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Outlook: What Gay Conversion Therapy Did to Me

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Garrard Conley

18/06/2018 GMT

What Gay Conversion Therapy Did to Me

BBC World Service - Outlook, What Gay Conversion Therapy Did to Me

Raised in a religious family Garrard Conley entered therapy to try and turn him straight

Garrard grew up in a fundamentalist Christian family and was sent to a gay conversion camp in a bid to rid himself of homosexuality.

Growing up in a fundamentalist Christian family in America's Bible Belt, Garrard Conley had doubts about his sexuality but had to hide it from his parents, especially his father who was a pastor. When he was at university, Garrard was outed, and his parents sent him to a gay conversion camp in a bid to 'cure' him of homosexuality. 

In 2013, Outlook Inspirations nominee Caron Asgarali was shot in the face. Her chin and jaw were shattered. Her attackers were thieves who were on the run from the police and they wanted her car. As a result of her injuries she spent her life savings on reconstructive surgery and battled with post traumatic stress disorder. She also had to give up her career as a teacher. Caron now shares her story with students around Trinidad to raise awareness of the impact of gun violence. You can find the other nominees for Outlook Inspirations 2018 by searching this website: www.bbcworldservice.com/outlookinspirations

(Picture: Garrard Conley. Photo credit: Colin Boyd Shaffer.)

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