Arcópoli denounces the 'coach' who was fined for his reversal therapies for homosexuals for offering a new course



The LGTB Arcópoli association has once again denounced the self-appointed 'personal identity coach' Elena Lorenzo for opening a new website that offers reversal therapies for gay people. Lorenzo launched on January 9 an online course entitled ‘The road to heterosexuality’, which is currently still accessible. This type of initiatives that, as described by the association in the written submission to which eldiario.es has had access, "are intended to modify the sexual orientation or gender identity of a person", are prohibited in the Community of Madrid by the autonomous law of protection against LGBTIphobia.

The complaint of Arcópoli is of administrative sanction type and is filed before the Ministry of Social Policies of Madrid. In September, the Community fined Lorenzo with 20,001 euros for similar websites, after another 2016 request from Arcópoli. It was the first time since the entry into force of the law that a fine of that amount was filed, until then the sanctions had ranged between 800 and 1,800 euros.

Now, Lorenzo presents this new project as an "online course" and directs it to people in America, but the same website makes it clear that "it is serviced from Spain", with a Spanish telephone number and customer service hours. Arcópoli considers this a "subterfuge", that is, a hoax, in order to avoid the application of the law for which it has been sanctioned a few months ago.

The complaint they make is also against Juan Pablo García, identified on the web as "expert in Identity Coaching" and co-director of the course. On the web, Lorenzo directs his course to "who experiences unwanted homosexual feelings". And he details: "In it I present other options that you may not have contemplated. I will talk about homosexuality and what is the IDENTITY COACHING PROCESS. I will talk about lesbianism and give some advice to parents who have children who are attracted to it sex".

From Arcópoli they point out that "the name of the course itself, Road to heterosexuality, is a euphemism that refers to a transition from a wrong or sick sexual orientation."

Lorenzo charges the "360 class minutes" of which the course consists of 195 euros, 245 without rebate. Arcópoli describes it as "high price" and for that reason and "considering its recidivism," they ask the Ministry for the maximum penalty. To pay the October fine, Lorenzo promoted a donation campaign on his personal website, which has the heading "Yes, you can recover your heterosexuality." According to her, it reached 20,001 euros in one week, although time later the donations were still open.

For this reason and for having offered new reversal therapies again, in Arcópoli they think that the fine, "far from getting the effect of deterring him, has reaffirmed him in continuing to carry out these sessions" and ask that measures be taken so that a new legal sanction also have coercive mood. "It seems that he is not afraid of economic sanctions. He will continue to use legal subterfuges to be able to continue with sessions that all they cause is anxiety, frustration, depression and, sometimes, suicide attempts to verify that these therapies are useless." , explains Rubén López, spokesman.

The LGTB association recalls in the complaint that Lorenzo's therapies, in addition to being prohibited by the Autonomous Law, are rejected by the College of Psychology and various international scientific societies such as the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Psychiatric Association. In addition to the sanction to Lorenzo by the Community of Madrid, Rubén López requires the government of Spain on behalf of Arcópoli to legally prohibit these therapies at the state level with strong sanctions that discourage them from continuing to practice them, jail sentences as proposed by the German government, as well as the disqualification to carry out economic activities that can frame these dehumanizing therapies. "

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