ACOMSDave

Community Journalist

‘Barbaric’ NHS Shock Therapy

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Investigation Reveals ‘Barbaric’ NHS Shock Therapy: LGBT Survivors Recount Their Experiences

 
'Barbaric' NHS Shock Therapy

WASHINGTON, DC – JUNE 26: Same-sex marriage supporter Vin Testa, of Washington, DC, waves a LGBTQIA pride flag in front of the U.S. Supreme Court Building as he makes pictures with his friend Donte Gonzalez to celebrate the anniversary of the United States v. Windsor and the Obergefell v. Hodges decisions on June 26, 2023 in Washington, DC. Today marks the 8th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case that guaranteed the right to marriage for same-sex couples. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

In a recent investigation, the BBC has uncovered a disturbing history of Electric Shock Aversion Therapy (ESAT) administered within the National Health Service (NHS). Between 1965 and 1973, over 250 individuals were subjected to this practice, purportedly aimed at altering their sexual orientation or gender identity. This revelation has prompted serious concerns regarding medical ethics and patient rights during this period.

 

Survivor Testimonies

 
Several survivors have come forward to share their experiences, shedding light on the profound physical and psychological trauma they endured:
 
  • Jeremy Gavins: Mr Gavins, now 72, reports that the intensity of the electric shocks led to a loss of consciousness, with subsequent hospitalisation lasting three days.
  • Pauline Collier: Ms Collier, 80, underwent ESAT at the age of 19. She recalls the application of electrodes and the administration of painful shocks, further stating that the moments before receiving a shock would leave her “very anxious and very frightened.
  • Carolyn Mercer: Ms Mercer, 78, identifies as female despite being assigned male at birth. At 17, she was referred for ESAT, which she describes as “cruel, barbaric punishments – torture, not therapy.”
 
These cases represent a broader pattern of referrals from various authority figures, including educators, clergy members, and general practitioners. Concerns have also been raised regarding informed consent, with some individuals alleging they were explicitly instructed not to disclose the treatment to their parents.

Understanding Electric Shock Aversion Therapy

ESAT was a form of conversion practice predicated on associating same-sex attraction with pain. The procedure involved securing patients to a chair, applying electrodes, and administering electric shocks while presenting images intended to elicit same-sex attraction.
 
The BBC’s investigation reveals that, although participants were often described as “volunteers,” coercion played a role in numerous instances, with referrals originating from courts, educational institutions, and employers. Notably, some individuals subjected to ESAT were minors, with the youngest documented case being 12 years old.

Calls for Accountability and Redress

 
'Barbaric' NHS Shock TherapyLord Chris Smith, the United Kingdom’s first openly gay Member of Parliament, is advocating for a formal apology from both the government and the NHS. He has characterised the practice as “inhumane” and emphasised the need for accountability.

Current Legal and Ethical Landscape

 
While the British Psychological Society has discontinued the use of ESAT, conversion practices remain legal in the UK under certain circumstances. NHS England and the Royal College of Psychiatrists have pledged to cease administering conversion therapy; however, these practices persist in private settings.
 
Minister for Equalities Olivia Bailey has affirmed the government’s commitment to banning conversion practices and ensuring the protection of LGBT+ individuals.

Concluding Remarks

The revelations surrounding ESAT within the NHS underscore the importance of ongoing vigilance in safeguarding ethical medical practices and protecting vulnerable populations. Further dialogue and legislative action are warranted to ensure that such abuses are not repeated and that survivors receive appropriate recognition and support.
 
[Original article by Hayley Hassall, North West Investigations, 5 December 2025]
 
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What of the LGBTQ community on British society since the 1800s?

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LGBTQ CommunityThe LGBTQ community and individuals have significantly shaped British society since the 1800s, influencing social attitudes, legal reforms, culture, and rights movements.

In the 19th century, LGBTQ identities were largely marginalised and criminalised, with laws like the Labouchere Amendment of 1885 criminalising male homosexual acts. Despite heavy repression, underground communities and discreet networks persisted, laying the groundwork for future activism.

The early 20th century witnessed the emergence of pioneering figures who challenged societal norms and fought for recognition. The 1950s and 1960s marked a turning point with the formation of advocacy groups, such as the Homosexual Law Reform Society, which campaigned for decriminalisation.

In 1967, the Sexual Offences Act decriminalised private male homosexual acts in England and Wales, a landmark victory that catalysed further legal and social change. The subsequent decades witnessed the gradual removal of discriminatory laws, the rise of LGBTQ visibility in media and culture, and the fight for equal rights, culminating in the legalisation of same-sex marriage in 2014.

Culturally, LGBTQ individuals have enriched British arts, literature, and entertainment, challenging stereotypes and promoting diversity. Prominent figures, such as Alan Turing, a pioneering computer scientist and World War II codebreaker, and later activists, have become symbols of resilience and progress.

