Activists from the Lebanese LGBT community took part in a protest outside a police station in Beirut on May 15, 2016. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Psychiatric Association released a statement clarifying that “as psychiatrists, we would like to clarify that homosexuality cannot be considered a disease that requires treatment.”
Here’s what we know:
• LPA stated that this is in line with the international consensus within the medical and healthcare community for many decades.
• In terms of social acceptability of any behavior, sexual or otherwise LPA stated that it recognizes “that cultural and religious differences in perspective will continue to exist in the foreseeable future, and encouraged a “respectful debate” on the matter, and avoiding offensive and threatening language that can “put the welfare and safety of individuals at stake.”
• LPA assured that it is ready to contribute to any “debate within the remit of our expertise as medical professionals and always in the interest of our patients and our society.”
• It also urged the government officials to abide by the Lebanese constitution in protecting human rights from any form of abuse.
• Interior Minister Bassam Mawlawi had sent a letter to the General Directorate of General Security and the General Directorate of the Internal Security urging them to crackdown on LGBTQ+ gatherings — leading to the cancelation of some planned Pride events on Sunday — while a group calling itself the “Soldiers of God” posted a video of its members dismantling a rainbow flag made of flowers on a billboard in Ashrafieh.
• Lebanon Penal Code is sometimes used to prohibit “sexual intercourse contrary to nature” through Article 534, which was put in place by the French mandate. However, in recent years, courts have made steps towards decriminalizing homosexuality by ruling that same-sex relations are not “contrary to nature.”
• In 1973, homosexuality was removed as a mental disorder from the second edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, a publication by the American Psychiatric Association that is referred to internationally and includes various types of mental disorders.