The World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental illnesses in 1990.
LGBT+ groups are protesting after a woman in south-east Spain was given a piece of paper by her gynecologist that included the line: “Current illness: homosexuality”.
According to The Guardian, the 19-year old visited the Reina Sofía hospital in Murcia for a consultation on a menstrual condition. After examination, she saw that she had been “diagnosed” with homosexuality.
The patient’s mother told the Spanish newspaper elDiario.es that the doctor asked about her sexual orientation, and while she was surprised, she replied anyway.
The teenager said: “At first, I thought it was funny, but it just isn’t.”
A spokesperson for the hospital in question told elDiario that it seems an error was made taking the patient’s details. They added that an investigation into the matter is underway and that the hospital would issue an apology to the young woman.
STOP LGTBIFOBIA |
🏳️🌈 Desde el @CiudadDeMurcia queremos denunciar públicamente la denigrante discriminación sufrida por nuestra portera Alba en el Hospital Reina Sofía.
Exigimos que se depuren responsabilidades y apoyamos incondicionalmente a la jugadora en su valiente denuncia. pic.twitter.com/7VxNd4oBzP
— CAP Ciudad de Murcia (@CiudadDeMurcia) October 6, 2021
An LGBT+ collective in the woman’s community has since lodged a formal complaint against the hospital.
The group, Galactyco, condemned the diagnosis in a statement which read: “The World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses in 1990, and yet, 31 years on, there are still some professionals in Murcia’s health service who view sexual orientation as an illness.”
The statement continued: “Our association has received countless reports of degrading treatment because of sexual or gender orientation.
“We find it alarming, unacceptable and intolerable that there are professionals today who are responsible for our health, but who ignore the realities of LGBTI people.”
