These stories of pain are more a norm than an exception when it comes to LGBT people’s interaction with Malaysia’s mental health services. The reality is that our local mental health services are unsafe and poorly equipped to deal with the needs of LGBT people.
“Conversion therapy has been documented and proven to produce long-term psychological trauma, worsen participants’ mental health, well-being and self-esteem, and reinforces social alienation.”
The paper concludes with six main areas for recommendations on moving forward with LGBT-friendly mental health services.
A 2016 World Bank study found that homophobia alone was estimated to cost India’s economy up to $32 billion a year, approximately 1.7% of its gross domestic product (GDP).
Such targeted stigma, discrimination and criminalisation inevitably lead to the further marginalisation of an already marginalised community, which is a disaster for public health.