Overall, the LGBTQ community’s perseverance and activism have played a crucial role in transforming British society into a more inclusive and accepting nation, fostering ongoing debates about rights, identity, and equality.

 

Summary Table

Area Impact
Law & Policy Decriminalisation, anti-discrimination laws, marriage equality, repeal of Section 28
Culture & Arts Influential writers, artists, musicians, and designers, increased representation
Social Attitudes Greater acceptance, visibility, and understanding of LGBTQ identities
Activism Grassroots movements, Pride events, and intersectional advocacy
Community Building Creation of support networks and safe spaces

The LGBTQ community and individuals have fundamentally shaped modern British society, advancing legal rights, enriching culture, and driving social change from the 1800s to the present146.

  1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_LGBTQ_history_in_the_British_Isles
  2. https://phm.org.uk/blogposts/a-british-export-that-has-defined-lgbt-history-past-and-present/
  3. https://thefrontline.org.uk/blog-post/key-moments-of-visibility-in-lgbtq-history-in-the-uk/
  4. https://armycadets.com/features/influential-lgbtq-figures-in-uk-history/
  5. https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/55276399
  6. https://www.youngcitizens.org/blog/history-of-lgbtq-rights-in-the-uk/
  7. https://www.youngfabians.org.uk/the_forgotten_side_of_british_queer_history_month
  8. https://www.history.org.uk/publications/resource/11056/what-have-historians-been-arguing-about-modern
  9. Belfast Pride 2023

Belfast Listed Buildings

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Belfast Listed Buildings

On Saturday, February 22, 2025, the Belfast Telegraph (Sam McQuade) published a compelling piece titled “Belfast is a great city, but swathes of it are crumbling…”, in this he is referring to our listed buildings in the main, but by inference to the general state of Belfast.

The article boiled down to two main ideas:

1. Belfast’s crumbling buildings and neglected areas
2. Why do the authorities seem powerless to halt the decay?

Like many cities, Belfast has always been a hub of change, shaped by shifts in population, employment, and development. Yes, our history is marked by the Troubles, which devastated both people and infrastructure. But Belfast has shown resilience, bouncing back with new developments like Castle Court, the Victoria Centre, and the Waterfront. Still, vast parts of the city remain overlooked, opportunities lost.

Take, for example, the area between the Short Strand and the Lagan, or the Tribecca site between Donegall Street, Rosemary Street, and Royal Avenue. I’m not here to rewrite the article, but what struck me most was the missed opportunities—funding sitting idle in bank accounts for years, generating interest, while nothing materialises on the ground.

The planning department seems to lack a clear, coherent strategy to preserve what heritage remains. Meanwhile, politicians at Stormont appear to play at politics, failing repeatedly to safeguard Belfast’s history, its fabric, and its future.

Then there’s the case of the Victorian houses in the University area, recommended for listed status as of March 15, 2025. They’re interesting, no doubt, but what really caught my attention was the broader context: Northern Ireland currently has 9,000 listed buildings, yet this is only the second survey since 1974—that’s 51 years between checks. That’s simply too long.

Some experts understand the intricacies of our listed building process better than I do, but even I can see that without a cohesive, forward-thinking plan—beyond mere politics—the gaps in protecting our city’s heritage are glaring.

Belfast Listed BuildingsBelfast Listed Buildings Belfast Listed Buildings Belfast Listed Buildings

 

 

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Roger Casement in the Amazon

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During the 28th October to 1 November 2024, an immersive week of creativity and inquiry into Roger Casement in the Amazon,  artist Mark Maughan opened his door to his latest performance piece, collaborating with thought leaders, innovators, and activists from across the Atlantic. This was a chance to dive into the making process, to dissect a series of questions, and to envision how these ideas might shape a powerful future performance.

About the Project:

The project peels back the layers of a dark chapter in history, focusing on the UK-funded Peruvian Amazon Company that thrived during the rubber boom between 1907 and 1913, on lands now recognized as part of Colombia. In 1911, Roger Casement, a British diplomat born in Ireland, penned a scathing report that revealed the horrific genocide of an estimated 60,000 Indigenous Peoples, drawing parliamentary scrutiny and ultimately leading to the company’s dissolution.

Portrait of Roger Casement, Artist: Sarah Henrietta Purser, 1848-1943, Oil on canvas.

Casement’s name became synonymous with human rights yet fell prey to scandal and personal turmoil, culminating in his execution at Pentonville Prison. The echoes of the UK rubber trade’s brutality still resonate today, leaving the trauma experienced by the Indigenous communities of the Colombian Amazon unresolved.

With a rich background as a translator for NGOs in Colombia, Mark Maughan has spent the past two years engaging with the four nations of La Chorrera—the Uitoto, Okaina, Muinane, and Bora. His theatre project seeks to amplify the unheard narratives of this troubled history, grappling with the tightrope walk between the pursuit of objective truth and the subjective nature of storytelling in theatre.

