FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Leading ‘Ex-Gay’ Therapist Sued For Confining Client with Large Dog
NARTH’s Benjamin Kaufman Accused of ‘Coercion’ in Client Lock-up
CHICAGO – Truth Wins Out condemned notorious conversion therapist Benjamin
Kaufman today, after he was sued this week for allegedly confining a Sacramento client behind “locked doors” and under watch of a “large dog.” Kaufman is the co-founder of the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality (NARTH), a discredited organization that tries to “cure” gay clients, while shaming them into renouncing their homosexuality.
“This lawsuit is the latest sordid chapter for an abusive practice with no scientific validity,” said Truth Wins Out’s Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Conversion therapy is a dangerous form of consumer fraud and should be banned from being practiced on minors in all 50 states.”
Currently, conversion therapy is banned for minors in The District of Columbia, New Jersey, and California. Eighteen states are currently considering bans for minors. The lawsuit was reported on by Courthouse News Service, which wrote:
A Sacramento psychiatrist who practices gay conversion therapy defamed a gay attorney-prison guard to his employer after confining him with “a large dog under compelled coercion,” the lawyer claims in court.
Calvin Chang says he was referred to Dr. Benjamin Kaufman after filing a discrimination complaint against his employer, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
Chang, who’d complained that he was denied promotion because of his sexual orientation, claims there were “no facts or lawful basis whatsoever” to justify his referral to Kaufman. Chang says he is a licensed attorney with more than 20 years of law enforcement experience.
Chang says Kaufman subjected him to “reparative therapy” without his consent and threatened to have him fired if he didn’t accept the prisons department’s offer of demotion.
Chang damages for civil rights violations, defamation, discrimination, aiding and abetting discrimination, privacy invasion, fraud and deceit, violation of medical privacy, retaliation, professional negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress.
NARTH has long been condemned for its cruel condemnation of LGBT people, its bizarre practices, sexual abuse, and archaic theories.
“NARTH promotes stereotypes disguised as science and is known for its disdainful attitude towards its LGBT clients,” said TWO’s Besen. “This organization is in gross violation of the psychiatric ethics because it wrongfully labels gay clients inferior and mentally ill. NARTH should be shut down for bilking clients and causing psychological trauma.”
Every respected medical and mental health association in America condemns conversion therapy. This includes The American Psychological Association, The American Academy of Pediatrics, The American Psychiatric Association and the American Medical Association.
If you have been harmed or abused by Dr. Kaufman or NARTH, please contact Truth Wins Out, wbesen@truthwinsout.org.
Truth Wins Out (TWO) is a non-profit organization that works to demolish the very foundation of anti-gay prejudice. Our philosophy is simple: We attack the underpinnings of homophobia by debunking harmful lies, discrediting hateful myths, and countering anti-gay organizations. By chipping away at the underlying ignorance that fuels anti-LGBT attitudes, we can ultimately win our fight for fairness and achieve full equality for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people worldwide.
** Columbia Law School has a new program examining the harm of conversion therapy.
