From injections to electric shocks, prayer to rape, myriad methods are peddled by medics, counsellors and moralists to suppress the sexual desire or gender identity of LGBTQ+ patients.
Interviews with practitioners and patients worldwide reveal a deep divergence over practices that dozens of medical associations have condemned as ineffective and harmful.
In Egypt, a young man sought the help of a famous TV doctor on the advice of a friend he came out to. Years later, he remains traumatised by an anal examination.
In post-Soviet Georgia, a teenage lesbian was injected with hormones as a “cure” initiated by her mother. The prayers of a Mexican pastor persuaded a trans woman to cut off her own hair in a bid to obliterate her identity.