoria, the ACT and Queensland, with proposed legislation also underway in Western Australia. 

Listen to the full episode below:

On today’s The Briefing, we speak to Kim Kemmis, a man who trained to be a Christian minister before going through gay conversion therapy. 

Kemmis grew up in an Anglican church in the 70s, where he was told homosexuality is sinful. 

“I am bisexual, so I convinced myself that the homosexual part of me wasn’t really important, and I could ignore it,” Kemmis said. 

In the late 1990s, Kemmis was involved in an ex-gay ministry. He said these ministries try to “help” them become heterosexual because their religion teaches them that same-sex attraction is wrong.  

“Fundamentally, you might think it’s about your religion, but it’s not a faith issue, it’s a health issue. This is damaging people psychologically. I hear both stories about people who have done self-harm…When I came out of it, I was not in good shape.”  

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