Persephone Magazine

In a world where homophobia still has its gnarly roots in almost every culture, gay rehabilitation centers are predominantly still thought of as a U.S.-based phenomenon, even though the practice of trying to “correct” homosexual behavior is not a new or U.S.-centric concept (see South Africa, Jamaica, and well, just about every country). But buried deep in Ecuador, often beyond the tourist attractions and somewhere between the forests and the beaches, lie almost 200 rehabilitation clinics, often publicly known as drug rehabilitation centers, where LGBTQ citizens are sent to be “cured” of their homosexuality through an advertised means of "intense rehabilitation." There are many people, often ex-patients and survivors, who would severely disagree with the cure. According to survivors, these clinics are using forms of torture like those mentioned above, along with corrective rape as a means to “cure” and rehabilitate lesbian women (reports are now coming forward that there are gay men in the clinics as well).