BMJ, doi: 10.1136/bmj.37984.442419.EE, (Published 29 January 2004)

PAPERS

Treatments of homosexuality in Britain since the 1950s--an oral history: the experience of patients

Glenn Smith ¹, Annie Bartlett ², Michael King ¹

¹ Department of Mental Health Sciences, Royal Free and University College School of Medicine, Royal Free Campus, London NW3 2PF
² Department of Psychiatry, St George's Hospital Medical School, Jenner Wing, London SW17 0RE

Objectives To investigate the circumstances since the 1950s in which people who were attracted to members of the same sex received treatments to change their sexual orientation, the referral pathway and the process of therapy, and its aftermath.

Design A nationwide study based on qualitative interviews.

Participants 29 people who had received treatments to change their sexual orientation in the United Kingdom and two relatives of former patients.

Results Most participants had been distressed by their attraction to their own sex and people in whom they confided thought they needed treatment. Although some participants chose to undergo treatments instead of imprisonment or were encouraged through some form of medical coercion, most were responding to complex personal and social pressures that discouraged any expression of their sexuality. While many participants found happiness in same sex relationships after their treatment, most were left feeling emotionally distressed to some degree.

Conclusion The definition of same sex attraction as an illness and the development of treatments to eradicate such attraction have had a negative long term impact on individuals.

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(Accepted 2 December 2003)
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