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Transcript

THANKS FOR LISTENING

TAKE A TIMBIT!

GAME TIME! AKA MINI QUIZ

  • Give one ethical code that was broken during the aversion project?
  • Who was at the head of the study?
  • Name one method used during the project?

Today's Society

How has the experiment contributed to psychological research?

  • Where did the aversion project take place?

Although acceptance is more common in our modern day society, a large majority of homosexuals are still reluctant to be open in regards to their sexuality.

For example: In high school, many are still hesitant to be open due to fear of consequences such as bullying, and being excluded.

The aversion project provided evidence that being homosexual was not a learned trait because with all of the cases their sexual preference could not be reversed using psychological methods.

The outcome of this experiment shifted psychological research to invest in understanding homosexuals mentalities rather than changing their sexual preference which has been proven to be ineffective through this experiment.

  • What was the purpose of this experiment?

Results

Implications

Our Perceptions

The results of this experiment were negative. It proved that homosexuality is not a disease, and that it cant be "cured". Mental and physical distress did make homosexual people heterosexual, all it did was make them more self conscious and reluctant to reveal and accept their lifestyle

During the time that this experiment took place being classified as a homosexual was considered to be something extremely unacceptable in society, it dehumanized a person on multiple levels.

Our perceptions on the sexual preference of a person have changed greatly because in our modern day society, although they may be discriminated at times. Progressively more of the population is realizing that regardless of someones nationality, mental state, gender etc. if they are a human they should be treated like one.

*A great contribution to this is media access.

The subjects were harmed both physically and mentally due to the execution of this experiments.

Some died during treatment due to multiple reasons such as overdose, heart attacks and simply unsuccessful surgery.

In some cases, subjects/"victims" were left with severe brain damage due to the excessive shock treatment.

In addition, many of the subjects were left in such great emotional distress and in a confused physical state that they fell into great depressions and committed suicide or ran away and have never been found.

The few who are still alive today do not come forward and talk about the project due to scarred memories and great shame.

How was it unethical?

Ethical guidelines that were breached during this experiment include voluntary participation, informed consent, debriefing and withdrawal.

Most of the participants took part in this experiment because they either felt forced or were forced into having to by their families, the society at that time and the South African Defence Force, which they were a part of.

The participants were aware that aversion therapy was going to be used in this experiment but up until then, there hadn’t been any extremely dangerous cases involving this therapy. So they were not expecting to be electric shocked or to receive vomit-inducing injections.

They were also not given the option to withdraw from these experiments and because of this, many of them died during the gender reassignment surgery. Even if they pulled out of the Project, they’d still be a part of the Defence Force until they were discharged.

Methods (Continuation)

As many as 900 homosexuals, mostly 16-24 years old who had been drafted and had not voluntarily joined the military, were subjected to forced “sexual reassignment” surgeries. Men were surgically turned into women against their will, then cast out into the world, the gender reassignment often incomplete, and without the means to pay for expensive hormones to maintain their new sexual identities.

Methods

The torturous methods used on the subjects to “cure” them of their homosexuality, was

  • chemical castration,
  • electric shock,
  • drugs,
  • aversion shock therapy,
  • hormone treatments
  • sexual reassignment.

Purpose

Aubrey Levin viewed homosesexuality as a disease/illness. The purpose of the Aversion project to Levin was to prove that homosexuality could be “cured” or “fixed”.

The experiment was to try and forcefully alter the sexual preference in the homosexual male/female to become heterosexual using both mental and physical methods.

Head of Study

Colonel Aubrey Levin also known as “Dr. Shock” former chief psychiatrist at the Voortrekkerhoogte military hospital where most of the abuse took place over sought the experiment with other members of the Apartheid army and psychiatrists.

Aubrey Levin (1938-present)

Background Information

  • The Aversion project was an experiment that took place in South Africa during the apartheid era, from 1971-1989.
  • The aversion project was a form of psychological treatment given to presumed homosexuals part of the South African Army. Presumed homosexuals of the army were sent to a place called ward 22 near Pretoria in most cases without any knowledge or consent.

The Aversion Project

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