The Dutch Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would ban so-called conversion therapy in the Netherlands.<\/p>\n
NL Times, an online Dutch newspaper, reported<\/a> 57 of 75 senators backed the proposal. The Dutch House of Representatives, the lower house of the country\u2019s parliament, approved the measure last September.<\/p>\n Conversion therapy practitioners could face up to two years in prison and a \u20ac25,000 ($28,980) fine under the bill once it becomes law after King Willem-Alexander gives his royal assent.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have been fighting for the ban with victims and colleague organizations for almost 15 years and are very happy with this result,\u201d said COC Nederland, a Dutch LGBTQ and intersex rights group, in a statement<\/a> after Tuesday\u2019s vote. \u201cWe see it as a victory for the victims.\u201d<\/p>\n Seven EU countries \u2014 Belgium, Cyprus, France, Malta, Norway, Portugal, and Spain \u2014 have banned conversion therapy outright.<\/p>\n Greece in 2022 banned the practice for minors. German lawmakers in 2020 passed a law that prohibits conversion therapy for minors and for adults who have not consented to undergoing the widely discredited practice.<\/p>\n The European Parliament in April\u00a0voted in favor of prohibiting<\/a>\u00a0conversion therapy across the EU.\u00a0The European Commission last month said all EU countries should ban it.<\/a><\/p>\n