Check out the ‘Schedule for the Week’ below for details about the sessions and how people participated:

Open-Research-Week-Revisiting-Roger-Casement-int-he-Amazon

Open Research represents a fresh avenue for artists to collaboratively explore creative projects alongside public audiences as part of their making process. It draws inspiration from Reena Kalsi’s Process programme at Roundhouse London in 2022.

On the first day, Mon 28 Oct 24, Jeffrey Dudgeon MBE, Northern Irish politician, historian and gay political activist, author of the ‘Roger Casement: The Black Diaries – with a study of his background, sexuality, and Irish political life’ with Kinti Oreliana, Erna Von-Wall and Almiro Andrade provided content and perspectives to the start of the research.

The three-day event provided many answers and also left a lot to be explored after the event.

Why not start your research by contacting your local library and exploring Roger Casement, or contact NIGRA (Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association) the organisation which helped Jeff Dudgeon in the case Dudgeon v United Kingdom to the European Court of Human Rights; this successfully challenged Northern Ireland’s laws criminalising consensual sexual acts between men in private.

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Airbrushing out of history

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Airbrushing out of historyEarlier this year [2023] I was fortunate to come across an article by Lois Beckett on how the streets of Los Angeles, which played host to many events in LGBTQ+ history, are being gentrified, and these are my words, the LGBTQ+ community is being airbrushed out of the areas.

So why should this matter?  Well, there is an adage often repeated, “if we have no history, we don’t exist”.  Lewis was accompanied on this journey by Roland Palencia, a gay activist who has lived and organised in the area for decades.  Palencia suddenly shouted “Where is the plaque?  The plaque was right here!”  The plaque did commemorate the Mattachine Society (one of the first ‘US’ homophile groups to openly advocate acceptance.)Airbrushing out of history

“It’s erasure.  Erasure of our history,” Palencia says, “This is where it all began, at least in modern times.”

The journey carried on, and more and more items of importance in relation to the LGBTQ+ society had been removed or hidden due to the gentrification of the area.

Airbrushing out of history

When Hitler came to power, he sought to eradicate any group(s) who did not conform to his ideal of purity and history.  Today in the USA (and other countries) they first try to eradicate our history by the removal of LGBTQ+ books from schools, libraries etc.  It also shows often in local towns and villages but the fact that local LGBTQ+ people are not recognised for their contribution to society.

This practice is being adopted piecemeal in certain schools and is expanding to plays with gay characters not being allowed to be produced in schools and colleges.

The Conservative government has to be continuously dragged to court(s) or harangued in the media (if they publish) to get LGBTQ+ legislation on the statute books (we are still waiting for the promised transgender updates) including the promised law changes for conversion therapy.  History shows that Conversion Therapy (CT) was used from the late 19th century because psychiatrists and doctors had begun to label same-sex desire in medical terms—and then started looking for ways to reverse it.

Airbrushing out of historyThe damage that Conversion Therapy causes is well documented so what I wonder is this government’s problem?  Indeed, we continuously get paid lip service with notes of apologies because it happened – just look at the apology regarding Alan Turing.

[Please note that in this editor’s opinion, ‘apologies are only a mark in history, they don’t remove the stain or embarrassment or pain that occurred, or indeed prevent the same mistake(s) from being done again’].

The LGBTQ+ community, I believe, is not looking for special treatment; what it is looking for is parity with all elements of society.

Don’t let us become another airbrushing out of history statistic!

Airbrushed out of history

 

Research and Links

Have you got a history to tell us about?

If you have a history to tell us about for our community, then please contact us (ACOMSDave) by comment or using our contact form or by getting in touch with https://lgbthistoryni.com/

The History of LGBT (now LGBTQ+) in Northern Ireland

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The History of LGBT (now LGBTQ+) in Northern Ireland

Our Pride 1991 – by Terry McFarlane

 

 

The history of the LGBT (now LGBTQ+) in N Ireland is layered with groups that started to pursue a particular ideal missing from the community at the time.

 

 

 

Groups such as:

  • NIGRA
  • Cara Friend
  • COSO
  • GLYNI
  • Belfast Butterfly Group
  • Queerspace
  • Rainbow Project

Out of these groups came various local publications, e.g.

