University:
Southern New Hampshire University
Course:
COM-ELE | Conflict Resolution
Academic year:

2020
Views:

101

Pages:

2
Author:

Dominick Dickson

Background The Aversion project was conducted in South Africa between 1971 and 1989 also known as the apartheid. This psychological study was led by Dr. Aubrey Levin. The objective of the study was to cure soldiers of being homosexuals or in other words become heterosexuals. Psychiatrists would conduct this study by utilizing methods including “chemical castrations and electric shock therapy” (South Africa History, 2019). Psychological torture was also used by leaving the victims naked after a procedure in pain. The study failed to rid the subjects of homosexuality. The men who lived were emotionally and physically traumatized that had permanent effects on their physical health which resulted in suicide the following years. Consequences During this time being homosexual was punishable by law. Psychiatrists and scientists at this time viewed homosexuality as a mental illness or disorder. This mindset helped allow the study to be conducted. Being a minority, also placed the subjects at risk. Subjects were wrongfully abused in the name of science. Consequently, the study only benefited the psychiatrists. The project was abandoned, and patients were left having received only half of the gender reassignment treatment resulting in patients that are now half female and half male. The psychological impact of the project also resulted in post-traumatic stress, depression, and even suicide. Ethical Dilemma’s This particular study has been deemed unethical for various reasons. The main reason is due overall to the lack of consent by the subjects. Another reason was the psychological and physical torture the subjects endured. The participants did not expect to be electrically shocked or receive vomit including injections and sex changes. The subjects were also held against their will and even stripped of clothes and belongings. No option to withdraw and hold against their will is also labeled unethical within the study. Between the years “1969-1987 there was 900 men and women that received gender reassignment surgery” (Kaplan, 2004). The project was then abandoned and patients were left having received only half of the gender reassignment treatment resulting in patients that are now half female and half male. The study left its subject in despair and held no research that the study was effective. People in power and control such as the psychiatrists and military leaders. The abuse of power, in this case, created a brutal situation and unsafe environment. Modern-Day Practices The Aversion project had an impact on how research is conducted and practiced. Modernday ethics utilizes this study and many others to learn and form practices and procedures to protect people. In 1995 a public apology was issued by the South African medical association; however, this is all the medical association will do for the victims of this study and nothing will change until an investigation is conducted. When the Aversion project was brought to light, “a collaborative team, including academic researchers and activists involved with gay and lesbian organizations, developed the aversion research project” (Grucy, Lewin, 2001). This research intended to determine the treatment of homosexuals in the military, specifically the South African defense force.