--- title: Conversion Therapy: Malta Bans Practice in First for Europe description: The country of Malta has outlawed so-called conversion therapy aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender orientation. canonical: https://time.com/4595202/malta-conversion-therapy/ author: Justin Worland article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-12-08T16:12:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T02:12:48.070Z article:section: World og:title: Malta Bans Conversion Therapy og:description: It's the first European country to do so. og:url: https://time.com/4595202/malta-conversion-therapy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fba3e5378c8b0e8/6988b2448e06016e8646887b/gay-rights-malta.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: MALTA-RIGHTS-GAY-MARRIAGE og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Malta Bans Conversion Therapy twitter:description: It's the first European country to do so. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fba3e5378c8b0e8/6988b2448e06016e8646887b/gay-rights-malta.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Malta Becomes First European Country to Outlaw Conversion Therapy  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 8, 2016 4:12 PM CUT  People celebrate in Saint George's Square after the Maltese parliament approved a civil unions bill in Valletta on April 14, 2014. People celebrate in Saint George's Square after the Maltese parliament approved a civil unions bill in Valletta on April 14, 2014.Matthew Mirabelli—AFP/Getty Images  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Dec 8, 2016 4:12 PM CUT The country of Malta has outlawed so-called conversion therapy, becoming the first European country to do so, the government [announced](https://www.gov.mt/en/Government/Press%20Releases/Pages/2016/December/05/pr162780.aspx "undefined") this week. The therapy aims to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender orientation. Individuals who attempt to convert someone will face fines and a potential criminal sentence, according to a [report](http://www.maltatoday.com.mt/news/national/72331/bill%5Foutlawing%5Fconversion%5Ftherapy%5Fapproved#.WEl-sKIrJoN "undefined") in _Malta Today._ The new law also states that neither sexual orientation nor gender identification can be classified as disease or disorder. Conversion therapy has come under increased scrutiny in recent months in large part due to Vice President-elect Mike Pence’s [alleged support](http://fortune.com/2016/11/22/conversion-therapy-ban-mike-pence-law/ "undefined") of the practice during a 2000 run for Congress. (A spokesperson has [denied](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/30/us/politics/mike-pence-and-conversion-therapy-a-history.html "undefined") the charge). The American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and other leading groups have condemned the practice. Malta, a Mediterranean country of just 420,000 people, has been recognized as among the most-friendly European countries for LGBT people. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4595202/malta-conversion-therapy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4595202/malta-conversion-therapy/"},"headline":"Malta Becomes First European Country to Outlaw Conversion Therapy","datePublished":"2016-12-08T16:12:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T02:12:48.070Z","description":"Practitioners now face potential criminal charges","url":"https://time.com/4595202/malta-conversion-therapy/","keywords":["onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fba3e5378c8b0e8/6988b2448e06016e8646887b/gay-rights-malta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt3fba3e5378c8b0e8/6988b2448e06016e8646887b/gay-rights-malta.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"MALTA-RIGHTS-GAY-MARRIAGE","caption":"MALTA-RIGHTS-GAY-MARRIAGE","creditText":"Matthew Mirabelli—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4595202/malta-conversion-therapy/","name":"Malta Becomes First European Country to Outlaw Conversion Therapy"}}]}] ```