  • Gay Star
  • upstart
  • Update
  • NIGRA News
  • Gay Community News

The History of LGBT (now LGBTQ+) in Northern Ireland

 

But we also provided meeting spaces for individuals and groups, and the development of our own local lending library in the Carpenter Centre, Long Lane, Belfast.  This library held:

  • Books (both fiction and non-fiction)
  • Magazines

o   Foreign:

      • The Advocate (USA)
      • Christopher Street (USA)
      • Curve (USA)
      • Physique Magazine (USA) – a few copies
      • Zipper (*****)
      • Gai pied (French)
      • Lambda (Italian)
      • De Gayt Krant (Dutch)

o   Great Britain

      • Boyz
      • The Quorum
      • ScotsGay
      • Pink News
      • Gay Times
      • Gay News
      • Attitude
      • Diva
      • Fyne Times

o   Posters (both local and from abroad)

o   Banners (for various organisations)

o   Placards

 

NIGRA Banner at Pride

It was in a lot of ways our history repository.

The History of LGBT (now LGBTQ+) in Northern Ireland

Unfortunately, when we had to move to the Cathedral Buildings due to redevelopment, a lot of our history was lost, but still some of has found its way to.

 

  • The Ulster Museum – https://www.ulstermuseum.org/
  • The Linen Hall Library – https://www.linenhall.com/
  • PRONI – https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/public-record-office-northern-ireland-proni

For people to access and learn about our history.

We need to develop spaces for writers, artists, and musicians within our community.  Yes, we need those spaces for well-being, befriending etc., but why have we limited ourselves?

I was thinking about when I first realised, I was gay, and how access to books and magazines seemed to be so restrictive.  But, after careful consideration what I have realised was that in terms of today, we had many more venues in which we could get a book or a magazine.  We had at least eight different bookstores we could visit, and then there were the various corner stores and bars that welcomed LGBT clientele (some grudgingly) but also stocked the various free gay magazines and papers. An enticement no doubt to bring people in, but at least they were there.

Today, we are a larger more supportive society, but, though we have the internet, Amazon, online magazines (which we mostly have to pay for) and a quarterly printed magazine (Attitude) available in some selected outlets (or by post), we seem to have less well written and researched news, less knowledge about the books that are available or the movies that are coming out (unless they are blockbusters).

We are also getting to that time in history when people who fought and made our history are reaching the end of their life.  Often without their history being noted, recorded, and save for our future.  Once they die, there is no way of returning that historical knowledge.

We have in part a way of saving our history, which is the LGBTHISTORYNI online archive site, but our community needs to get behind it, get involved with it and start telling everyone about our history.

 

 

Links:

 

 

Go to LGBTHistoryNI

Visit LGBTHistoryNI and get involved in recording our history

Go NOW

 

 

Where Have All The Lesbians Gone

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Where Have All the Lesbians Gone is this excellent documentary is still on More 4 from its broadcast date and time (Thu 28 Apr, 10.30 pm).  It is an in-your-face documentary, exploring what a lesbian is, is the term ‘lesbian’ is right for today and is it an old dated term that carries connotations from the past.  As a documentary, it shows a wide range of wonderful women who are not frightened talking about themselves, their love and sex life, and the expectations of society – inclusive of which is how the media treats lesbians in movies, and soap operas, books etc.

The documentary explores the opportunities of lesbians to have children, indeed have and live a wonderfully fulfilling life.  Where Have All The Lesbians Gone premiered in the middle of ‘Lesbian Visibility Week’, and it brought to the screen with sometimes hilarious anecdotes about the real lives of lesbians. It didn’t shy from using swear words when appropriate to a story; it wasn’t done with gratification, it was done in normal speech.

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Where Have All the Lesbians Gone Where Have All the Lesbians Gone

 

 

 

 

 

100 years of Northern Ireland: how has it gone?

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100 years of Northern Ireland: how has it gone?

2021 is the hundredth anniversary of the formation of Northern Ireland. This Decade of Centenaries panel discussion, hosted by well-known local broadcaster, Tara Mills, Decade of Centenaries panel discussion: 100 years of Northern Irelandwill look at the last one hundred years from a range of different perspectives.

Panellists for the session are:

  • Lord Paul Bew, Chair of the Northern Ireland Office Centenary Historical Advisory Panel
  • Prof Mary E Daly, University College Dublin and Royal Irish Academy
  • Prof Thomas Hennessey, Professor of Modern British and Irish History, Canterbury Christchurch University
  • Dr Marie Coleman, School of History, Anthropology, Philosophy and Politics, Queen’s University Belfast
  • Dr Seán Byers, Researcher at Trademark Belfast and author of a number of pieces on trade unions, economic and political strategies

You can submit written questions to the panel during the event.

A sign language interpreter will be signing the event.

 

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OUTing the Past – Festival of LGBT History

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PRONI is delighted to be the virtual Belfast Hub for the 2020 OUTing the Past Festival of LGBT History.

About this Event

Join us for the 2021 OUTing the Past Festival of LGBT History.

This event will feature a number of speakers that will explore various aspects of LGBT history, including Richard O’Leary from the LGBT Heritage NI Project.

This event will take place on zoom. Sign-up to the event will close one hour before the event begins. The zoom link will also issue one hour before the beginning of the event.

We look forward to seeing you there.