Youth's Lives Every Day
March 10, 2025 – Today, the Supreme Court of the United States announced that it will hear a challenge to a current Colorado state law that protects young people from conversion therapy, or a range of practices that attempt to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The Trevor Project, the leading suicide prevention and crisis intervention organization for LGBTQ+ young people, shared the following statement in response:
Statement from Jaymes Black (they/she/he), CEO of The Trevor Project:
“Conversion therapy is not actual therapy. It is a harmful, debunked practice that has been shown to more than double an LGBTQ+ young person’s odds of attempting suicide in the past year. The Court should uphold laws that prohibit licensed professionals from using these dangerous practices – just as federal courts have done for more than a decade. Counselors at The Trevor Project have heard from young people all across the country who are feeling anxious and afraid about how the current political environment will impact their lives. On November 6, 2024, the day after the presidential election, The Trevor Project saw a record-breaking 700% increase in contact volume across our classic crisis services. Right now, LGBTQ+ young people need more support, not more negative headlines.
“Conversion therapy has been denounced by every major medical and mental health association in the United States. To date, nearly 30 states have passed laws to protect young people from its harms, many with strong bipartisan support. Ending conversion therapy is not about partisan politics, and it is not about ‘free speech.’ Ending conversion therapy is about protecting young people from clear and proven psychological harm, and saving young lives.”
Relevant research:
- The Trevor Project’s peer-reviewed research shows that youth who experienced conversion therapy are more than twice as likely to attempt suicide and more than 2.5 times as likely to report multiple suicide attempts in the past year.
- The Trevor Project’s 2024 U.S. National Survey on the Mental Health of LGBTQ+ young people found that 13% of LGBTQ+ young people have been threatened with or subjected to conversion therapy.
- Conversion therapy has been associated with an extensive list of long-lasting social and emotional consequences, including: depression, anxiety, suicidality, substance abuse, a range of post-traumatic responses, loss of connection to community, damaged familial relationships, self-blame, guilt, and shame.
- Conversion therapy and its associated harms – such as substance abuse and negative mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, and suicide attempts – cost an estimated $9.23 billion in the U.S. annually.
- While an overwhelming 90% of LGBTQ+ young people said recent politics negatively impacted their well-being, when asked, 79% of LGBTQ+ youth said hearing about potential state and local laws trying to ban conversion therapy made them feel better.
- The Trevor Project released a report in December 2023 that identified more than 1,300 active conversion therapy practitioners across the U.S.
For media inquiries, please contact:
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If you or someone you know needs help or support, The Trevor Project’s trained crisis counselors are available 24/7 at 1-866-488-7386, via chat at TheTrevorProject.org/Get-Help, or by texting START to 678678.
