The Life-Experiences of Three Homosexual Men with Conversion or Reparative Therapy: An Exploratory Study from the Western Province, Sri Lanka

Abstract

Homosexuality is a depathologized condition as per the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM- 5). However, due to heterosexual norms and social coercion in Sri Lanka, homosexual men are compelled to undergo conversion or reparative or reorientation therapy. The current study aimed at investigating why homosexual men undergo conversion or reparative therapy in Sri Lanka and what they experience through conversion or reparative therapy since a lacuna was observed in the field of Sri Lankan homosexual men and conversion therapy. The study adopted a qualitative exploratory case study narrative analysis incorporating Critical Discourse Analysis theory. The sample consisted of three homosexual men from the Western province, Sri Lanka, whose narratives were used as sources of analysis. It was revealed that participants experienced psychosocial and emotional complications through conversion (CT) or reparative therapy (RT) and did not encounter any alteration in their sexual orientation.