Lorraine Williamson
Spain has moved closer to criminalising so-called conversion therapy after Congress approved a Penal Code reform that would allow prison sentences for practices aimed at changing or suppressing a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.
The proposal was approved in the lower house on Wednesday, June 25, and now passes to the Senate. It is therefore not yet completed law, but it has cleared one of the most important stages in its parliamentary route.
Under the text backed by Congress, anyone who carries out conversion or aversion practices could face six months to two years in prison, plus a court-calculated financial penalty based on Spain’s day-fine system over a period of eight to 24 months. The proposal covers psychological, physical, pharmacological or other practices intended to modify, repress, eliminate or deny a person’s sexual orientation, sexual identity or gender expression where there is harm to physical or mental health, bodily integrity or moral integrity.
The proposal also states that consent would not be a defence. This means the offence could still apply even if the person affected, or their legal representative, had agreed to the practice.
Stronger penalties in serious cases
The reform includes higher penalties when the victim is a minor, when violence, intimidation, deception or abuse of vulnerability is involved, or when the perpetrator belongs to an organisation dedicated to such practices. It also covers cases where the acts are carried out for profit.
Parents, guardians, carers or others responsible for a minor or a person with a disability needing special protection could also face penalties if they knowingly consent to, promote, facilitate or enable these practices. In such cases, courts could impose restrictions on parental authority, guardianship or care responsibilities for up to five years, depending on the circumstances and the best interests of the child or protected person.
The text also includes professional restrictions in cases involving minors. Those convicted could be barred from professions or activities involving regular and direct contact with children for up to five years, including educational, sports and leisure settings.
Companies, organisations, or other legal entities found responsible could also face a court-calculated financial penalty, with the duration set at between six months and two years under Spain’s day-fine system.
From administrative offence to criminal offence
Spain’s 2023 LGTBI law already treats the promotion or practice of conversion, aversion or counterconditioning methods as a very serious administrative offence. That law covers methods intended to modify a person’s sexual orientation, sexual identity or gender expression, regardless of whether consent has been given.
The new reform goes further by moving the issue into the Penal Code. The text approved in Congress says the aim is to raise the legal response because these practices are not treated as isolated cases, but as a serious form of attack and denigration against LGTBI people.
The proposal also refers to newer ways in which such practices can be spread, including websites and social media. At the same time, the text makes clear that the criminal response is not aimed at professional support, counselling or methods that provide understanding and support around sexual orientation, sexual identity or gender expression, provided they follow international professional standards.
The reform does not ban legal gender recognition or legitimate professional support for trans people; it targets practices intended to suppress, deny or reverse a person’s sexual orientation, sexual identity or gender expression.
That distinction is likely to be important during the next stage of debate. The reform is focused on practices that seek to repress, erase or deny identity or orientation, not on legitimate psychological, social or medical support.
Congress vote sends the text to the Senate
The final overall vote in Congress passed with 178 votes in favour, 32 against and 138 abstentions. The official Congress record lists the proposal as now being at the Senate stage.
Because the proposal is an organic law reform, it required an absolute majority in Congress. If the Senate approves the text without changes, it can continue towards publication in the Official State Gazette. If the Senate amends it, the text would return to Congress for further consideration.
The reform would enter into force the day after its publication in the BOE, according to the wording approved by the Equality Commission before the plenary vote.
Spain’s wider LGBTQ+ rights framework
Spain is widely regarded as one of Europe’s more advanced countries on LGBTQ+ rights, with same-sex marriage legal since 2005 and later laws expanding protections against discrimination. The 2023 LGTBI law strengthened rights and protections for trans and LGTBI people, including measures in education, health, employment and public administration.
However, the debate over conversion therapy has continued because campaigners and several political groups have argued that administrative penalties are not enough. By placing these practices in the Penal Code, the new reform would give courts a direct criminal route in serious cases.
For now, the measure remains unfinished legislation. But the Congress vote marks a significant step towards treating conversion therapy in Spain not only as discrimination, but as a potential criminal offence.